Noob here! Help! Please!

Snowball

Arachnosquire
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Mar 18, 2007
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136
I've been trying to study tarantula's for a while now and finally went out and got a juvinile A. Avicularia, I'm pretty sure it's a female...I was just wondering about a few things.
1. How big should she be before I put her in a mid sized Exo-terra enclosure?

2. (Dunno if this is dumb) Do spiders groom themselves? lol. It looked like she was cleaning her toes with her mouth/fangs, should I be worried?

3. Lots of people tell me with an A. Avic to usually not worry with a hide, being arboreal they will spin their own. Will she spin her own if she isn't an adult yet? If not, what would be some good suggestions for an adequite arboreal hide? (I'll try to post a pic of her enclosure after work, it's one of those plastic terrariums flipped up on end, with some branches and cork bark and a small tree. I think it's nice, she seems to like it *Hasn't got off the wall yet:8o but there isn't really a hide.) She eats and drinks fine, and stays off the substrate, which is that eco-earth coconut stuff. (Bad?)

:confused: Help!? Bwahaha. It would be great if I could get some suggestions or what not. Thanks guys. :8o
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
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Aug 4, 2005
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595
dont really know about enclosure size. i usually tend to put mine in to large a tank acording to popular opinion. but as far as grooming themselves they do it quite often, no cause for alarm.
 

Cirith Ungol

Ministry of Fluffy Bunnies
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Dec 22, 2004
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That T will never go to the ground, it's an arboreal (tree dweller). So if you can fix the hide to the wall, for example by glueing it or screwing it on then the T might move in there. If not she'll certainly set herself up nicely in time. My A. versicolor has made a tube web in the corner of the tank and completely ignored all the other stuff I've put into the tank for her.


Edit: Never = hardly ever.
 

AviculariaLover

Arachnoknight
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Oct 20, 2006
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The set up you described sounds fine, and don't worry about it staying on the side. Sometimes they web up a lot, and sometimes they hardly do at all. It will probably take a liking to a certain spot on the bark or other decorations, don't worry if it doesnt move around much.

As far as when you could move it into an exoterra, I waited until mine was about 3.5 - 4 inches legspan. She hardly uses any of her tank though, at least as far as I see, maybe she moves around at night. But she has spun a hammock in one corner that she seems to love. I have peat (try to keep moist) on the bottom with a water dish, a few pieces of bark, and some fake plants (from a craft store, way cheaper than a pet store!). I like the exoterra because it provides plenty of room and plenty of ventilation, I spray every few days to keep up humidity. Avics live in the jungle so its fun to try to make their enclosures seem realistic {D
 

Snowball

Arachnosquire
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Mar 18, 2007
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Awsome, thanks for the info guys{D She seems to be doing great! I came home for lunch from work and she was on the cork bark for the first time :clap:
 

phil jones

Arachnoprince
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Dec 17, 2006
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1,051
then she will be ok good luck to you and her and i hope you enjoy this great hobby **** phil
 

stk5m

Arachnosquire
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Jan 12, 2007
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none of my avics have ever strayed far from their tube web. the rest of the cage must be very uninteresting to an avic.
 

ShadowBlade

Planeswalker
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Apr 1, 2006
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none of my avics have ever strayed far from their tube web. the rest of the cage must be very uninteresting to an avic.
Mainly thats as a protection from predators. Straying from the protection of their web means easy target for a bird. They sometimes venture out at night though.

-Sean
 

stk5m

Arachnosquire
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Jan 12, 2007
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even at night she does not move very far away unless its for a drink. trust me, i'm a night owl
 

monitormonster

Arachnoknight
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Mar 12, 2007
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196
I dunno, my Avic actually uses her skull hide....she never made a tube web in her cage and I have had her for about 4 months.

I dont think it would hurt anything to give it the option to have a hide if it wanted to use one.

I would wait til it is about 3" or so before I put it in a bigger cage. Seems like they like smaller areas.....
 

Snowball

Arachnosquire
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Mar 18, 2007
Messages
136
awsome Ill try it out...I just dont wanna keep rearranging her house, I dont wanna stress her out hehe
 
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