My First Arachnid!

[RookieGuy]

Or any other animal from the bug family! Just today we picked up a brand new a. Avicularia who the kids promptly named Winifred. I've had the terrarium set up for about a week and a half anticipating the pet expo. I was hoping for an Antilles pink toe (who's scientific name escapes me at the moment), but Mrs. Rookie fell in love with a. avic.

She's settling into her new Exo Terra mini, 12x12x18 with about 2 inches of cocoa substitute. She's around 2 or 2.5 inches diagonally from her longest legs. And yes, I replaced the screen top with acrylic. Temps in the room are keeping a pothos and spider plant happy. She's got a good slab of cork bark and 2 of those suction cup plants and in an area of the house that gets little foot traffic.

As soon as I figure out how, I'll throw up many pictures. Both because she's so cool and to get some feedback from people who know what they're doing. And on that note, if advice is needed, it's hard to hurt my feelings when we're both after the best life for the animals in our care. I'm trying to do my homework, but sometimes I don't even know what I don't know.

I never saw myself having a tarantula. Nothing against them, they were just never my cup of tea. I could even look past thre only people I knew who had them was that weird kid in school and my, um, "pharmacist". But then I found myself with an empty 10 gallon tank. Researching what could live in that, I came across tarantulas. The more I looked at them, the more I liked them. I asked Mrs. Rookie about them and she was pretty gung ho.

She decided the avicularia sp was what was missing in our house. It was the toes, said she looks like she just got her nails done. I heard blah blah we can get a tarantula if it's this one. And yes, in my basement is still the empty 10 gallon tank that started this whole adventure. (I could be wrong, but this looks exactly like an excuse for a green bottle blue down the road?)

Is giving her the night to settle in before trying to feed her a good idea? Or should I be running to the LPS for a couple smalls? I'm sorry, newbie in his very second post asking stupid newbie questions. Union rules.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to this journey. I've never cared for anything like this before. I don't care how stupid it sounds, this is exciting. I'm not 100% sure what to expect, you do your homework, but it's essentially reading a book on how to ride a bicycle. And I look forward to being an active member here and making some good friends.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Congrats on your new Pink Toe! It's interesting because I also have a pink toe named Winifred. One of the most important things to remember with Avics is that a lot of the care sheets you'll find out there have information that is completely wrong. The most important thing to keep in mind with these tarantulas is that ventilation is very, very important. A lot of care sheets will insist that you mist them to maintain humidity, but this is probably one of the worst things you can do. Keep them on dry substrate with fresh, dechlorinated water provided in a water dish, and make sure that there are holes in the top and sides of the enclosure to allow air flow. Overly moist, stuffy conditions are very dangerous for this species.

I would give your new spider a few days before feeding her before you allow her to settle in. Also, can you include some photos of your setup? A common mistake people often make is that they put a tarantula in an enclosure that is too large. Contrary to what most might initially think, tarantulas often do better in smaller spaces, because it helps them feel secure and makes it easier to find and catch prey.

 

[RookieGuy]

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Those exoterras are nice because they have the ventilation on the side and top. I think the enclosure does look a little large for your spider. They LOVE fake plants towards the top, so I'm sure she would appreciate it if you add more fake plants towards the top. Very useful as anchor points for webbing, and when they have more hiding places available, they tend to venture out more. One more thing to keep in mind is that tarantulas can squeeze through spaces that are quite small. Make sure that the ventilation holes are smaller than your spider's carapace so she can't escape.

 

[viper69]

Avics aren't the best for a first species, but I'm optimistic here.

You could remove the backing, give your T more space, plus crickets tend to hide behind them. Use it and see what you think.

More plants up top.

Great to see a beginner have plexi instead of screen!

provided in a water dish

This is true. However, Avics are not guaranteed drinkers from dishes. Some of the same specimens will drink from a dish, and later one stop drinking from a dish. Adding water drop wise is often necessary for an Avic.

 

[RookieGuy]

So I've added much more plants. I still have about two more feet if needed.

The foam background, until I can find a reasonable corkboard tile, can stay for now. Carrying lizard and tree frog care instincts over, the textured may be better or more stimulating. It looks better than bare glass. While that's not as important to her well being, it's pretty important to another, more powerful woman.
There were concerns that the enclosure was a little big, so I'm hoping to close a little off. Until she tells me otherwise.

There is a water dish in there. Maybe I've been reading and worrying myself too much about humidity, but I want to give her a bit to use that before adding droplets.

So anyways, there's Winifred's newly decorated pad. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[cold blood]

Ok, you have the wood, and you have the plants....but you have each standing basically on their own. They need to be together...the top of that wood should be surrounded by ( as in, in contact with) those plants. Just move them over a bit to surround that wood.

Otherwise the enclosure and set up look just fine.

until I can find a reasonable corkboard tile

And what would you need or do with that...its equally as unnecessary as the foam background.

Carrying lizard and tree frog care instincts over, the textured may be better or more stimulating.

Don't confuse care for two completely different animals. Ts can walk on glass just as well as a textured surface.

There were concerns that the enclosure was a little big, so I'm hoping to close a little off. Until she tells me otherwise.

Being too large for a t simply means large amounts of space will go unused. You wont need to block anything, it will eventually web an area and make its home there. The issue with the excess room is simply that it decreases the predator prey interaction, which can make it easy for feeders to hide away. Smaller and simpler generally means easier hunting for your t.

Maybe I've been reading and worrying myself too much about humidity

Humidity KILLS Avics. Forget the word, it doesn't even apply to tarantula ownership. Dry is best for them, and easier for you. Don't over think things.

 

[RookieGuy]

So they won't necessarily be missing any stimulation in a textured background? Or their webs will stick to glass? I didn't know that. Right now I have plants stuck into the foam.

I think I'm finally happy with this. Anchor points out the wazoo, more hiding places than necessary, and keeping my air holes free.

And just because she's so pretty

 

[Pyroxian]

So they won't necessarily be missing any stimulation in a textured background? Or their webs will stick to glass? I didn't know that. Right now I have plants stuck into the foam.

I think I'm finally happy with this. Anchor points out the wazoo, more hiding places than necessary, and keeping my air holes free. View attachment 332050 View attachment 332051

And just because she's so pretty

Did you cut the vents in the lid yourself or is this a commercially available replacement?

 

[Brachyfan]

Avics aren't the best for a first species, but I'm optimistic here.

You could remove the backing, give your T more space, plus crickets tend to hide behind them. Use it and see what you think.

More plants up top.

Great to see a beginner have plexi instead of screen!



This is true. However, Avics are not guaranteed drinkers from dishes. Some of the same specimens will drink from a dish, and later one stop drinking from a dish. Adding water drop wise is often necessary for an Avic.

Those backings are horrible for feeders. I rip em out of all my exo terra enclosures. If I want the look to remain I just secure them to the outside using clear packing tape.

Congrats on the avic! Antilles pink toe is Caribena Versicolor!

 

[TriMac33]

You've gotten great advice! Avics are a great species to keep and very interactive feeders. I have the strongest "bonds" with my Avics.

Never mist or dampen your Avics sub. Water droplets placed by pipette onto the glass of the enclosure at the same time you fill its water dish will ensure it remains hydrated. It looks like you have more than enough vertical leaf coverage now. Don't ever obsess over temperature or humidity. As long as your temps don't dip lower than 65°, they're just fine. Humidity doesn't apply to any T really, especially Avicularia. Happy Keeping!!

 

[RookieGuy]

I'm sorry, I misphrased that. I was/ am paranoid about getting too much humidity in there. But for now, I'm just going to let her chill in there however she sees fit. And as I get to know her, she'll tell me what she wants. Probably tomorrow night I'll pull that backing out. I'm sure in my travels over the next couple weeks I can find a pretty background to tape to the back of her terrarium.

For now, she's still hanging out on the front glass. On one hand, it's so awesome she wants to be out in front in full view like that. But like, really, Winifred? I spent all that time hanging places everywhere and give you so many hiding spots and you ignore them all! Maybe she's hungry?

Anyways, thank you all for your help so far. This is change in thinking from anything I've ever done before. A wild ride to be sure. Thanks for helping guide me on the right path for her as well as me!

I just saw that, Pyroxian. Yeah, I cut the acrylic myself. Pro tip, a dremel with a cutting bit chews through the plastic, but makes a royal mess leaving kerf in your air slots. Next time I just drill with it. Not my best work.

So, silly newbie question time. If she's not happy where she's perched, she'll move, right? She's been camped out right there on the front glass since I put her back in yesterday morning. Right still where she was in my last pic. Until I hear different, I'm assuming she's rewarding my good husbandry with plenty of visibility.

Or she could be hungry. Obviously I haven't had her long enough to read her. LPS was out of crickets, so probably tomorrow I'll be able to try her with a couple.

It's weird. My day wasn't the best. I got home, took a shower and all, but found myself just relaxing watching her being all calm and zen and spidery. The way a school of fish swimming back and forth used to. Of course she's not caring a whit about me, just doing her thing staring at the ground. But it was still relaxing. Jeez, just wait till she starts webbing and I have that to stare at!