A. purpurea slings - a matter of life or death

[R Thomas]

Hi All,

Having recently myself been unlucky enough to have had two unrelated unexplained deaths of A. purpurea slings, and having read that they can be difficult to raise to adulthood, I thought I would post a poll and see if this particular species has been found to be a bit delicate by the members.

For those who wonder how I lost two, one was dead on arrival from a reputable dealer although the other 4 slings sent at the same time and packaged the same (albeit different species) arrived safely. The other lasted about two weeks before I found it hanging off its artifical plant leaf.

I have had no issues with any other Avicularia species or infact any other species.

Richard

[Alonso Tolentino]

I have never owned myself this species, but 1 Avicularia metallica sling I was raising died for no aparent reason. Also, some friends of mine have had a bad time raising their Avicularia urticans slings (usually because they refuse to eat), although we have kept other species without problems (from very different genera). My Avicularia diversipes slings often refuse eating, but there are ocassions when they eat everything they can (it is, in some way, confusing). So, in my experience, some Avicularia species are difficult to raise to adulthood, or at least, more difficult than most species of tarantulas (maybe the altitude here doesn't help -more than 2400 meters above sea level-).

Alonso.

[R Thomas]

Hi Alonso,

Well, I started the poll to see if there was any evidence that the A. purperea was a bit delicate. Like I said to lose two spiderlings from different sources within days of each other seems bizarre to say the least. Infact the one that was DOA was the replacement I bought for the one that died in its enclosure. Luckily the dealer is shipping me another so hopefully I can see how this fairs along with my other remaining A. purperea spiderling I am watching over.

Richard

[Colin D Wilson]

It's always a high possibility that you have had some from a weak batch Richard, or that the individuals you got were destined to be the naturally selected

I have only had juvies, sub aduts and adults through the past years and all did well.

Elaine has raised from sling with no problems in the last few years, we have 5 slings here that are doing well. these are kept in large round tubs (6hx3d ins) and are kept fairly dry with a light misting for drinking water once a week, fed on bean weevils (6ish) or size2 brown crickets weekly. Feeding, moulting and web building all ok so far.

[Jamie Cooper]

I have never kept this species and to be honest, it's their delicate reputation that has put me off! This topic seems to come up whenever they are mentioned and a lot of people seem to have difficulties raising them. I keep A.versicolor and A.minatrix slings and have had no real issues raising them. I had a couple of versicolor deaths when they were very small, but haven't found them hard to rear since then. I'm steering clear of A.purperea though. A.diversipes is top of my "To Buy" list at the moment.

Jamie.

[Matthew Bagley]

I bought 2 of them as slings . One of them died at approx 2cm and the other seems to be doing well and is now approx 4cm .

[James Box]

every single purpurea sling i got died within a couple weeks of getting it. it's possible that they needed more room, but one already had loads and died just after a moult. gutting!!!

[R Thomas]

Well if nothing else this thread has got the community spirit going with posts now coming thick and fast. There is a very slight possibility that the A. purperea that originally died (bought locally from a shop a week or so earlier) and the A. purperea that was DOA came from the same mating as asking around other local shops it seems the shop I bought from buys their stock from the supplier that I ordered it mail order from. Perhaps as has been said before they are from a weak batch in which case lets hope the shipped replacement fairs better. The remaining A. purperea that I also bought from the shop this weekend seems to be ok so far but it is early days and this is housed in a 3" x 4" x 6" rectangular plastic storage container that I modded with 1 1/2" circular holes covered in fine Stainless Steel mesh hot glued into place which improves airflow. Well only time will tell if I am more successful this time so watch this space for updates.

Richard

[R Thomas]

Well I have just taken delivery of my new replacement A. purperea and rehoused it into a Lock and Klip 1.3L storage container that has been modified with two 38mm circular holes covered in stainless steel mesh and cosmetically finished with two plastic washers all hot glued in place to give it that port hole look. I will get around to photographing it at some stage to post on here.

Richard

[Nicola Dolby]

When tarantulas are Instar 3 or 4 they are very delicate, both physically and environmentally (their living conditions have to be pretty perfect). I have lost Avics, Chaetopelma and Haplopelma at this very young age before (though not purpurea, my girl is doing very well at the mo) its just one of those things. also there is the possibility of more moulting problems at a younger age (though this is just a hypothesis, I have neither the equipment nor the tarantulas to do a full study on this). Don't worry about it, when I got 3 diversipes a couple of years ago two died within a month, the third lived until old age got him. Its not you nor the seller, its life. Keep going!

[R Thomas]

Hi Nicola, well luckily for me the three slings of the Chilobrachys sp. "Aladdin" I bought from you are all happily making web heavens of their containers. As I do not know why the two A. purpurea died I cannot place the blame (if any is to be placed) on the supplier any more than I can be certain of the causes of death or my role in the death of one. There are just so many unknowns that cannot be taken in to consideration that a definitive answer will never be found. My initial reason for posting this thread was to try and see if there is any reason why the A. purpurea is on the face of it a bit hit and miss in the survival stakes.

On a sidenote, it never fails to amaze me of the level of care taken in safe packaging that all mail delivered tarantula spiderlings have had when they arrive with me. From dealers to individuals they have all been well packaged against knocks and bumps but with the weather starting to get colder and no idea how Royal Mail treats them and where they are kept from posting to delivery, the temperature is one variable that may have had an effect on the one dead on arrival.

I cannot however say that the losses have not affected me as they have. I do not like losing tarantulas on my watch so to say and as they are part of my family I get attached to each and every one of them. I know that nature can be cruel and that losses are inevitable - I have to deal with the loss of human life everyday in my job. Luckily I have pulled through the 'is it worth it' phase and decided that it definately is and I will take your advise to keep going!

Richard

p.s. If any of you feel 'it isnt worth it' then remember I have never refused a free tarantula in my life (nor for that matter have I ever been offered one lol - so I have to assume everyone feels 'it is worth it')

[Nicola Dolby]

glad your little Chilobrachys are doing well, they've got a habit of covering everything that doesn't move in web! I doubt there is anyone in the hobby who isn't moved by a loss, I can remember one unfortunate situation with a B. auratum bringing me to tears once. Thats why we keep them Richard, we love them. Keep collecting!!! (P.S. if you haven't got any already, have a look at P. rufilata. Lee is selling some at the mo and they are just the most georgeous spider. Totally cute and fluffy right up to adulthood, then they're majestic. Watch the temps though, too warm and the mature males can turn aggressive.)

[Alexander Ramsey]

I'm glad I read this thread. I've had two A. purperea and they both died as slings, one mid cast and the other just keeled over. I was gutted on both occasions cause my partner and I have a thing about avics and can't help throwing money at people who have them for sale. We have lost more of these than any other species by a long way and we read up extensively on their care when we realised how delicate they are. A 4 - 5% slide in humidity can be enough to cause problems if left unchecked for only a few days, specially at sling stage. Fortunately as they get bigger, they get more tollerent and we have some stunning versicolour, metalica and amazonica to name a few.
The best advice I can offer as a general rule is to keep dry and mist very lightly every few days till at least an inch or more.
Note the double pink mohican on this sp. amazonica. lol. Its worth the risk and effort with avics! Stunning species and full of character.

So in summary, try not to be put off with the sad times off avics cause they are well worth learning about and keeping.

[R Thomas]

Hi Alex,

Well, last night I checked on my new A. purpurea to find that it was mid moult but seemed to be slightly stuck so I checked again this morning to find that it was still attached to its moult. So I thought damn I have nothing to lose so careful grabbed the moult with my plastic chopsticks and gently lifted. Luckily it only seemed to be attached on top of the abdomen and came away leaving just a very small fragment that I hope will come off on its own. I must admit that both my A. avicularia and A. versicolor have not given me an ounce of issue. I intend to carry on through thick and thin until I have gotten at least one to adulthood.

At least knowing your not the only one with issues helps as you start to doubt your own husbandry skills.

Richard

[R Thomas]

Well, the A. purpurea that was stuck mid-moult has now died. I am beginning to think that this batch is a bit weak and so will not be replacing it from the same source if I ever get the courage to risk buying one again. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the last remaining A. purpurea I have does not succumb to a similar demise and have setup a much larger enclosure within which to keep my fragile slings in a more controlled humidity / temperature environment. My intended aim is to heat this enclosure with both a vertical wall mounted heat strip thermostatically controlled combined with a 50w temperature controlled aquarium heater inside a water filled container to assist both the maintainance of air temperature and humidity. I know this is probably overkill but I do not want to think it is my husbandry that is the issue.