Please Read and Help...

Sunrunner · 04-04-03, 11:18 PM

Ok I really need some help here, I have recently purchaced a pink toed tarantula.... I have wanted one for a very long time but have not ever worked up the nerve to get one (I am alergic to bee stings) I have a couple of questions so please help me
I bought it still nervous about it but I thought i could deal with it heres the problem....
1. I was taking it out of its temporary cage and it got out on me (it is very fast) i had to catch it but I did not want to put ANY pressure on it so it was quite a chore trying to herd this thing in its cage i think i just ended up pissing it off... What is the best way to handle these situations with out causing any harm to the pink toe?
2. I am usually very educated on all my animals before I decide to purchace one but this time i am affraid to admit I bought it on a wim.. I do not like it any less but I fear I am a little uneducated on the terrians on the specific species... so if any one could please give me info on them I would appricate it very much.
3. do they have Likes and dislikes?
Any info would be appricated I do not want to be igornant on this animal so any info would help.
Thanks to all in advance,
Kim
OH P.S. what kind of damage will a bite inflict? I have heard 2 different things 1 because i am alergic to bees it would be worse but i have also heard this is not true which one is it?

Pixie · 04-04-03, 11:32 PM

When I did my research before acquiring my first tarantula, almost everything I read said it's best not to handle them: less stress, safer, etc. Personally I don't feel the need to handle my T's to enjoy them, but I know many keepers that handle theirs with no problems. Hopefully someone else here will be able to give you some handling tips.

A lot of people ask me how I move my T's around when I need to for tank clean up or what not. I use a very simple trick that I was given on a tarantula club that works like a charm even when your T is in a pissy mood. Take a clear deli cup, flip upside down and place over tarantula. Then slide a piece of stiff cardboard or plastic (I use part of a CD cover) and gently slide under cup and T. The T will gently lift her legs with a little bit of coaxing and then you can move her around safely.

Pixie

Blackwidow69 · 04-04-03, 11:56 PM

First off Pixie is very right on how to move a T. or you can gently coax it into a contianer with a small soft tip paint brush..As far as the bite goes pink toe normaly dont bite,, but seeing how you are alergic you have the "chance" of having a bad reaction to a T's bite. And because i said that dont mean you will but could have a bad reaction.. Just be careful with what you do and youl be ok.. As for the pink toe it would rahter run than bite you.. Pinktoes are very handable but they are fast... Hope all goes well and that you get to enjoy your new T...

Sunrunner · 04-05-03, 12:04 AM

Ok but could any of you give me an idea on what the best setting would be for him/her? And I would like to handle it if I could even if it is at a mimimun I do educational shows and would like to educate people the best way i can about them I have stuck to mostly herps (what i do know) but would like to intrduce a invert to it so A) I have to know how to handle it and B) not be afraid

But I also want to know so i can keep Him/her in the best envionment possible.. I do not usually but like I did but it was so beautiful I caved and purchaced Him/her and thought later I regret not doing my homework on it before but unfortunatly I did not but I do not want to make Him.her pay for it I have read up on them but I have found in the herping world advice is the best.
Thanks again

Blackwidow69 · 04-05-03, 11:35 AM

Ok, first off the pink toe is a arboreal T. in its natural habitat it lives in trees.. and they like high humidity.. So for your set up, try a cage thats put on its end so its higher insted of wide.. Use peatmoss mix thats been moistend about 3 to 4 inches deep as bedding..use cork bark or tree branches that have been cleaned, a few fake plants around the bark or branches as this T will build its webb and house high up.. always keep a small water dish in the cage but also mist the cage very lightly every other day so as not to soak the whole cage.. Temps should be around 75 to 78 for the pink toe.. You can feed crickets. also you can catch moths from outside and the pink toe will love catching those to eat.. This is one T that can be kept with other pink toes of the same species in one tank if its properly set up with enough hide spots and room for more than one, some people have tried it and failed and some people have kept them together without a hitch.. My self i have kept 4 of the pink toes in one cage and never had any probs as long as there was enough food and hide places for each one.. As far as handling goes .. you need to take the T out slowly and carefully sit down on the floor and let the t crawl on your hands or arms , just use very slow movements, try not to blow on the T as this will send it into flight mode and it can be very fast at moving. I think once you get use to its skitishness and its quick movements you wont have a prob handling it for your educational shows, just dont let anyone grab at or blow on it, just keep your calm and all will be fine.. Just remember you will get use to it being skitish and you will learn what sets it off.. I hope this helps alittle.. Try working with ones that would like to rip your face off.. I have those kind and work with them everyday... At least the pink toe is not super agressive, just alittle flighty thats all...

OttawaChris · 04-07-03, 05:40 AM

The trick with arborals is that they need higher humidity BUT they also need a lot of airflow. Avics in particular are sensitive to poor ventilation... it causes fungus to grow in their book lungs.

The basic setup is to give a little more height rather than floorspace. Arboral spiders are the ones you can break the rules on a bit because you WANT them to climb (as oposed to the terrestrials, where you want to prevent climbing to limit injury)

For substrate, I use straight peet moss OR vermiculite. You dont need very much...its really only to hold some moisture to help with humidity. Quite often I have the substrate flooded to the point that it is muddy. Its ok because they are never on the ground. As an enclosure, I usually use the kritter keepers that are tall... I cant remember who makes them.

Now the other secret... you need to give them something to use for a house. I have had great success by leaning cork bark up against the side on an angle. What the spider will do is create a tube web between the bark and the side of the tank. They can live without the bark... but that usually makes them create a web against the roof of the cage which makes it a pain to do cage maintainance (these webs are STRONG)

As for handling, its a VERY hot topic amongst tarantula keepers. Its basically a 50/50 split. I am personally pro-handling as long as you are comfortable with the spiders. It is when you are nervous that people and critters can get hurt.

The funny thing with tree spiders is that they run straight up... usually meaning they run to your head or your back where you cant reach them. The nice part about the pink toe is that they just dont bite. You are in more danger of being haired or pooped on (that species has projectile poop). They are also excellent jumpers.

When I am working with a species that is fast and skittish, I normally do it in the bathtub... they seem to have a bit of trouble climbing in there so it slows them down enough to even out the playing ground. Next time what you can do is just set the deli cup inside the cage, and pop the lid open a tad. The spider will climb out on its own eventually and you have no danger of escape.

Feel free to drop me an email any time you need a hand.

Sunrunner · 04-07-03, 08:17 PM

Funny thing is that I was considering the bathtub Idea that way if it gets loose no one panics

I will likely drop ya an e mail I have tons of questions, I have seen the jumping thing took me by suprise also the speed of it took me by suprise as well so now I am a little hesitant to handle him only because if it gets away I do not want to hurt it while trying to recapture it. So the bath tub Idea is good. He ate some crickets today so that was a good sign I keep it in peat moss now I was reading that the temps should be around 75-78? these seem low to me but probably only cause I am used to keeping my herps hotter then this is that a good temp?I do not have cork bark in his cage will drift wood do? is this pretty much the same thing? What type of webbing does this spider produce?
Thanks again guys and gals

Conipto · 04-07-03, 08:58 PM

Sorry if I echo any of the above statements, but.. here's how I keep them, and my experiences thus far with Avicularia genus..

My pinktoes, I keep in tanks pictured below.. they cost 1.99 each at a local shop, made for bettas. (they are both juveniles at around the two inch mark)

They are both (as well as my A. versicolor) extremely docile. I had no fear at all of handling them when I moved them into the homes from the shipping containers. You have to really piss one off to get bitten, in my and other's experiences. They may press their rears up in the air if disturbed, this is how they use their urticating hairs (as they cannot make them airborne, they must be pressed into something) to quote many a caresheet, vertical space is more important than floor space. After 3" or so, I'd stop misting, and use a water dish. They need moderately high humidity (debatable in the T keeping world) and adequate ventilation. I feed mine twice a week, a cricket or two depending on size, and if they eat. Molts are usually not drawn out at all, and the actual act of molting is quick compared to most terrestrials/arboreals I keep. They are fairly hardy, and if you can keep a tropical snake alive.. you should have no problems with a pinktoe.

Bill