A. versicolor care.

[auganator]

I just purchased an A. versicolor (my first arboreal). one notable thing I've noticed in the care sheets for this species, is a high sling mortality rate, i would like to know how to avoid this. my current plan is to put him in the arboreal sling tank i bought from jamies tarantulas (i know a deli cup works just as well, but it was cheap and i liked the way it looked). I was going to keep him on top of one of my snake terrariums, a few inches away from the ceramic heat lamp, to keep the temps at around 80, mist every other day to keep humidity at around 80%, and throw some dwarf isopods in there to help with any mold growth. anybody have any better ideas? the sling i'm getting is 3/4 inch.

 

[Enn49]

Misting can do more harm than good. You need plenty of cross ventilation and give it a water bowl, a bottle top will do and it will do fine. The areas where Avics live has high humidity at ground level but up in the trees where they live the wind disperses it hence the need for cross ventilation to mimic this. Many care sheets are out of date, a lot has been learnt about their care since they were written.

 

[Kymura]

Can't improve on what's just been said
Just remember stuffy enclosures are very bad for avics.

 

[Redacted]

Can't improve on what's just been said
Just remember stuffy enclosures are very bad for avics.

Actually, for people too. Gotta have a breeze.

 

[SpiderDad61]

All well said. If using a "Jamie's"enclosures, which are simply amac boxes, which I use all the time. Flip up upside down, and glue a piece of cork bark with a couple fake leaves on it up the whole side. It helps the lil avic with web anchor points and creates a more natural environment. Don't mist, don't soak the substrate. Just a water dish. Also, minimal substrate. Here's a pic of my avic versi sling in its amac box enclosure.

 

[Tomoran]

I just purchased an A. versicolor (my first arboreal). one notable thing I've noticed in the care sheets for this species, is a high sling mortality rate, i would like to know how to avoid this. my current plan is to put him in the arboreal sling tank i bought from jamies tarantulas (i know a deli cup works just as well, but it was cheap and i liked the way it looked). I was going to keep him on top of one of my snake terrariums, a few inches away from the ceramic heat lamp, to keep the temps at around 80, mist every other day to keep humidity at around 80%, and throw some dwarf isopods in there to help with any mold growth. anybody have any better ideas? the sling i'm getting is 3/4 inch.

Some great advice from all here. Ignore everything you've read about them needing high humidity. Most folks now feel that the majority of unexplained deaths can be attributed to people keeping these guys too moist and stuffy. I've had mine for going on three years, and I got her as a 1/2" sling. I kept her in a Jamie's arboreal sling enclosure on dry substrate at temps around 70 during the winter high 70s during the summer, and she did fine. As there was no room for a water dish, I would carefully squirt some water on her webbing to give her a drink (today, I would use a 32-oz deli cup with a dish). And, as others have said, make sure that there is good ventilation. That's all. I would be very careful keeping it next to a heat source as well, especially as a sling. It will do just fine at room temps.

Congrats...the vesicolor is a beautiful species!

 

[auganator]

Some great advice from all here. Ignore everything you've read about them needing high humidity. Most folks now feel that the majority of unexplained deaths can be attributed to people keeping these guys too moist and stuffy. I've had mine for going on three years, and I got her as a 1/2" sling. I kept her in a Jamie's arboreal sling enclosure on dry substrate at temps around 70 during the winter high 70s during the summer, and she did fine. As there was no room for a water dish, I would carefully squirt some water on her webbing to give her a drink (today, I would use a 32-oz deli cup with a dish). And, as others have said, make sure that there is good ventilation. That's all. I would be very careful keeping it next to a heat source as well, especially as a sling. It will do just fine at room temps.

Congrats...the vesicolor is a beautiful species!

ill take your advice on the humidity, and just use a bottle cap as a water dish. it would be a good 6-8 inches away from the heat lamp (which is only 60w) my room gets down into the 60's sometimes in the winter so i just want to take the edge off. im actually keeping my B. boehmei sling about 6-8 inches on the other side of the heater, hes doing good so far, keeps it around 76-80 degrees in there.

 

[IamKrush]

Becareful with misting. Found mold today in my veriscolor enclouser when i went to feed it today.

 

[kormath]

You don't need to mist them, maybe once a week or less if it's really dry there so they can drink the droplets. water dish is plenty for humidity.

 

[IamKrush]

You don't need to mist them, maybe once a week or less if it's really dry there so they can drink the droplets. water dish is plenty for humidity.[/QUOTE
Thankfullly thats the only issue all other Ts have no issue. New Substrate was replaced and im gonna use bottle cap since its big enough for it