New to the world of T's

[High_Rolling_T]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the world of T's.

I just got my first T, a lovely little A. avicularia 2 days ago for a b-day present from my girlfriend. I am new to everything and the last research I have done was about 6 years ago when I was looking for a new pet and settled on a cornsnake instead(easier to convince mom then to get that lol). Anyways, I have several questions after reading over many posts.

1.) As stated, my little guy(not sure if it is a guy , but hey, 50% chance til I get molt to examine), named Ted, is an A. avicularia. Right now I say he has a leg span of about 2.5-3 inches(closer to the 3" size I'd say). Is a 10 gallon terrarium too big?

2.) I notice in a few threads that there should not be more than 1.5x the spiders leg span between the top of the terrarium and the substrate. What is the reasoning for this? Is it purely for safety from prevention of falling long distances?

3.) What are a good suggestion for setting up the terrarium? I mean since A. avicularia are arboreal then I'd assume standing the terrarium up long ways would be a good idea for giving more room to climb, but then again, if I'm keeping only about 1.5 x between the top and substrate wouldn't this be pointless and essentially limit the room as there is less width to move?

4.) How much truth is there to T's drowning in their water bowl's? I've noticed in some pictures people add pebbles/rocks to their bowls to keep it shallow but allow more water/bring the water near the top in deeper bowls(mine is kind of deep but i keep the water shallow at the bottom), this seems like the best solution and prevention to me.

5.) About how often should I mist the terrarium?

6.) I read about the possibility of the spider pushing the lids up? Is there a big worry with this? I currently have it latched on with 2 clips on each far side of the enclosure(that is the short sides). It is rather easy for me to pull it up about a quarter of an inch, and I am unsure the strength of Ts. Should I put something on top to hold it down until I have more clips to keep it more secure?

7.) How long has it taken your Ts to settle in? I've noticed Ted has started to move more today, but for the most part he has been chilling on the side and keeping still.

8.) If he doesnt eat within 24 hours should I take out the crickets? I opened the small kritter keeper he came in and left it in the larger terrarium friday to allow him to come out on his own time. I asked the pet shop I got him from the feeding schedule they had him on and they said monday/friday 2-3 medium crickets. I purchased him friday morning before they had fed him. After several hours without Ted moving from the kritter keeper I put a cricket in with him to see if that could help him settle and adjust. By saturday he still hadnt left the keeper but had eaten the cricket. By saturday night he was out into the terrarium so i removed the keeper. I added 2 crickets to the enclosure since he hadn't eaten his usual amounts(i added 2 only due to the size of the terrarium doesnt worry me that they will gang up and attack him, and even if they did he could quickly escape up the wall, and also the fact that he hasnt come off the wall as far as I know of) Should I remove them? Also, should I of only added 1 at a time?

9.) What are some pre molting signs for A. avicularia

10.) Will being next to hamster disturb Ted? I just bought my g/f a robo dwarf hamster for her b-day(mine is the 12th and hers is the 14th) and it is going to be living in my room. Will the vibrations from the hamster running on the wheel disturb Ted? Their enclosures are about 4-5 inches apart on top of my wood dresser

And last question(finally, I know lol):
11.) What is the growth rate for A. avicularia?

Thanks for any answers to questions! I understand if you dont wanna answer them all cause I got a lot bouncing around my mind.

I'll try and get pictures of Ted and his terrarium up soon for you all to see! I have loved his company so far and can't wait to get more Ts in the future because I'm sure he will be a great first T.

- Erik

 

[High_Rolling_T]

Oh wow, completely forgot the main question I wanted to ask:

How often should I clean out the enclosure? Should I completely remove and replace everything or just clean out the substrate? Id assume completely removing to clean off any feces left around

Thanks again

- Erik

 

[Mack&Cass]

First, welcome to the hobby and I hope you'll enjoy your guy (or girl).

As for your questions:

1. I'd say a 10 gallon may be a bit too large for him if you don't plan on tweezer-feeding him, but as long as you notice he can catch his prey no problem in the 10 gallon, then it should be fine.

2. The whole 1.5x body length between sub and the top is meant for terrestrial tarantulas. Arboreals, especially Avics, are a lot less likely to get injured from a fall. In another thread on here, someone said their Avic fell like 4.5' onto the ground and was fine. I doubt a terrestrial T would be able to take a fall like that. Avics are tree-dwellers and are a great example of a purely arboreal T....unlike pokies and obts and the like who have both terrestrial and arboreal tendencies.

3. If you notice your T is fine with finding its prey (once again, I recommend tweezer feeding) then standing the 10 gallon on end is a fine set up.

4. As far as the water dishes go, the general rule is give one to your T when it reaches 2". You can put in pebbles just to be on the safe side, but we use plastic bottle lids for most of our 2"+ Ts without pebbles/stones and we haven't had a single T drown.

5. Some people mist, some people hydrate the substrate. I prefer to spray the substrate until it's moist (not sopping wet, you shouldn't be able to see puddles of water). You can mist the sides if you want, however, if you have a lot of ventilation, misting will quickly prove to be pointless.

6. If you're going to have the 10 gallon on it's end then your lid will be at the front of the enclosure. If you have those clips in place, then you should be fine. Just as long as it can't push the door on the lid open or anything (assuming there is a door on the lid...there is on most aquarium lids)

7. All Ts are different, if yours is just kind of hanging out on the side then he should be okay. You'll know he's comfy when he starts setting up shop by putting up webbing and so on. Our Avics have taken anywhere from 1 day to a couple of weeks to start webbing up their enclosures.

8. We prefer to feed our Ts one cricket at a time, usually once a week, but it takes us 3 hours to feed all of our Ts (and cage maintenance and changing water dishes) so that's why we only do it once a week. Since you only have one T, you can feed him more often if you'd like. Since he's already 3", I wouldn't say more than 1 cricket 2-3 times a week. We are huge fans of tweezer feeding, we tweezer feed everything. Like I said before, if you're going to keep him in a 10 gallon, you'll probably need to tweezer feed him. Just hold the cricket by its end on the tweezers and let it walk along the webbing that Ted has put up, and if Ted wants it, then he'll eat it. If not, then you can prekill it and leave it on his webbing, and then dispose of it when it starts to rot (which will be the next day pretty much). You could also not prekill it and just put it back with the rest of your crickets, and try again later. If you don't want to tweezer feed, then you can just let the cricket run around on the ground and Ted may get it if he's exploring or what not. He'll most likely molt up in his webbing, so the cricket doesn't pose a big threat if it's on the ground - but it does make it harder for Ted to find if he's in the mood for some eats.

9. Premolt for an Avic is pretty much the same as premolt for any other species. Not eating, lethargic, fat. Now, being fat isn't a sign of premolt, but if he's got some junk in the trunk and is refusing food for a couple of weeks, chances are he's in premolt.

10. I don't think the hamster should disturb Ted. He may disturb you while you're trying to sleep like our stupid hamster (which we gave away because mammals aren't our thing haha). If you're worried about it you could always just relocate one of them. But the hamster shouldn't disturb it anymore than you pulling open your dresser drawers or the like.

11. Avics are one of the slower growing arboreals (which is still fast compared to some terrestrial Ts). They can hit maturity in about 2-3 years and then males will live ~1 year afterwards, females will live about 7-15 or so years. Our avics are still slings so I don't have any firsthand experience with that. But, I know they're certainly not the longest lived.

Good luck with Ted

Cass

 

[Mack&Cass]

To answer the other question. There's really no need to clean out the entire enclosure unless you develop a mold or mite problem. When you feed him, just look around for any left over bolus' (cricket remains), and poop, and just take tweezers to remove them and throw them out. As long as you keep up on it (the leftover food especially), then you shouldn't really ever need to do the whole thing. Being an Avic, he'll most likely poo on his web or the sides of his enclosure - or you if you ever handle him. If he poos on his webbing, then I wouldn't really worry about it, and if it's on the sides, you could just use some normal water, spray it and wipe it off.

Cass

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

Welcome!!

1 - a 10 gallon is a little too big for him but he will grow into it eventually.
2 - depends on the sp but generall for burrowers there is more substrate so it's less of a fall but for arboreals, yes, it is to keep them from hurting themselves if they fall.
3 - I'd go with a little KK or at MOST a 5 gallow tank right now.. You can check out RobC tutorial if you are up for a project..
4 - for your t I would use a bottle cap.. So t's that drown in their water bowls have a big waterbowl and simply can't get out.. The rock help prevent this..
5 - I mist mine a few times ever 2-3 days but it depends on where you live if the humidity is higher like in FL.
6 - I'd latch it down nice and snug.. Most of us have had t's escape and not know how they got out of an opening such as the size of a dime or openings.
7 - yes.
8 - Generall 1-3 days.. If they eat right away then they will start doing their thing.. clean and organize..
9 - Premolting includes: rejecting food and a lot of extra webbing at if it encloses itself in a dome of web to protect itself.. It's hard to tell with most arboreals but they tend to get darker or faded color.
10 - Avics grow fairly quickly.. At your size i'd say abut 3-4 months id that for another molt..
1


Kris

 

[Fyreflye]

Welcome! I've been keeping Ts for almost a year, but i picked up my first Avic just a few days ago. Cute, aren't they?

You'll get great advice on these forums- and you already have.

A few things to remember about Avics (what i've learned about them, i could very well be missing some info, so keep researching!):

*They are arboreal, which means in the wild they are climbers, and often dwell in trees. They enjoy having vertical space to explore.
*Humidity is an Avic's friend. Daily misting (i use warm water, not room temp, but nowhere near hot) can help keep humidity up.
*Avics are webbers! They will likely create their own hides out of webbing, and it is important for them to have 'things' to attach their webbing to (sticks, plants, decor, etc).
*They can be shy, and some will actually poo at you in defense. Yes, poo.

I know i'm missing something here, i'm sure others will add to this. Have fun with your new pet, and POST SOME PICTURES if you get a chance!

 

[jebbewocky]

If you just got him, I'd advise taking those crix out, and waiting 2 weeks to feed. They take awhile to settle in and don't eat for a bit.

Welcome to the boards!

 

[BCscorp]

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=153508
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=145454
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/spiders.html

And enjoy your T(s)