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Avicularia Setup

LauraS

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37
Hello,

I want to get an avic of some sort from the reptile show next weekend. I've got an empty cheese puff container I want to use as its home. I'm going to poke holes on the sides for cross ventilation. I'm going to use a mix of vermiculite and coco fiber for a substrate (How deep? Do they burrow?). I've got a stick and some vines for it to climb on and web up.

Does this sound like a good setup? I assume it will also need a water dish but I'm having trouble figuring out how I can fill it without messing up any webs, lol. How do you all fill water dishes in Avic vivs?

Thanks!
 

Chubbs

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Hello,

I want to get an avic of some sort from the reptile show next weekend. I've got an empty cheese puff container I want to use as its home. I'm going to poke holes on the sides for cross ventilation. I'm going to use a mix of vermiculite and coco fiber for a substrate (How deep? Do they burrow?). I've got a stick and some vines for it to climb on and web up.

Does this sound like a good setup? I assume it will also need a water dish but I'm having trouble figuring out how I can fill it without messing up any webs, lol. How do you all fill water dishes in Avic vivs?

Thanks!
Avics do not burrow, so you don't need much substrate. They spend almost no time on the ground ever, they'll build their webs near the top of the enclosure. 1 to 3 inches will do fine. Just make sure there is lots of cross- ventilation, and it should mostly be in the top portion of the container. Keep the substrate dry and provide a water dish.
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MassExodus

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You don't need any substrate for an avic really, it just seems abnormal not to give them some:) If I were using a light, tall container like that id probably put 3 inches just to give it a good heavy base.
 

rénee

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I have my water dish at the bottom of the enclosure and i use a turkey baster to suck up the old water and then replace it, every so often i grab my long tongs and carefully pull out the empty bottle cap and give it a good rinse also.
My sling use to web over the water dish almost daily, and i would constantly have to wreck the webs, they will get over it and just do it again or go web somewhere else. Or as Chubbs has it setup you can glue it to the top somewhere (which is what i will do for rehousing)
 

Chubbs

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I don't quite agree with the whole not giving them substrate thing to be honest. Yeah sure you could probably get away with not giving them any, but having some substrate is useful when it comes to retaining moisture.
 

rénee

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This is what my sling is in, i do probably have a bit more substrate then needed, but the enclosure is also quite tall
 

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rénee

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I personally also don't like to mist my enclosure, my little one seems to have a hard enough time climbing the sides i don't need to add more "obstacles". So i overfill my water dish a bit every few days, I've actually been considering on injecting some water into the deeper part of the substrate with a syringe, not sure how beneficial that would be though and if it would even quite work the way I'm thinking?
 

Chubbs

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I personally also don't like to mist my enclosure, my little one seems to have a hard enough time climbing the sides i don't need to add more "obstacles". So i overfill my water dish a bit every few days, I've actually been considering on injecting some water into the deeper part of the substrate with a syringe, not sure how beneficial that would be though and if it would even quite work the way I'm thinking?
It could work, but I recommend saving it for a species that could actually benefit from it more. The water dish is all you'll need. Avics only ever have trouble climbing when in premolt, so I can assure you that misting the enclosure isn't causing that. Still there really is no point in misting t g e entire enclosure, just the area where the Avic spends most of its time. If/when it establishes a web, you can lightly mist the silk so it can drink from it.
 

rénee

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It could work, but I recommend saving it for a species that could actually benefit from it more. The water dish is all you'll need. Avics only ever have trouble climbing when in premolt, so I can assure you that misting the enclosure isn't causing that. Still there really is no point in misting t g e entire enclosure, just the area where the Avic spends most of its time. If/when it establishes a web, you can lightly mist the silk so it can drink from it.
Ya i was thinking about the injecting being more beneficial for the species that required it more, i may only inject when older and i know is getting to molt real soon for a bit of added humidity, we will see. As of right now the sling is everywhere there is no preferred spot yet haha, but yes it has created a few different spots of webbing, so i definitely could give it a whirl. Thanks for that input :)
 

LauraS

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Thanks for the info guys! I like the turkey baster idea. I'll post pictures when I get the setup ready to make sure it passes inspection. ;)
 

LauraS

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I hope this looks ok. I ended up with a bigger tarantula then then i had originally expected but she is beautiful so I'm not complaining. :) Avicularia versicolor.

I put a few inches of coco fiber mixed with vermiculite as a substrate. I put holes all the way around on the top of the container for cross airflow and I put a water bowl at the bottom. Is this a big enough enclosure for her you think?

Thanks.
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MassExodus

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I would triple that ventilation for an avic, maybe more. I'd put one hole in between each of those, and make 2 or three rows like that. Hope this helps, I'm at work or I'd post a pic.
 

MassExodus

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Naaa, avics need ventilation, all the humidity they need is a good sized water dish with fresh water, you can mist if its really dry where you're at, but its probably unnecessary, and they do not need moist substrate either :) Ventilation is always my top priority with avics.
 

MassExodus

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And if you don't ventilate properly, say with a moisture loving species, like a Theraphosa, then your substrate wont dry out and you get a moldy, stuffy environment that will kill a spider.
 

LauraS

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Thanks for the warning. I'll put some more holes in it this afternoon when I get off work. The substrate is damp (not soaked, but it is damp).
 

LauraS

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Thank you. :) I put some more holes in it tonight. I hope it's ok... She has started to web her enclosure already. Do you think it is big enough? I ended up getting a larger avic then I thought I was going to get, lol. She was just so pretty I couldn't pass her up. <3

I'm thinking of getting an exo terra for her but I'm worried that they don't have any cross ventilation. Does anyone have experience using those with avics? Or do you think what she's in will be fine for awhile where she is? I want to do what's best for her.
 

Meludox

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I personally think your current enclosure is adequate, and she is obviously comfortable if she's webbing.
I'm pretty sure a lot of folks here don't like exos for Avics because they don't have cross-ventilation, like you said.
 
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