Well it seems this idea received a warm response so I shall continue on!
Yes I am a day early... but I wont have time to do this tomorrow so here it is!!
I will keep on the common pet shop species for now because these have been IME the most commonly asked about tarantulas.
Now for this week’s centerfold…
Latin Name: Avicularia Avicularia
Common Names: Pink toe, Common pink toe, Guyana Pink toe, Pink slippers, Pink boots
Hails from: French Guyana
Size: up to 6 inches
General Description:
These NW arborial tarantulas are another staple of the tarantula hobby. Their striking beauty combined with their extreme docility make them a very popular species. As their common name suggests, they have pink “toes” because the end of each leg is pink… almost as if each one has been dipped in pink paint. The rest of the body is a dark blue/purple with a pink and green metallic sheen to them. When they are younger they have black chevrons on their abdomen, but these fade as the spider gets bigger. These spiders are big eaters and fast growers.
Feeding:
Mine have all done very well on crickets, but have also accepted thawed pinkies. Larger specimens have been known to eat anoles, frogs and other small lizards.
Housing:
Climbing is essential to this species, so height is more of an issue than floor space. I provide a piece of cork bark leaned on an angle to provide a hide and an anchor for the beautiful tube web these spiders will spin. As a substrate I use straight peat moss which holds moisture very well. I also use a larger than normal water dish with some pebbles tossed in to prevent crickets from drowning. See why I do this under Humidity requitements.
Humidity Requirements:
You should try to maintain the humidity at around 80% for these spiders. The only catch is that they need high ventilation. Being that they live high in the trees in a rainforest, humidity is always high but there is always lots of fresh air and movement in the air (unlike in the burrow of a terrestrial spider). The fact that they need such high humidity and high ventilation poses a small problem for keeping them in captivity. To overcome this, I use the straight peet moss that is soaked… sometimes to the point that the floor looks more like a marsh than soil. Use a well ventilated screen lid so that fresh air can always flow in and out of the enclosure. Failure to have high ventilation will likely cause fungus and mold to form in the book lungs and ultimately kill your spider. Keeping the temperature high (80 degrees or so) also helps to keep the humidity levels up.
General Notes:
This is a great species to handle if you are used to tarantulas. I have never heard of one biting and they rarely ever flick hairs. The reason I say “if you are used to tarantulas” is that they have the tendency to jump when they get nervous. They also like to climb when they are nervous… so often you end up with a tarantula in your hair or on your back where you can reach it LOL When you are confident around spiders, you know these wont attack you so you can laugh… but an inexperienced handler can get panicked and disaster for the spider can result so bear this in mind. You don’t need to worry about these falling off you BUT you want to be careful where they jump… because they can jump to a wall and out the heat vent faster than you can blink. They are VERY good jumpers.
This is also reputed to be an easy species to breed… but I have not yet had the chance to try (my girls are almost big enough though)
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