My pink toe tarantula won't eat and web

[Lionel852]

Hi. I got a 2 years old female Avicularia versicolor from a friend who was giving his spiders . I have just changed her of cage 4days ago . But she hasn't had any food(feeding small cockrach or crickets) or did any kind of webbing yet. Temperature. Ventilation. Humidity is on point . Should I be worry ? I know they need time. To adapt to the new habitat and avoid the stress . I have a orange baboon before and never had any issue like that.

 

[Lionel852]

There is a picture of the cage . My old orange baboon use to love hiding in that Rock all the time. So I figured out I'll add one like before

 

[Lionel852]

.

 

[cold blood]

What are these on point numbers you speak of? Sounds like care sheet jibberrish to be honest. You shouldn't be shooting for number specifics, and your ventilation leaves much to be desired as I see the mesh venting. This type of ventilation has many issues, starting with too much ventilation, or air flow...but we really need to see the set up.

4 days isn't a lot of time, although in a proper set up, a versi generally starts webbing quickly. For example, I re-housed this versi just last night.

That said, it looks like it molted very recently, and sometimes avics won't always web until they are ready, or closer to molting. The key is to give them the proper tools to create a web in a desirable location.

 

[cold blood]

That helps...now I don't see the mesh I saw in the initial pic and your venting looks just fine.


Two issues...first, the big hide on the ground should be removed. Ground cover isn't what an avic can or will generally utilize as they prefer elevated positions.

The next, is that the cage is way too barren. More wood needs to be added, and all the mid to upper parts of that wood should be surrounded by plants. Wood provides stable hunting and stretching platform, plants provide both cover, and anchor points...the more anchor points you give them, the faster and more elaborate their webbing will be.

What you have there is actually really good, its just not enough, with the majority of the cage (which is really larger than it needs to be by a lot) being just wasted empty space. Open space like that doesn't provide any comfort or function.

If you are worried about not eating for 4 days, you have unrealistic feeding expectations. 4 days for a t is nothing.

 

[Bugmom]

I was typing up my advice and then cold blood posted again so I'll just say "what he said."

 

[Lionel852]

Thank you for answering so quick what I meant by the temperature is on point is 23 to 26c day time and 20-22c night time and 70% humidity. So you are saying I should remove the rock and maybe had a roll or something vertical in? The cage was given to me by the guy who gave me then T.so I used that one instead

That helps...now I don't see the mesh I saw in the initial pic and your venting looks just fine.


Two issues...first, the big hide on the ground should be removed. Ground cover isn't what an avic can or will generally utilize as they prefer elevated positions.

The next, is that the cage is way too barren. More wood needs to be added, and all the mid to upper parts of that wood should be surrounded by plants. Wood provides stable hunting and stretching platform, plants provide both cover, and anchor points...the more anchor points you give them, the faster and more elaborate their webbing will be.

What you have there is actually really good, its just not enough, with the majority of the cage (which is really larger than it needs to be by a lot) being just wasted empty space. Open space like that doesn't provide any comfort or function.

 

[cold blood]

Thank you for answering so quick what I meant by the temperature is on point is 23 to 26c day time and 20-22c night time and 70% humidity. So you are saying I should remove the rock and maybe had a roll or something vertical in? The cage was given to me by the guy who gave me then T.so I used that one instead

Anything 20C and above is fine. Don't measure humidity, there's no reason to, and it actually causes problems often.

Yes, remove the rock, the only thing ground cover will accomplish is giving feeders a place to hide indefinitely....and add more wood and plants...like replicate what you have two more times so its filled. Aside from the water dish (which is your humidity control), the ground should be free of cover. This gives the t many places to choose to live and hunt, and as few places as possible for feeders to hide, making certain that the predator comes across the prey in a timely manner.

 

[Moonohol]

Thank you for answering so quick what I meant by the temperature is on point is 23 to 26c day time and 20-22c night time and 70% humidity. So you are saying I should remove the rock and maybe had a roll or something vertical in? The cage was given to me by the guy who gave me then T.so I used that one instead

As for the humidity, your ventilation looks to be adequate and you have a nice sized water dish. This is all you need for an Avic. Let the substrate dry out and you'll be golden. No need to do any misting or wetting down of the sub. But yeah, I also agree with everything @cold blood said! Enjoy your Avic, they are awesome spiders.

 

[darkness975]

I doubt it is only "2 years old"

 

[cold blood]

@hollymdemarco , ok Holly, I spelled everything out as specifically as I could...what's with the "clarification please"???

 

[Andrea82]

@hollymdemarco , ok Holly, I spelled everything out as specifically as I could...what's with the "clarification please"???

Probably arachnoboarding on a crappy phone like me...when icons are as big as a recently hatched Lp,it can be quite difficult to hit the right one...

 

[Misty Day]

I doubt it is only "2 years old"

Why? That A.versi looks like it could be 2 years old.

To OP, Cold Blood pretty much hit the nail on the head.

 

[hollymdemarco]

Ok now im a little confused lol

 

[Jeff23]

Another thing to remember is that Versicolor are skittish. You should get the enclosure set up right. Then make sure the water bowl is full and perhaps leave it a prekilled prey if you wish. Then leave it alone for a while. I know there is a desire especially for people who get a new T to keep messing with the environment (been there done that). This can cause additional stress for the T. Give the T some alone time to get to know its new home.

 

[Krysta]

Had my little guy got an month he still has not ate... made his cage homey though such as webbing a lot and one molt already but won’t eat?? To me he seems content but worried about my little guy eating is it normal? I read yes it is but a whole month ?

 

[PidderPeets]

Had my little guy got an month he still has not ate... made his cage homey though such as webbing a lot and one molt already but won’t eat?? To me he seems content but worried about my little guy eating is it normal? I read yes it is but a whole month ?

What size is it? It has it's adult colors, so it's not that small (also, that's an A. avicularia, not a C. versicolor like in this thread. Just if you're wondering). My adult female A. avic went a month after molting before I managed to get her to eat, so it's not unheard of. I managed to get her to eat with Madagascar hissing cockroaches, since they could climb on the enclosure walls and that seemed to entice her.

It's abdomen doesn't look concerning. Arboreals don't get chunky like terrestrials do, so they should typically look pretty lean.

But I'm curious why the Avic doesn't appear to be in it's enclosure in that picture. Routine handling and removing from it's enclosure cold potentially stress it out enough that I won't eat.

Edit: Wait, you've only had it a month? So it molted in that month? Unless it molted within maybe a day or two of you getting it, it's totally normal for it not to eat before or after a molt, and you don't want to feed it too soon after a molt anyway. What color are it's fangs? If they're white or red, it's too soon to be feeding

 

[Krysta]

The fangs are black already ... I know all about that was just wondering but I guess he’s safe And content yes my pink toe loves attention he comes to the top to come out I so handle him with care every once in awhile when he sees the top open he likes to come out with us he’s very good with my five yr old she’s very good with him but I do t handle a lot only if I have to fix something in its cage I’ll open the top to add fresh water or fix something other than that I leave him alone but it’s not a bad thing to say hello to him once in awhile as long has we sit on the ground with him he doesn’t jump I already read if handling the pink toe do it with care

 

[mconnachan]

Had my little guy got an month he still has not ate... made his cage homey though such as webbing a lot and one molt already but won’t eat?? To me he seems content but worried about my little guy eating is it normal? I read yes it is but a whole month ?

To me it looks like a MM you have, needless to say their priority now isn't food it's finding a mate, is he endlessly wandering around its enclosure, it's natural MM (Mature Male) behaviour, there's always someone on the lookout for MM's - that's if you want him to help re-populate the hobby, he's looking really good. (Yes definitely a MM you have).

 

[PidderPeets]

The fangs are black already ... I know all about that was just wondering but I guess he’s safe And content yes my pink toe loves attention he comes to the top to come out I so handle him with care every once in awhile when he sees the top open he likes to come out with us he’s very good with my five yr old she’s very good with him but I do t handle a lot only if I have to fix something in its cage I’ll open the top to add fresh water or fix something other than that I leave him alone but it’s not a bad thing to say hello to him once in awhile as long has we sit on the ground with him he doesn’t jump I already read if handling the pink toe do it with care

While I obviously can't stop you from handling, I would still discourage it. Especially with a young child. Tarantulas are calm and handleable until the day they're not. And should your T one day get spooked and bolt, the T could easily get flung across the room and killed by a panicked hand flinging it off. The handling could potentially be the reason it's not eating or webbing yet.

Aside from that, perhaps you could post a picture of the actual enclosure? It might not be set up in a way that enables it to web. It sounds like you have a top opening enclosure, so the roof of the enclosure is already off limits for it, so you'd ideally need to have lots of foliage as close to the top as possible without touching it to encourage webbing that won't get destroyed with routine maintenance.

To me it looks like a MM you have, needless to say their priority now isn't food it's finding a mate, is he endlessly wandering around its enclosure, it's natural MM (Mature Male) behaviour, there's always someone on the lookout for MM's - that's if you want him to help re-populate the hobby, he's looking really good. (Yes definitely a MM you have).

I originally thought that might be the case too, but you can just barely but clearly see the pink tips on the pedipalps, indicating that it's not mature (or at least not a mature male)