New Sling. Need some advice

ARPotts · Aug 26, 2014

Okay, so today I got a call from The Spidershop saying the Brachy i ordered is no longer instock, and they kindly replaced it with a sling of my choice. After browsing my options decided its time for something new, and went for Avic Vsersicolor... Now, this is my first arboreal T, and I've read that these in particular can be tough to raise from slings. Anyone got any advice for me? Any pointers? Examples of their Avic sling enclosures would be great!
Many thanks in advance
Adam

goodoldneon · Aug 26, 2014

Get yourself acquainted with the Search function - it's your friend.

ARPotts · Aug 26, 2014

Thank you for the (less than) helpful reply "goodoldneon". I have already done my research but thought I'd get some advice from other members of this community, and for them to confirm I'm set for this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that one of the reasons for this forum?
If anyone can give me some real advice that would be great

Because, this is my first arboreal T sling, I don't really know what to expect. I'm under the impression (correct me if I'm wrong) that as slings thy are bigger than, for example, a brachy sling. So, I have set up 3 enclosures ready, so the animal isnt sat waiting for me to faff around getting an enclosure. Note, the enclosure I use will only be temporary, unless you guys think it is okay, as I'm waiting for some taller deli cups to arrive (a week at max)
All three tubs I have set up:

The middle tub (interior)

Biggest tub:

I know they like more humidity than others, so i mixed some moss in with the coco fiber. I also know proper ventilation is essential with this species, so could anyone let me know if there are enough holes, or to add more

Thanks again

pyro fiend · Aug 26, 2014

ARPotts said:
Thank you for the (less than) helpful reply "goodoldneon". I have already done my research but thought I'd get some advice from other members of this community, and for them to confirm I'm set for this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that one of the reasons for this forum?
If anyone can give me some real advice that would be great
Because, this is my first arboreal T sling, I don't really know what to expect. I'm under the impression (correct me if I'm wrong) that as slings thy are bigger than, for example, a brachy sling. So, I have set up 3 enclosures ready, so the animal isnt sat waiting for me to faff around getting an enclosure. Note, the enclosure I use will only be temporary, unless you guys think it is okay, as I'm waiting for some taller deli cups to arrive (a week at max)
All three tubs I have set up:
I know they like more humidity than others, so i mixed some moss in with the coco fiber. I also know proper ventilation is essential with this species, so could anyone let me know if there are enough holes, or to add more Thanks again

first of all nice plans! actually is better then mine for my a.avic. and iv had that lazy fart for over 6months

so i must be doing something right o.0 tho he/she will be getting a new digs in a week or 2 when i get around to it XD evn tho it wont eat much -.-

however you are well prepared it looks like you have everything in tip top shape only thing id change is maybe a lil slab of cork in the larger 2 enclosures. mine loves it.now to the humidity everyone will tell you its a fluke as many of us keep them bone dry. with alot of ventin [idk how much most use tho] iv actually kept mine with only misting its sub durring a molt[just bearly an inch big dont trust a bowl] and give it a few drops of water on its web mat every week or less.

also tho those arent tall cups i believe it would work if you give little to no sub in the smallest one [i myself have mine in a beta cup] .. but bigger then brachy slings? eh i guess it depends. my guy came at 3/4 in and my smallest bracky just came in at like 1/2 so id say similar?? but i know they arent the smallest

Poec54 · Aug 26, 2014

I've got 10 species of Avics, all raised from slings. I use 16 oz deli cups for my Avic slings (the one you have on the left looks best by far). The plastic plant is good, that's what I use. I'd make the airholes larger, you need cross ventilation. Remember, as they spin, they'll cover some of the holes with silk. I give all of my Avic slings small water bowls, even 1/2" slings. None have ever drown. Substrate should be dry. Forget the nonsense you read about any Avics needing extra humidity, that's what kills them: moist stuffy cages with condensation. They're up in trees where breezes quickly dry things out after the rains. I LIGHTLY mist mine once a week or so (more when it's warm, less when its cool). The misting is only on their silk, for them to drink, not for humidity. Don't hose down the cage. The way most Avics die in captivity is people mist them too often and soak the substrate. Always err on being a little too dry, rather than a little too wet. Being in the UK, your spider room is probably cool, and all the more reason to keep things dry.

Avic slings will make a silk sheet/tube near the top of the cage, and they'll seal themselves in when they're premolt. I'll put in several small crickets at a time, and the spider will come down and grab them one at a time. Since the crickets are on the ground, and the spider is elevated, I've never had a problem if a cricket is in the cage when the spider molts. It's important not to give it crickets that are too big and intimidating.

ARPotts · Aug 26, 2014

Thanks for the replies so far, pyro fiend and Poec!
Okay, so the spider will be arriving tomorrow, so I shall leave the bigger tub to dry out a bit, this will be the one I use. I'm gonna add some more vent holes too.
Thanks for the tips on humidity! And the watering just on the silk is a good idea to keep them hydrated. One more question though...
Will this species scavenge from dead crix, like the terrestrial slings I've had? Reason being is at the moment I have no smaller crix, not till a the end of next week

xkris · Aug 26, 2014

you need way more holes. way more. it has to have GOOD air flow. from all sides. drill more holes on the sides. concentric rows of holes, from top all the way to very bottom. and then more holes on the top of container.
forget all that about humidity, not enough air flow and humidity is what kills them. better to have they drier than dead. give them air and give them largish water cap and they will be happy.
i never mist mine, but always give full water cap.

aside from that, your setup looks good. good luck.

Storm76 · Aug 26, 2014

Those things aren't really high enough. Avics need height to roam around at night (that's when they're most active) and those seem to me not that high. I'd provide bigger ones.

HungryGhost · Aug 26, 2014

This is what I made for my avic avic sling using some 32 oz deli cups.

Poec54 · Aug 26, 2014

ARPotts said:
Will this species scavenge from dead crix, like the terrestrial slings I've had? Reason being is at the moment I have no smaller crix, not till a the end of next week

They'll eat dead prey when they're hungry (which is most of the time) if you either drop it next to the spider or hold it with a forceps or tweezers and lightly touch the spiders front legs with it. They won't pick up dead crickets on the substrate.

---------- Post added 08-26-2014 at 09:37 AM ----------

Storm76 said:
Those things aren't really high enough. Avics need height to roam around at night (that's when they're most active) and those seem to me not that high. I'd provide bigger ones.

I really like 16 oz deli cups for Avic slings, they're about 4" high, which is plenty high for a baby Avic. When they get about 2", I move them into 32 oz deli cups. The only ones I start off with taller 32 oz cups to are the fast arboreal slings like Poecs, Cyrios, Lampros, and Stromatos, as they can zip out of a cup in the blink of an eye.

ARPotts · Aug 26, 2014

I got some 32oz cups on the way, so will upgrade to them when its a bit bigger, like poec said

And that's a real neat idea HunrgyGhost! It stops you interrupting them if they web the top of the tub

Storm76 · Aug 26, 2014

Poec54 said:
I really like 16 oz deli cups for Avic slings, they're about 4" high, which is plenty high for a baby Avic. When they get about 2", I move them into 32 oz deli cups. The only ones I start off with taller 32 oz cups to are the fast arboreal slings like Poecs, Cyrios, Lampros, and Stromatos, as they can zip out of a cup in the blink of an eye.

Yeah..."your mileage may vary" is still in effect with this hobby. I think mine are pretty much the same size and I rehouse them at around the same size, maybe a molt later than that. Only that I use half a gallon jars then (dunno if that's essentially the same as 32oz...not used to other than metric

).

PS: Now I know what bothered me in the pics from the OP - there's probably too much substrate in there! Half an inch is already enough for Avics from my experience during that time. Bigger enclosures I use 1" maybe 2 at the most.

tonypace2009 · Aug 26, 2014

Congrats on a versicolor you won't be disappointed. They grow pretty quick mine went from about 1/2 DLS to 5 1/2 DLS in 2 years and 4 months. Everyone pretty much covered the enclosure. It might seem funny but this is the first time to see a metric tape measure when I saw the picture of your enclosures I was wondering where you got a 11 inch deli cup from. I guess I need a cup of coffee to wake up running 1/4 speed today.

goodoldneon · Aug 26, 2014

ARPotts said:
Thank you for the (less than) helpful reply "goodoldneon". I have already done my research but thought I'd get some advice from other members of this community, and for them to confirm I'm set for this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that one of the reasons for this forum?
If anyone can give me some real advice that would be great [/quote}

It's about the best advice you can receive. This question has been posed hundreds, literally, hundreds of times - as such, it has been answered hundreds of times. I know we all think we're unique little snowflakes that deserve personal consultation - but we're not. Any question you could possibly imagine has already been asked and answered ad nauseum. Many of the more experienced, veteran members of this board no longer visit - I imagine, based on previous statements, it has a lot to do with the board being inundated with threads like "Is my tarantulla molt?" or "My tarantara not eating, is it dying - help ASAP?"

There's tons of "real advice" waiting for you at the end of a search - and what's great, it's alright there, at your fingertips, hours worth of reading. Without having to wait for answers to slowly trickle in.

But I know, you're situation is unique.

ARPotts · Aug 26, 2014

goodoldneon said:
ARPotts said:

Thank you for the (less than) helpful reply "goodoldneon". I have already done my research but thought I'd get some advice from other members of this community, and for them to confirm I'm set for this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that one of the reasons for this forum?
If anyone can give me some real advice that would be great [/quote}

It's about the best advice you can receive. This question has been posed hundreds, literally, hundreds of times - as such, it has been answered hundreds of times. I know we all think we're unique little snowflakes that deserve personal consultation - but we're not. Any question you could possibly imagine has already been asked and answered ad nauseum. Many of the more experienced, veteran members of this board no longer visit - I imagine, based on previous statements, it has a lot to do with the board being inundated with threads like "Is my tarantulla molt?" or "My tarantara not eating, is it dying - help ASAP?"

There's tons of "real advice" waiting for you at the end of a search - and what's great, it's alright there, at your fingertips, hours worth of reading. Without having to wait for answers to slowly trickle in.

But I know, you're situation is unique.

Click to expand...

That's nice... Now do me a favor. Get of your high horse and stop being an ass hole.
As for the genuine posts offering advice and sharing experiences, you have my thanks

timisimaginary · Aug 26, 2014

ARPotts said:
Thanks for the replies so far, pyro fiend and Poec!
Okay, so the spider will be arriving tomorrow, so I shall leave the bigger tub to dry out a bit, this will be the one I use. I'm gonna add some more vent holes too.
Thanks for the tips on humidity! And the watering just on the silk is a good idea to keep them hydrated. One more question though...
Will this species scavenge from dead crix, like the terrestrial slings I've had? Reason being is at the moment I have no smaller crix, not till a the end of next week

once the sling has spun some webbing, you can place a dead cricket (or cricket piece) in its web and it will find and eat it. if it goes a day without eating, remove and repeat later. small living crickets can also be placed in the web to elicit a more immediate feeding response.

i would definitely add more holes to that container. my avic container is a 32 oz deli cup with fabric-mesh lid like what is used for shipping feeder insects: http://www.superiorshippingsupplies...ping_dark_greentpl/shopproduct_details/1045/1
they are a little taller than what is needed for a <1" sling but i don't worry about excess height as much for an arboreal that is a good climber. just make sure it is feeding well, if you place pre-killed prey in its web than the extra size is not a problem. you can also add enough sub to get the actual usable height where you want, i put a bit more sub in mine so the usable height inside the container was about 4". i started with a 1/2" A purpurea (actually arrived closer to 3/4") which has molted twice and is now over 1", and i figure i can keep him in here much longer than if i'd started him in a shorter cup. the less rehousing the better i figure. a piece of cork bar, partially buried in the sub and reaching to near but not touching the lid. the vented lid helps prevent moisture buildup, but you still need cross-ventilation so i added three rows of pinholes, two along the top edge of the container, and another row right above the substrate level. LOTS of pinholes ( i think mine has about 40-50 holes per row). i'd rather have more small holes than risk holes that are too large and allow the sling to escape.

dementedlullaby · Aug 26, 2014

Watch out for the size of the holes. I had holes a touch too big on a vial and one of my A. avics escaped. I would of never thought he could squeeze out but after watching some videos of tarantulas escaping teeny openings it became evident I needed to change that up.

That was panic worthy. Thankfully he was chilling on a pillow. I've remedied the problem now.

Enjoy your spider.

scorpionchaos · Aug 26, 2014

I agree if you think your holes should be fine then there to big

My first versi didn't do to well but my second one is doing much better

humid wise his tank is pretty moist but my ventilation (holes in the top of the lid) seems to more than enough as he is thriving very well. Then again he eat hours before he molts so I'm not sure if I would say he is normal...

tweakz · Aug 26, 2014

Cut out two large holes then hot glue some mesh covering over them, that's how I ventilate all my Arboreal slings. Provides a large amount of air flow and I don't have to worry about escapes from holes being too large.

ARPotts · Aug 27, 2014

Alrighty, so today my new addition will be arriving

Got the enclosure all set, added some more vent holes, and dried it out over night, trouble is its still a little bit humid in the tub, I suspect it will dry out in a few days. I'm sure a little humidity over the course of 2-3 days won't warm the Lil' guy.
Will post some pics when we're all set up

New Sling. Need some advice

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