My First Tarantula! Well, sort of...

So, I went to the Northwestern Berks Reptile show on the hunt for a tarantula. I cared for the biology departments terrestrial t collection for 4 years so I'm not without experience. I wanted an Avic and swore that I would wait for the perfect one. Great plan, right? Right... So I saw this little avic in a plastic container way too small for it (her I hope) with bone dry substrate. She was missing a leg and a pedipalp? Good size though, her legspan would cover a small orange slice, I'm not sure how to measure her yet lol
That was it. I had to rescue her. Sigh...So I got her home and put her in a spare kritter keeper with Eco earth substrate and a cork tube hide and a water bowl made of a soda cap. Its just for now, until I get her 12x12x18 exoterra ready, and make sure she's eating nicely. I gave her one large cricket just to see if she'd eat. She jumped that bad boy before it hit the ground. I'll get her more tomorrow. Are there any complications to look out for regarding missing limbs and molting? She moves well and quickly. Her abdomen isn't wrinkly although its not nearly as large proportionately as the new world terrestrials I cared for...

Thanks!

Thy're arboreals so maybe a different enclosure set up.
They tend to web up higher so something with some height could be added that she can attach her webbing to would benefit her.
They also need cross ventilation on sides of enclosure.
I am enjoying my avic and hope you will too!
Congratulations -- hope you enjoy her.

Yes, avics are arboreal so you might want to get a tall container with LOTS of ventilation.
Also, I heard that bigger enclosures increase the chances of survival as avics are prone to die.
I too am also getting an avic, a tiger rump, a B. Vagans and hopefully a chinese mantis at the expo tomorrow.

Good Luck!

As I said the kritter keeper is temporary. She should be in the exo Terra 12x12x18 in about 3 or 4 days. I just wanted to make sure she was eating well before letting her into the big enclosure.

Sounds like you're on your way then, spiders adapt to missing some limbs quick as long as you have half of them the spider will be fine and will grow them back. Avics are very tenacious and are pretty hardy once you get them set up properly.

That's a relief! I swear I'm a nervous wreck!

Got any pics??

I'm gonna try to get some if she comes out tonight. She's already crunching on her 2nd cricket. Should I just keep offering her crickets until she doesn't eat them? Can you over fed a tarantula?

Rhiannonn said:

I'm gonna try to get some if she comes out tonight. She's already crunching on her 2nd cricket. Should I just keep offering her crickets until she doesn't eat them? Can you over fed a tarantula?

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Most know when to stop, adults you usually don't want to get too fat due to falling/ rupture concerns but slings and juvies grow fast enough that they can handle the extra food. I feed my slings maybe once or twice a week but its all up to preference, she certainly isn't going to starve.

Rhiannonn said:

I'm gonna try to get some if she comes out tonight. She's already crunching on her 2nd cricket. Should I just keep offering her crickets until she doesn't eat them? Can you over fed a tarantula?

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I see no reason to feed a t that size more than one prey item at a time. Although Avics that have built a nice web home in the upper reaches of the enclosure (most of them) can be left to pick off crickets as they need. They do tend to munch them all up quickly, so I prefer to feed one at a time.

Your t will probably be good for a solid wee after 2. The reason I wanted a pic, is because your description, especially of the abdomen, sounds an awful lot like a MM.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/gallery/files/1/0/7/3/4/9/img_20150301_162049.jpg is the photo link. Bad quality, I'll try to do better later. I don't want to stress her too much. I've only fed her one cricket at a time. Its fascinating to watch it eat.