gonna try out avics one more time

I got a few A. avics a couple years ago and wasn't too impressed with them just because they didn't have anything too noteworthy, but after seeing a few versi slings at a recent bug fair I decided to give them one more shot at redemption. I picked up three versis and already I am quite impressed with them. All have started webbing elaborate webs and have attacked living prey as large as them. And because the room I keep them in is lit by natural light (I have a few solar tube lights that pick up the light from outside and focus it) they seem to almost glow electric blue on the shelf I keep them on. Now they are front and center of my collection and I finally see why some people like avics so much. I think I'm in love haha. Your experiences?

klawfran3 said:

I got a few A. avics a couple years ago and wasn't too impressed with them just because they didn't have anything too noteworthy, but after seeing a few versi slings at a recent bug fair I decided to give them one more shot at redemption. I picked up three versis and already I am quite impressed with them. All have started webbing elaborate webs and have attacked living prey as large as them. And because the room I keep them in is lit by natural light (I have a few solar tube lights that pick up the light from outside and focus it) they seem to almost glow electric blue on the shelf I keep them on. Now they are front and center of my collection and I finally see why some people like avics so much. I think I'm in love haha. Your experiences?

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I just sold two juvenile A. avics for those reasons. They just didn't spark my interest that much. I'm not enamored with the genus in general, I think I'll probably enjoy my irminias when I finally get them more tbh. A couple of years down the road though I'd like to try my had at pokies. We'll se how the irminias do for me although so far my terrestrial species are my faves.

I've got an adult female Avicularia sp. Petsore (pretty sure she's A. avic) that I've had pretty much since I got into the hobby. She hasn't really wowed me at any point, but I keep her around because she's such a sweetheart to work with. She's never threatened or even tried to poop on me, even during the height of my n00bness when I deserved to get pooped on. She's always my go-to spider when I'm hanging out with an arachnophobe who expresses genuine interest in my spiders.

This little Avic of mine seems to have learned that 99% of the time, when her enclosure opens, food or water is soon to follow, because most of the time when I open it she crawls up to the mouth of her tube web and waits there either until I give her a cricket, or she feels water droplets hitting her web. If someone wants to see one of my spiders up close, what I'll do is, I'll have the person sit on the floor with me, then I'll put her jar down on the floor between us and open it up. And that's all it takes. Most of the time she crawls up to the mouth of her tube web and sits there calmly and patiently. As soon as they see that she doesn't immediately try to escape or attack, the fear starts ebbing away. And once they see those adorable pink feet, it's all over. It's simply impossible to fear or hate something that has a pink pedicure. And Amaranth the Avic always gets a cricket at the end of the demonstration as a reward for her work as an Ambassador. (No, I don't think Tarantulas can be trained, but I also see no harm in rewarding her for a job well-done, even if she doesn't know she's doing it.)

My two A. metallica slings, on the other hand, are a lot more interesting - they're more active, their feeding response is better, and they have more interesting little "quirks." One of the two is a spunky little beast - before I moved it into a 32 oz. deli it chased water droplets when I drizzled water on its web. Cutest thing ever! Looked like a little eight-legged kitten chasing a lazer pointer. Bit of a bummer that I have to use a needle and syringe to dispense water now though; I don't get to see that cute little behavior any more.

I'm also hoping to get some A. versicolor slings within the next couple of months; those should be a lot of fun to raise, based on everything people have said about them here on the boards. Although, technically, these guys probably aren't going to be Avics for much longer, so I don't know if those count or not. :sarcasm:

TL;DR - I started out feeling a little iffy about the genus, but now that I've given them a chance, I'm enjoying Avics very much.

Just keep them dry with a water dish and some good ventilation. If you do that you should be able to keep them just fine.

ratluvr76 said:

I just sold two juvenile A. avics for those reasons. They just didn't spark my interest that much. I'm not enamored with the genus in general, I think I'll probably enjoy my irminias when I finally get them more tbh. A couple of years down the road though I'd like to try my had at pokies. We'll se how the irminias do for me although so far my terrestrial species are my faves.

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I really like the P. Irminias I have. They make wonderful burrows and are always hungry. They're a real stark contrast from the A. Avicularia I have who would refuse food and do no webbing. luckily one Avic turned in to a mature female so I'll attempt breeding soon.

I recommend trying to get one of the less common Avic species like amazonica or juruensis. Metallica is awesome too. More interesting than A.avic IMO.

Love the avics!
I have enjoyed my female A avic who is sub-adult now.
I also have a tiny 3/4" A diversipes who is just a frustrating little irritant. Will barely eat anything (eaten maybe 3 times since I acquired her 7/8 weeks ago. She's been offered 30 or so live and prekilled pinheads plus a beheaded tiny baby mealworm). Little interest in hunting or eating since get-go. She just sits on her leaf 24/7, no webbing, no moulting. Frustrating! She's well-ventilated (I actually put her in my A avic's old sling container) with water bowl. Skinny little thing, I can't imagine she will make it.
But big girl A avic is a sweetheart -- adore her and had such high hope for diversipes. Oh well.