My Pinktoe (avi) is not eating

Lu Wei

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Jun 30, 2016
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My Pinktoe T. has not eaten in about a month. She molted about a month and a half ago and 1 1/2 weeks after the molt I fed her a superworm (which she successfully ate). Is it normal for her to not be eating? I offer her food once every couple of days. I drop it on her web and even hold it with tweezers in front of her, but no luck. I'm quite worried about her.

Her enclosure is a 5 gallon tank with a bamboo log (slanted, upright) for her to walk and web on. I placed a bit of moss to maintain humidity. She has a shallow water dish and I've been misting the enclosure.

EDIT: Okay, thanks guys. I'm going to get a new enclosure tomorrow and redo the whole thing.
 
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Venom1080

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post a picture of the cage, chances are its being kept wrong. they need very high ventilation and low humidity works best. try a different feeder like roaches or crickets. some Ts dont take food from the tongs. it can also chip and damage the fangs if the spider mistakes the tongs for the food. its best to have the spider get the food without any help from tongs.
 

Lu Wei

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post a picture of the cage, chances are its being kept wrong. they need very high ventilation and low humidity works best. try a different feeder like roaches or crickets. some Ts dont take food from the tongs. it can also chip and damage the fangs if the spider mistakes the tongs for the food. its best to have the spider get the food without any help from tongs.
I mist once it the morning and once at night. Is that too much? I asked the breeder and she told me that Pinktoes are tree dwellers so the enclosure needs to have something they can climb on and maintain humidity. I won't try to feed her with tongs anymore. She's still drinking water and moves around just fine. She was eating perfectly okay before the molt. About once or twice a week. I have taken a picture.
 
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Venom1080

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I mist once it the morning and once at night. Is that too much? I asked the breeder and she told me that Pinktoes are tree dwellers so the enclosure needs to have something they can climb on and maintain humidity. I won't try to feed her with tongs anymore. She was eating perfectly okay before the molt. About once or twice a week. I have taken a picture.
its unneeded and useless to mist a Avicularia. moist stuffy cages without enough ventilation kill Avics quickly, a water bowl is all thats needed. Avicularia like to build their webs at the top of the enclosure, thats cage prevents that. you need to get a suitable arboreal cage for your spider. i keep my Avics dry with very high ventilation and only a water bowl for humidity. go to Walmart and pick up a tall plastic tub, it should be at least 5 times taller than your Avics legspan and at least 3 times as wide. poke a bunch of holes on the sides and top and provide plenty of cluttered spots with plastic plants and wood for your avic to web up, a water dish and youre set. thats the cheapest option. you buy custom acrylic cages from jamiestarantulas.com, theyre expensive but work well. theyre front opening as well which is preferable as Aics like to web at the top of their cages. a slightly less expensive option would be a 8x16" exo tera. that would work for the whole life of your avic, ans they have plenty of vent which avics love.
 

cold blood

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Yeah the set up needs to be completely re-done...it looks like an LPS set up....brutal.

Use the mister on your plants, if you don't have plants, toss it in the trash. Misting twice a day is a great way to slowly kill your avic. When they're effected my too much moisture, they do exactly what you describe...get lethargic and refuse to eat.

Taller enclosure, dry substrate, a water dish, and surround the wood with plants, they need anchor points as well as cover to create their web homes. Once the t creates webbing, you can put a few drops of water on the web, and only on the web, once a week or every other week.

That t should be feeding hard.

They do liven up in trees, which are quickly dried by the winds.
 

shining

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Could he not turn the kk on it's side, put the substrate on the bottom/side, use the top hatch for a feeding/water dish filling, have the wood leaning on bottom/side and add some plants? Kks have alot of ventilation, though sometimes too much and from the wrong angle.

I've never raised any Avics but I know it could work for some pokies. Maybe the lack of cross ventilation would be a problem?
 

Lu Wei

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Jun 30, 2016
Messages
8
its unneeded and useless to mist a Avicularia. moist stuffy cages without enough ventilation kill Avics quickly, a water bowl is all thats needed. Avicularia like to build their webs at the top of the enclosure, thats cage prevents that. you need to get a suitable arboreal cage for your spider. i keep my Avics dry with very high ventilation and only a water bowl for humidity. go to Walmart and pick up a tall plastic tub, it should be at least 5 times taller than your Avics legspan and at least 3 times as wide. poke a bunch of holes on the sides and top and provide plenty of cluttered spots with plastic plants and wood for your avic to web up, a water dish and youre set. thats the cheapest option. you buy custom acrylic cages from jamiestarantulas.com, theyre expensive but work well. theyre front opening as well which is preferable as Aics like to web at the top of their cages. a slightly less expensive option would be a 8x16" exo tera. that would work for the whole life of your avic, ans they have plenty of vent which avics love.
Okay, thanks!!! I am now purchasing a new enclosure for her online.
 

Lu Wei

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Jun 30, 2016
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Yeah the set up needs to be completely re-done...it looks like an LPS set up....brutal.

Use the mister on your plants, if you don't have plants, toss it in the trash. Misting twice a day is a great way to slowly kill your avic. When they're effected my too much moisture, they do exactly what you describe...get lethargic and refuse to eat.

Taller enclosure, dry substrate, a water dish, and surround the wood with plants, they need anchor points as well as cover to create their web homes. Once the t creates webbing, you can put a few drops of water on the web, and only on the web, once a week or every other week.

That t should be feeding hard.

They do liven up in trees, which are quickly dried by the winds.
Thank you! I just purchased an exo terra online and will be redoing the whole enclosure this week.
 

cold blood

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Ahh, I see you went the most expensive route possible...lol.....just make sure you get a piece or acrylic or plexi cut and ventilated as you will need to replace the screen top they come with.....yup, expensive and you need to make alterations. :)
 

Lu Wei

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Jun 30, 2016
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Ahh, I see you went the most expensive route possible...lol.....just make sure you get a piece or acrylic or plexi cut and ventilated as you will need to replace the screen top they come with.....yup, expensive and you need to make alterations. :)
Alright!
 

Poec54

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Could he not turn the kk on it's side, put the substrate on the bottom/side, use the top hatch for a feeding/water dish filling, have the wood leaning on bottom/side and add some plants? Kks have alot of ventilation, though sometimes too much and from the wrong angle.

I've never raised any Avics but I know it could work for some pokies. Maybe the lack of cross ventilation would be a problem?

Not really. KK's aren't made for tarantulas. On their means the substrate comes out the vents. Avics tend to stay near the top and don't need overly tall cages, as it just puts more distance between them and their food/waterbowl. Best solution is a better-suited cage.
 
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