Hello! New to this website... did not even realize it existed until I started rapid googling about my avicavic (Guyana Pink Toe). It acts like it has really bad anxiety? I recently got her(?) but have had to (successfully) move her around a few times but she is now (hopefully) in her permanent setting and she just acts weird. She kind of bundles up her legs close to her (a wall-spider ball if you will) and almost goes into a (sleep) state.. is that what she is doing. sleeping? or is she cold (75F) or unhappy? I dont think she has even ventured behind her hide yet and its been a few days. I cant feed her either bc she attacks the (well padded) tongs and then i kinda jump... then she jumps... then shes uninterested in the food... but I also am "afraid" to let her food (dubia roaches) roam free in the tank because I have no idea if i or she will ever see them again and I dont want to tear apart her enclosure... (again). She also does laps around her enclosure at night like super fast laps. The babe is just about a juvenile; probably 2" diameter. Does her mood chill with time? Will she start to spin her web soon or does that also come with time? Im just a worried T mom.. I also have a T albos. who is EZPZ and ive never panicked this hard about him ever lol. But why is my baby in little tiny spider ball at the top of her cage? IS SHE DEPRESSED? I have so many question lmao. Am i just over analysing my little avicularia? Should I just give her some time to adjust? Its been about 2 full days in her new enclosure.
New to Avicularia Avicularia... Am I helicoptering too much or doing something wrong?
- Thread starter dogskulll
- Start date
Scorpiobsession
Arachnobaron
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- Mar 1, 2021
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Tarantulas do what tarantulas do. Unless it's an extremely rare medical emergency there's no need to intervene. She'll likely be better with time. If you crush dubias heads they won't burrow and can't harm the tarantula.
neens
Arachnopeon
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- Dec 13, 2020
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She's gonna need time to settle in her enclosure, it can take weeks to months. Crush heads so prey cant escape or leave prekilled prey and remove after 24 hours if it has not been eaten. Room temp is fine for most T's.
Edan bandoot
Arachnoprince
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spiders don't really move that much.
jc55
Arachnoknight
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I agree with it needs some time to settle in and there is no need to feed your tarantula with tongs for many reasons but when you do you give it a ramp to teleport up and out of the enclosure and possibly get injured or it could bite you or both.
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You clearly haven’t read much about these animals. I strongly suggest you read here about them, your Ts life depends on YOUR level of doing RESEARCH on their care!!
Ts are incapable of feeling any emotions as we think of them, eg depression etc what a crazy idea.
Legs pulled inward are a defensive maneuver when they feel threatened or annoyed by external stimuli.
Neonblizzard
Arachnomoron
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They need time to settle in. Do you have pics of your enclosure? I'm a bit concerned you don't have them set up correctly. That will play the biggest role in your T's wellbeing.
I've done my research and i'm aware they can't have emotions... it was more of a panic joke because I have anxiety about these things and i couldn't find a single thing on these questions anywhere and that's why i am here... to ask for help and do research i couldn't find elsewhere. I definitely did my research but sometimes I cannot find answers to my specific questions
So thank you for the tips but the aggressive assumptions are unneeded and highly unappreciated.
SuleymanC
Arachnoknight
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Is it possible if we can see the enclosure she is in? that way we can see what the problem could be
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There are some things you mentioned which demonstrate you haven’t done enough research.
The fact you couldn’t find a single thing suggests to me you haven’t looked too much.
75F is a fine temp for Avics. Mine are generally at 68-72F
Viper can be cranky in his replies, which can be seen as negative, but he does care (like all of us here) about the wellbeing of our 8-legged friends. There are just too many keepers out there who do everything completely wrong (Not saying you're one of them, but sadly, there are too many people who buy on impulse without doing research and checking how accurate the information is). Forget all other online sources (Aside Tom Moran and Dave's Little Beasties on YouTube), for accurate information. Arachnoboards is THE Tarantula/Arachnid forum, populated by long-time keepers such as @viper69, @cold blood and many others.
For starters, here is a fantastic read on Avicularia/Caribena care written by @viper69. He knows Avics, this will help you to understand how to avoid the issues that have killed pinktoes for DECADES. Good Luck !
For starters, here is a fantastic read on Avicularia/Caribena care written by @viper69. He knows Avics, this will help you to understand how to avoid the issues that have killed pinktoes for DECADES. Good Luck !
Avicularia Husbandry?
Hi! I'm new to the forum and am unsure if this is the right place for this, but I was wondering if there's anything I should know in advance before purchasing an Avicularia genus? (specifically, I have my eye on some a. metallica slings) I've done some reading, but being that I've only ever had...
arachnoboards.com
I found answers to most of my questions of course, but nothing specific enough to calm my nerves about the questions I asked above. I understand that my panic-approach would appear that I am more frantic than prepared which is not the case.. but this is my first arboreal so I am not used to their behaviors yet. I promise that I do whole heartedly understand all the major essentials to avics such as top and bottom cross ventilation, the proper humidity and temperature, cork bark up against the corner and non-toxic foliage's to help with their web-making, SAD, diet, etc. However, there are just things (such as the wall-ball) that I could not find answers to that 100% fit what I was talking about. Whenever I would research or look for anything about it.. most of the time it would just say how they look at the ground on the wall when they are hunting and how they walk around due to learning their closure and/or something is bothering them. I notice these things and am able to fix them.. but sometimes I cannot find the proper sentence to google or the proper definition to look in books for what I am talking about.
GrimMelvin
Arachnopeon
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- Jul 17, 2021
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You mentioned that you've moved her a few times now. I've done the same with my t. albo just a few days ago, due to getting a new enclosure and then improving it.
Mine is also mostly sitting with her legs tucked up and just chilling during the day, then moving around in circles at night. Though mine isn't an arboreal, the behavior is very similar to what you describe. The advice I've gotten here (other than what to improve with the enclosure) is that this behavior is most likely due to stress. Being moved around and going in and out of catch cups is stress for the little dudes. I think you should make sure she has everything proper, and just monitor her, but let her chill so she can get used to the new space
Mine is also mostly sitting with her legs tucked up and just chilling during the day, then moving around in circles at night. Though mine isn't an arboreal, the behavior is very similar to what you describe. The advice I've gotten here (other than what to improve with the enclosure) is that this behavior is most likely due to stress. Being moved around and going in and out of catch cups is stress for the little dudes. I think you should make sure she has everything proper, and just monitor her, but let her chill so she can get used to the new space
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I think you will be fine, just remain calm
Also, the panic approach does not help, as we’ve learned.
Just keep searching and asking specific questions calmly, not out of anxiety.
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It takes time for them to acclimate to a new environment. Expect it to hide and be skittish for at least a week, if not a few weeks. It may also not eat right away. Offer food every few days and remove it if it's uneaten. The best thing you can do right now is leave the spider alone. The more it's disturbed, the longer it'll take to settle in. Remember, tarantulas can easily go for weeks/ months without a meal and be perfectly fine.
Neonblizzard
Arachnomoron
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- Mar 3, 2021
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You aren't chasing a specific humidity % are you? That's a very common way people run into dead avics
Thane1616
Arachnosquire
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- Jul 1, 2021
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I recently got my first T and it is an Avic so I am no expert but my Avic only gets balled up like that when its scared or feels threatened from something like the vibration of opening the tank. I want to tong feed it for fun but because of the skittish/quick to run nature of the species I do not think it will work until it has a web it can retreat to or ambush from. Also because this is a arboreal species I just throw a couple crickets in and close the lid, I understand the danger of crickets eating the T while it is in molt but outside of that I dont think the crickets pose much of a threat. My Avic spends most of its time on the side walls of the enclosure or up off the ground where I dont think the crickets can easily get to it. Just give the little babe some time to settle in.
Since you are using Dubia my advice would be to get some kind of flat rock or wood to put on the substrate then crush the head of the dubia and place it on the rock so you can easily see if the T ate it the next day. This may not work since they are arboreal but you could always modify it by sticking the crushed roach on a branch or cork bark as well. I plan to keep feeding mine crickets until it builds a web because I have seen it leap off the cork and pounce on a cricket. Edit to say I do the flat rock thing with my scorpions that I am worried are not eating.
Since you are using Dubia my advice would be to get some kind of flat rock or wood to put on the substrate then crush the head of the dubia and place it on the rock so you can easily see if the T ate it the next day. This may not work since they are arboreal but you could always modify it by sticking the crushed roach on a branch or cork bark as well. I plan to keep feeding mine crickets until it builds a web because I have seen it leap off the cork and pounce on a cricket. Edit to say I do the flat rock thing with my scorpions that I am worried are not eating.