Mould

[asmaa farooq]

ive just read the posts and now im confused i have 3 pink toe 1 peru purple one sold just as pink toe one sold as a martenique but not sur eif this is correct the peru is a sling other juveniles sling is in a container damp substrate seems to be doing ok humiditys is 80% and temp around 75-80 depending on time day the juveniles are in taller tanks 12inchs high and 12inch long and 6inch wise both damp substrate of vermiculite and bark mixed one has shed easily the others i havent had that long the one that shed i got in october and followed my dads advice as he used to breed Ts years ago all 3 are webbing and active the go to ground level and climb i usually have the tops off every day when checking water and humiditys etc and they have air ventilation also i am doing something wrong with them regards to set up the juveniles have a fake plant and logs in that they are attaching webbing too but the last thing i want is any to die especially as one is my daughters any advice please

[Peter Roach]

If something is working for you, why worry about or change it ?

As a point of interest about this humidity subject.

I have been working a 7 day week during december and all over Christmas and therefore the tarantulas (300+) have been neglected/ignored for the last 4 weeks with NO feeding or water at all.
Yesterday I checked them all over and all substrates were bone dry but all were OK and all of the so called humidity sentitive species like avic's were fine and acting as normal, so to me this makes a mockery of the "avic's must be keep at 80% humidity or they will die" so often sprouted in various places on the internet.
I squirted a few ml of water from a syringe onto the avic's webbing and threw a few small roaches in and thats it for another week or two . . . . the substrate is still bone dry and it will stay that way.

[Ben Cook]

Well i'll just pop a little update on here which seems to support Peter's comments.

Previously the Avic. in question (in my ownership and before) had not webbed and was very inactive. I have now lowered the humidity of the enclosure, it sits around the 50-60% mark now, decreased the temperature, depending on atmospheric variations it ranges from 19-23 degrees. The spider is now starting to web, is more active and is much much quicker to take prey.

therefore in my limited Avic. experience I can only conclude that this particular spider prefers lower humidity and lower temperatures to what the care sheets I have read say.

[Jamie Cooper]

To be honest, it does seem to me that Avics are far more versatile than we think when it comes to humidity. Some people keep them on bone dry substrate and don't attempt to alter the humidity in the tank at all. Others like myself attempt to raise the humidity by wetting the substrate. Yet Avics kept in either of these conditions and similar conditions inbetween all seem to do OK. So I don't think there is a right or wrong way to keep them. Although it does seem that some keepers are very prone to losing them. Is humidity the cause of that? Personally I don't think so. Although a damp environment with little airflow might be asking for trouble. I keep my substrate wet enough for my springtails to survive. Just slightly moist.

I think that maybe we think about the humidity issue too much and it can be very misleading, especially for newcomers when they get conflicting advice regarding the care of these spiders.

I think it's impossible to know how comfortable these spiders really feel in the environments that we provide. We can only make observations based on their behaviour. While Ben's Avic has become more active with lower humidity, that could be nothing more than just coincidence.

Jamie

[asmaa farooq]

i dont seem to have mould growing but my avics are doing good as far as i can see active webbing etc there a favourite of mine as i can remember there latin name unlike most other Ts did wonder if maybe they become hardier as they age tho i have a sling seems to be doing ok but i do worry they arent as hardy as the juveniles i have i worry more on the avic sling and the GBB sling i have than the juveniles or adult Ts ive got they seem less active etc than the older ones