How old do you think my Avic is?

[Naseem]

Just got my lovely Juvie A.Avic today but the pet shop has no idea how old it is other then it's in Juvenile stage so I thought I'd ask if any of you guys might know?

 

[pokie99]

How big is it? It doesn't look very large. I've got a 2 and 1/3" Metallica still with its sling coloration. I bought it 6 months ago, it has molted 2 times and has grown just a little under an inch during that time ( it always has food it can eat). If it has been fed regularly, it will be easy to determine the age.

 

[Naseem]

I'd say it's about 2/3 inches, I have no idea when it last ate, I tried to feed it today but just wasn't interested so I'll try again in a few days

 

[pokie99]

Do you mean 2 - 3 inches or 2/3 of an inch? It doesn't look very big.

 

[Naseem]

2 to 3 inches sorry

 

[pokie99]

It may be about L6. It depends on the conditions it was kept in, but I would say it's a little under an year or an year old. Arboreals tend to grow faster but from what I've seen from my Avicularia I think that's its age.

 

[Naseem]

Ok thanks, I was thinking about feeding it (I hate saying "it" but I don't know if it's a male or female) twice a week as it's in the Juvie stage then bringing it down to once a week/every 10 days. What you think?

 

[pokie99]

I feed my Ts whenever they're hungry (4 times a week depending on that if they're in pre - molt or have molted recently). The faster you feed it, the faster it will grow but if you don't feed it enough, you may end up with a small T. For example, in the local exotic pet shop a person brought a 5 year old Lasiodora striatipes mature female which is about 4" leg span while this sp. can reach a leg span of over 8". She hasn't been fed regularly and that's why she's so small. Now she eats like a beast! I think you should give it food whenever it's hungry. It won't be hungry all the time. When it reaches adulthood, then you'll feed it less often. I'm not an expert on feeding Ts but that's how I feed mine. About the sex thing: you can create a thread in the "What Sex is my Tarantula" section and if not me, someone else will help you sex it. You just have to photograph the area of the book lungs on the abdomen and in particular the curve between them.

 

[Naseem]

Ok thank you so much for your help & advice!

 

[pokie99]

You're welcome.