Avicularia Avicularia

friendttyy

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Nov 29, 2012
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Hey guys i might be getting 2 avic avics and i did a lot of research about the SADS syndrome, the ventilation required and general care. I still have a few questions.
1) Will a mesh lid (similar to Exo-Terra ones) be okay for ventilation or should i drill more holes into the side?
2) Is it okay to have small live plants in its enclosure for humidity and recycling the air inside?
3) Is there any specific advice you would like to give?
4) Please post a picture of your Avicularia's enclosure?

Thanks!
 

BobGrill

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Good cross ventilation is important. That means having several holes on each side of the enclosure. Also live plants require lots of direct light, something which tarantulas hate.
 

friendttyy

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Oh because i saw some of other peoples enclosure and they had live plants in them.. Maybe i will get moss (not sure where i can get) and use moss instead... I will put vent holes on the lid, and along the side... Thanks Bob for the reply :D
 

Akai

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most people use a low light plant like a pothos which do not need bright light requirements. they can live off ambient light just fine.
 

ratluvr76

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most people use a low light plant like a pothos which do not need bright light requirements. they can live off ambient light just fine.
+1... plus Pothos look AWESOME in the enclosures.. imo. ;)
 

BobGrill

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Oh because i saw some of other peoples enclosure and they had live plants in them.. Maybe i will get moss (not sure where i can get) and use moss instead... I will put vent holes on the lid, and along the side... Thanks Bob for the reply :D
No problem. Pothos don't require as much light, so of you really want to use live plants I'd go with those. Personally while I'll admit that planted enclosures look nice, they seem to be a bit too much work to maintain to really be worth it. Moss is a great idea though. I use it in all of my enclosures. Gives it a really naturalistic look.
 

Storm76

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Hey guys i might be getting 2 avic avics and i did a lot of research about the SADS syndrome, the ventilation required and general care. I still have a few questions.
1) Will a mesh lid (similar to Exo-Terra ones) be okay for ventilation or should i drill more holes into the side?
2) Is it okay to have small live plants in its enclosure for humidity and recycling the air inside?
3) Is there any specific advice you would like to give?
4) Please post a picture of your Avicularia's enclosure?

Thanks!
There is no SADS syndrome. It's a wording for the unknown cause of a death for this species, because people tend to drown them in humidity with no ventilation.

1) To both - yes.
2) If you want to, keep in mind though that Avics tend to web up the top of the enclosure.
3) Provide a waterdish from 1.5" onward, if necessary put a few droplets of water into their webbing every week once adult. Misting is not to raise humidity, it's to offer water and a few droplets in the webbing serve the same purpose.
4) Check picture threads and the Avicularia genus thread on here.
 

Zigana

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I picked up some artificial plants at Hobby Lobby for my avic's enclosure. If you look around you can find some that have some height that are still stout but soft to not injure the tarantula. My avic stays in my bedroom where it is semi dark during the day. The enclosure is very dry with just a water dish and I do not mist the enclosure. I have a box fan on the floor to keep air circulating around the room so the enclosure stays well ventilated. The top of the enclosure is an all metal screen top. I don't care for the mesh screen due to a cat jumping on one causing the screen to come loose and end up on the bottom of an enclosure while I was away from home. Thankfully the tarantula was not injured nor running loose but safe in it's hide. I haven't purchased a mesh screen top since.
 

Poec54

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I MUCH prefer plastic plants. Live ones need a certain amount of soil moisture, and that can easily be too much for an Avic if you don't constantly monitor it. Screen lids take away most of the microclimate effect, and constantly exposes the spider to changes in temp, plus any drafts/fumes/smoke/chemicals in the house. Holes on the sides are much better. Read my post in the versicolor thread going on now.
 

cold blood

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Screen lids take away most of the microclimate effect, and constantly exposes the spider to changes in temp, plus any drafts/fumes/smoke/chemicals in the house. Holes on the sides are much better. Read my post in the versicolor thread going on now.
LMAO, I wrote basically the same thing in that versi thread.:)
 

tonypace2009

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good choice Avics are cool post pictures of your setup when your done.
 

timisimaginary

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the exo-terra's do have a row of ventilation holes along the bottom just below the doors, as well as the screen top, which enables air flow within those cages. it is airflow that is important, cross-ventilation is only one method of providing that, but the ventilation provided by the exo-terra's will work too. some might even say it's better, since the warming air in the cage causes it to rise out of the top, which then pulls in fresh air through the bottom vents, forming a natural convection current that ensures air movement through the cage.
ultimately it doesn't matter to the T if the airflow is side-to-side or bottom-to-top, as long as there is air movement so stale air can exit and fresh air can enter, and the exo-terra cages can supply that. my bigger concern with exo-terras would be the T getting it's feet/claws caught in the mesh.
 

Storm76

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the exo-terra's do have a row of ventilation holes along the bottom just below the doors, as well as the screen top, which enables air flow within those cages. it is airflow that is important, cross-ventilation is only one method of providing that, but the ventilation provided by the exo-terra's will work too. some might even say it's better, since the warming air in the cage causes it to rise out of the top, which then pulls in fresh air through the bottom vents, forming a natural convection current that ensures air movement through the cage.
ultimately it doesn't matter to the T if the airflow is side-to-side or bottom-to-top, as long as there is air movement so stale air can exit and fresh air can enter, and the exo-terra cages can supply that. my bigger concern with exo-terras would be the T getting it's feet/claws caught in the mesh.
I don't like them out of multiple reasons:

a) Humidity escapes because of that screen top like crazy. You can offer a whatever big waterdish, it's no use unless you cover said screen.
b) The T's claws can get stuck in it (seen enough of that, though not happening often it does)
c) If you have to modify an enclosure, why use it in the first place?

If you have made good experiences with them, go ahead. But I wouldn't ever house any T in those and I'm fully aware there are a lot of fans of those on here.
 

Poec54

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I don't like them out of multiple reasons:

a) Humidity escapes because of that screen top like crazy. You can offer a whatever big waterdish, it's no use unless you cover said screen.
b) The T's claws can get stuck in it (seen enough of that, though not happening often it does)
c) If you have to modify an enclosure, why use it in the first place?
+1. Nice looking, but way too expensive, and I don't like screen tops on any cage.
 
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