New to tarantulas

[Peavey91]

This is what's available even then it's what there breeders supply the stores. Now I do realize there are alot of species on there not suitable for a beginner such as the ornamentals, the orange baboon, and the Trinidad chevron.

 

[Venom1080]

avoid anything with baboon or ornamental at the end. also the two at the bottom are pretty mean and really fast, but their venom isnt as bad as the OWs. the pinktoes tougher for beginners to get right first try too. the haitian brown i think is Phormictopus cancerides, a pretty large defensive spider. anything else you should be fine with.

 

[Peavey91]

Can you guys give me some advice for the pink toe. For some reason in my minds eye that's what I see.

 

[Jeff23]

Can you guys give me some advice for the pink toe. For some reason in my minds eye that's what I see.

Are you wanting an Avicularia species to work with a live plant or just in a container with cork bark / plastic plants? If you want it to thrive with live plants you will need a lot of luck considering the number one mistake people make is adding too much humidity and not enough ventilation to match for their Avic. I can't help you on that type of setup.

I start an Avic in a 32 oz deli cup (or Walmart Cereal keeper if the Avic is 3/4" or larger). I put a lot of holes in the container to provide cross ventilation and ventilation at the top. Make sure the holes aren't too big because the T can fit through a small hole. Toothpick size is best if the T is small sized. I put a large piece of cork bark, multiple soft plastic plants from Hobby Lobby and about an inch of coco fiber substrate. Make sure any fake plants you place in it are thoroughly washed. I pour boiling water over mine as well to insure all chemicals are purged. I leave about one inch at the top of the container open with no objects so that my T won't be webbing up the lid. You can attach the objects inside the enclosure with a hot melt gun.

I give mine a couple water dishes to insure it has a little more humidity than normal. About once per week I spray a very small amount of water on one section of the cup (but not the T) to up the humidity a little. Since the T will web up the container somewhat I use a syringe to insure I can shoot water into the water dish when refills are needed.

 

[Peavey91]

I mean I don't plan on going right into a 10g tall or similar enclosure for an adult of the species. So I wouldn't be planting anytime soon. So advice for rearing from sling to juvis to adult would all be welcome.

 

[Venom1080]

I mean I don't plan on going right into a 10g tall or similar enclosure for an adult of the species. So I wouldn't be planting anytime soon. So advice for rearing from sling to juvis to adult would all be welcome.

i keep mine the same from slings to adults. dry sub, lots of vent, water dish, and some plastic plants and wood to give them some webbing points near the top.

 

[Peavey91]

Obviously not the same container through adulthood though

 

[ChrisTy]

I currently have 2 Avic spp. They are not very forgiving for husbandry mistakes and can stress pretty easily. That said however if you do the right research you should be able to care for these beautiful species. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation and circulation. The only time I worry about humidity other that providing an always full water dish, is during the winter time when my house gets super dry. Even then I only wet down some of the substrate minimally. For my enclosure for my adult A. avic, I have attached a water dish higher up on the walls, provided cork bark leaned up against the side that is 3/4 the height of the enclosure, and have added some fake flowers and leaves to provide anchor points and hiding abilities. I have put a lot of ventilation holes throughout the enclosure. I have tried many different set ups for my A avic and she never seemed to thrive until I designed the current one I just explained.

I am surprised no one has linked this yet. This is a great thread about Avicularia husbandry.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-husbandry.282549/#post-2461399

 

[Peavey91]

That was a pretty good article actually. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks k you

 

[ChrisTy]

I also wanted to add that avics can Jump! and I mean Jump! Mine constantly leap across the enclosure to pounce on their prey. I'm sure they can jump a few feet at a time. During a rehousing session with my adult female she leaped from her old enclosure and just flew in the air and tried to run away. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Just be prepared, because being prepared saved me from having to go searching for a fleeing spider. I also remembered to keep everything close to the ground during the rehouse just in case of a leap, so that the fall would not injure it.

 

[Jeff23]

I also wanted to add that avics can Jump! and I mean Jump! Mine constantly leap across the enclosure to pounce on their prey. I'm sure they can jump a few feet at a time. During a rehousing session with my adult female she leaped from her old enclosure and just flew in the air and tried to run away. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Just be prepared, because being prepared saved me from having to go searching for a fleeing spider. I also remembered to keep everything close to the ground during the rehouse just in case of a leap, so that the fall would not injure it.

True.. Always keep a catch cup handy. I keep a 16 oz deli cup and lid handy in case a T ever does get loose.

 

[Peavey91]

Yes that's something I will be ready for. I don't plan on doing any rehousing on my dresser. But I do plan on having a spare deli cup as well a the top of a Coke bottle throuroughly washed out for catch cups. I've seen videos of these guys jumping, and I know that falls can kill them easily

 

[Anoplogaster]

Honestly, there really isn't anything difficult about keeping avics IMO. Most often, folks that have issues are following crappy caresheet advice, which are a death sentence for them. You set them up properly, and they do just fine Same goes for any T, really. I wouldn't necessarily put it on a scale of difficulty. They're just different. Certain species require certain types of care. If the keeper takes the responsibility to learn what their species needs (and trusts the advice from people who already have them), they can have any T

A. versicolor is a fun one to raise from slinghood to adult! They already start their lives as beautiful little fuzzy blue gems. You can often find them for $30-40 as slings. As they grow, their colors change and become more complex..... from a blue striped abdomen to a reddish burgundy. Very attractive Ts.

I'd say the live plants add a bit of challenge to your care. Mostly because live plants will need to be tended to, which requires you to poke around the enclosure much more often than you otherwise would. Ts do best when left alone. Obviously, you can't ignore them completely. But I like to disturb them as little as possible. With their strongest sense being vibration, cage maintenance probably puts them on sensory overload.

 

[Peavey91]

That's true. If anything ide like to get something like a peace Lilly the petite kind. There low maintenance petite a don't get to large, take kindly to not being water much or over watering. And there leaves are sturdy.

 

[Andrea82]

A peace lily needs somewhat more moisture than the substrate for an Avicularia should be, but it could work, just make sure there is enough ventilation. I am not sure if the plant would do well without sunlight, since you can't keep a T in sunlight. And on top of that, the leaf and flowerstems will likely be webbed up in a tunnel bij the Avic.
I would try to go for a slightly bigger sling, just to give yourself slightly more room for small mistakes, a bigger sling meaning 4th instar and up.

Some good info for starters:
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/beginner-info-read-before-posting.153508/

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/basic-tarantula-anatomy.5095/

 

[viper69]

But what makes pink toes as sling to juvis harder to care for?

People DO NOT do the proper amount of research and think all Ts are the same more/less. They end up keeping Avics in moist/stuffy containers with POOR air exchanges, this kills Avics in a matter of months without the owner even knowing. It's the only genus we have in the forum with a TON of "Help my Dying Avic".

People just don't care about the EXOTIC animal they are buying.

Can you guys give me some advice for the pink toe. For some reason in my minds eye that's what I see.

If you have questions about the Avic post I did that you read, just ask me.

 

[Peavey91]

I tried looking on here but couldn't find anyone selling avic versicolor slings. And I don't know if anyone local has any? I'm in the bay area California, you'd think there would be some type of specialist t or invert store but there's not, the aquaria hobby is big out here.

 

[viper69]

I tried looking on here but couldn't find anyone selling avic versicolor slings. And I don't know if anyone local has any? I'm in the bay area California, you'd think there would be some type of specialist t or invert store but there's not, the aquaria hobby is big out here.

I know for a fact that Kelly Swift of Swift Inverts just hatched some out, google him up. He's a TOP breeder and seller, ALSO excellent packer, the gold standard IMO.

Nothing worth mentioning in NorCal. An invert store? Too small a market to have a placed dedicated to only inverts. I don't get the impression you are familiar w/the market in which we have a hobby for.

However, all the major dealers and sellers for herps are down in SoCal, including the shows too. Better weather, and just larger number of people.

 

[Peavey91]

Yeah I'm not familiar with the market yet, I've been doing searches galore over the past few weeks that's how I stumbled onto this forum. I've always found forums to be amazing help when hobby such as ours are concerned and mostly completely honest and helpful people. Does swift inverts have a website?

The only thing I'm sad about is thay this forum doesn't have a board on tapatalk.

I know for a fact that Kelly Swift of Swift Inverts just hatched some out, google him up. He's a TOP breeder and seller, ALSO excellent packer, the gold standard IMO.

Nothing worth mentioning in NorCal. An invert store? Too small a market to have a placed dedicated to only inverts. I don't get the impression you are familiar w/the market in which we have a hobby for.

However, all the major dealers and sellers for herps are down in SoCal, including the shows too. Better weather, and just larger number of people.

 

[viper69]

Does swift inverts

Google

this forum doesn't have a board on tapatalk

Used to!!! it was great too!! @MrDeranged