# Aviularia: a basic caresheet



## daz30347 (Aug 30, 2007)

*Avicularia: a basic Caresheet.*


The genus "Avicularia" refers to a group of arboreal (Tree climbing) tarantulas from South America.

The species which are both in the hobby and described are: (with the more common species in *bold)*

*Avicularia Purpurea*
*Avicularia Metallica*
*Avicularia Amazonica*
Avicularia Jurensis
*Avicularia Laeta*
Avicularia Braunshauseni
*Avicularia Versicolor*
Avicularia Alticeps
Avicularia Aurantiaca
Avicularia Fasciculata
Avicularia Guyana
Avicularia Rutilans

There are several other species, but these are either not in the hobby, or are undescribed,and so are listed below; (again, bold=more common)

*Avicularia Sp (formerly known as Avicularia Avicularia)*
*Avicularia Sp Peru Purple*
Avicularia Sp Kwitara River
Avicularia Sp Metallic green

There are several other undescribed species, but these are either not in the hobby, as above, or are very rarely available in the trade.


Basic Care:
Avicularia (or "Avics" or "Pink toes" as there commonly reffered to) are arboreal, meaning height is more important than floor space as they spend a large bulk of their time high up in trees etc...

They require high humidity an thus a good moisture holding substrate is required.along with adequate ventilation, going horizontall to there setup, to allow the through-flow of air for improved ventilation. 

Avicularia will spend most their time in Web-protected,vertical hides and in the wild can be found using dead tree trunks as a hide.
Commonly used items for a hide are Cork tubes, or vertical bamboo.
Many people will keep there "Avics" in cereal tubs or similair, with spiderlings being kept in small,high tubberware. 

*Getting the humidity and ventilation lvels correct is vital to the tarantulas survival as both a young spider to adults.*

Live plants can be used, but are not vital, although they do aid with humidity control. i personally use plastic plants as they are both cheap,and can be shaped to suit the wished effect.Live plants are often hard to maintain within a terranium so plastic plants are easier. Also u have to make sure the plants arent poisenous and are suited to high humidity. Also that they dont contain pesticides

Avics, like most tarantulas, will be happy feeding on crickets or small-medium locust, and should be fed every week for adults, with slings being fed bi-weekly, this is my own personal routine, but it may vary between other hibbyists.

Handling is an issue very much argued, and i personally rarely handle any of my taratnulas, even the most tame of species, for there safety rather than mine, *a small fall to a hard surface could rupture a spiders abdomen and cost the spider its life. Handling avics is even risker than other tarantulas as they are awesome jumpers!*

More will be added to the caresheet soon, until then, i would appreciate any comments and pointing out of obvious mistakes.
Cheers, John


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

daz30347 said:


> *Avicularia: a basic Caresheet.*
> 
> 
> The genus "Avicularia" refers to a group of arboreal(Tree climibing) tarantulas from South America.
> ...


Added some info


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## daz30347 (Aug 30, 2007)

selina20 said:


> Added some info


 Edited to add info, cheers :2thumb:
Also, bold=more common/
i seperate the described from undescribed.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

Avicularia genus:

affinis (Nicolet, 1849)....................Chile
alticeps (Keyserling, 1878)....................Uruguay
ancylochira Mello-Leitão, 1923....................Brazil
anthracina (C. L. Koch, 1842)....................Uruguay
aurantiaca Bauer, 1996....................Peru
avicularia (Linnaeus, 1758) *....................Costa Rica to Brazil
avicularia variegata F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1896....................Brazil
aymara (Chamberlin, 1916)....................Peru
azuraklaasi Tesmoingt, 1996....................Peru
bicegoi Mello-Leitão, 1923....................Brazil
borelli (Simon, 1897)....................Paraguay
braunshauseni Tesmoingt, 1999....................Brazil
caesia (C. L. Koch, 1842)....................Puerto Rico
Mygale c. C. L. Koch, 1842: 83, f. 744 (Df).
cuminami Mello-Leitão, 1930....................Brazil
detrita (C. L. Koch, 1842)....................Brazil
diversipes (C. L. Koch, 1842)....................Brazil
doleschalli (Ausserer, 1871)....................Brazil
exilis Strand, 1907....................Surinam
fasciculata Strand, 1907....................South America
fasciculata clara Strand, 1907....................South America
geroldi Tesmoingt, 1999....................Brazil
glauca Simon, 1891....................Panama
gracilis (Keyserling, 1891)....................Brazil
guyana (Simon, 1892)....................Guyana
hirsuta (Ausserer, 1875)....................Cuba
holmbergi Thorell, 1890....................French Guiana
huriana Tesmoingt, 1996....................Ecuador
juruensis Mello-Leitão, 1923....................Brazil
laeta (C. L. Koch, 1842)....................Brazil, Puerto Rico
Mygale l. C. L. Koch, 1842: 66, f. 732 (Df).
leporina (C. L. Koch, 1841)....................Brazil
metallica Ausserer, 1875....................Surinam
minatrix Pocock, 1903....................Venezuela
nigrotaeniata Mello-Leitão, 1940....................Guyana
obscura (Ausserer, 1875)....................Colombia
ochracea (Perty, 1833)....................Brazil
palmicola Mello-Leitão, 1945....................Brazil
panamensis (Simon, 1891)....................Mexico, Guatemala, Panama
parva (Keyserling, 1878)....................Uruguay
plantaris (C. L. Koch, 1842)....................Brazil
pulchra Mello-Leitão, 1933....................Brazil
purpurea Kirk, 1990....................Ecuador
rapax (Ausserer, 1875)....................South America
recifiensis Struchen & Brändle, 1996....................Brazil
rufa Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1945....................Brazil
rutilans Ausserer, 1875....................Colombia
soratae Strand, 1907....................Bolivia
subvulpina Strand, 1906....................South America
surinamensis Strand, 1907....................Surinam
taunayi (Mello-Leitão, 1920)....................Brazil
tigrina (Pocock, 1903)....................Uruguay
ulrichea Tesmoingt, 1996....................Brazil
urticans Schmidt, 1994....................Peru
velutina Simon, 1889....................Venezuela
versicolor (Walckenaer, 1837)....................Guadeloupe, Martinique
violacea (Mello-Leitão, 1930)....................Brazil)
walckenaeri (Perty, 1833)....................Brazil

there are also a number of others which are identified via place names eg. A. sp. Isla Margaritha, A. sp. Guyana.


Poisonous plants? would these affect tarantula? they come from places where poisonous plants exist but they don't eat them! The real issues with live plants are lack of light, fertilisers (not such an issue for Avics) and low maintenance.

Of all the tarantula the most likely to handle Avics seem to be the ones we experience handling with. They have a tendency to move out of the enclosure at feeding time. Whilst they do jump, they are equipped with fine hairs which aid their fall. These hairs seem to trap the air, making a parachute effect (if the height is reasonable) as well as providing a aid to water tension, resulting in them being able to swim. They are used to flooding in their natural habitat so this jumping and swimming comes in handy.
You might want to elaborate: first tarantula to be described, eat moths and tree climbing insects/inverts, docile, low venom, not likely to bite, non-airborne urticating hairs, temperature and humidity readings.

Keep up the good work


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Poxicator said:


> Poisonous plants? would these affect tarantula? they come from places where poisonous plants exist but they don't eat them! The real issues with live plants are lack of light, fertilisers (not such an issue for Avics) and low maintenance.


What about those that generate their own insecticide?? Surely they would kill a T??? Maybe im wrong but thats what iv always believed.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

perhaps you're right Selina, not really that versed on poisonous plants but from the information I gained from a serious plant keeper - absolutely everywhere was covered in plants, pots within pots within pots etc. - these kind of plants are not the obvious choice nor readily available in your local DIY store.
Maybe someone will enlighten us, but one of the most useful live plants to use is Pothos or Mother-in-Laws tongue.


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## $dean (Jan 19, 2009)

if live food was to eat a toxic plant would it be able to harm a t if it eats the live food, im sure some live food would eat a toxic plant because ive had to take a mealworm out after watching eat a tough plastic plant in my avics enclosure after gut loading:lol2:. not sure if any toxins from plants fake or live can be broken down in any live food's system, i personally doubt it but does anyone for sure cheers.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

daz, you might want to correct the thread title, slight misspelling there m8


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

selina20 said:


> What about those that generate their own insecticide?? Surely they would kill a T??? Maybe im wrong but thats what iv always believed.


Most of the plants you are allowed to cultivate legally are not dangerous, and certainly not by contact (besides cacti of course, but they are rather minor). 

There's only a few plants I can think of that are "poisonous" to touch (Giant Hogweed is one, and only in sunlight) and I can't think of any that produce dangerous aerosols (besides gaseous alkaloids, which photosynthetic plants produce anyway). 

You can use live plants quite successfully, but I'd suggest you have to be a good gardener first before you try them with the added complications of a tarantula.


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## daz30347 (Aug 30, 2007)

Poxicator said:


> daz, you might want to correct the thread title, slight misspelling there m8


 I would but i can't as its past the edit time.
Cheers for all the help, will edit and re-post on this thread later


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## daz30347 (Aug 30, 2007)

GRB said:


> Most of the plants you are allowed to cultivate legally are not dangerous, and certainly not by contact (besides cacti of course, but they are rather minor).
> 
> There's only a few plants I can think of that are "poisonous" to touch (Giant Hogweed is one, and only in sunlight) and I can't think of any that produce dangerous aerosols (besides gaseous alkaloids, which photosynthetic plants produce anyway).
> 
> You can use live plants quite successfully, but I'd suggest you have to be a good gardener first before you try them with the added complications of a tarantula.


 Agree with the last paragraph, and Potho's are the best i hear from RobC in the US


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## daz30347 (Aug 30, 2007)

REPOST, please continue to add little segments i may have forgetten or may not have been correctly informed about.
JOhn
Avicularia: a basic Care sheet.

The genus "Avicularia" refers to a group of arboreal(Tree climbing) tarantulas from South America. They were not the first tarantula to be discovered, but were the first to be given a Genus name.

The species which are both in the hobby and described are listed below,with the more common species in *bold*
*Avicularia Purpurea*
*Avicularia Metallica*
Avicularia Bicegoi
Avicularia Amazonica
Avicularia Jurensis
Avicularia Laeta
Avicularia Braunshauseni
*Avicularia Versicolor*
Avicularia Alticeps
Avicularia Aurantiaca
Avicularia Fasciculata
Avicularia Guyana
Avicularia Rutilans
There are several other species, but these are not in the hobby, or/and are undescribed,and so are listed below;
*Avicularia Sp (formerly known as Avicularia Avicularia)*
*Avicularia Sp Guyana*
*Avcularia Sp Peru Purple*
*Avicularia Sp Kwitara River*
There are several other undescribed species, but these are either not in the hobby, as above, or are very rarely available in the trade.
Basic Care:

Avicularia (or "Avics" or "Pink toes" as there commonly referred to) are arboreal, meaning height is more important than floor space as they spend a large bulk of their time high up in trees etc...

They require high humidity around (65-75%) an thus a good moisture holding substrate is required. along with adequate ventilation, going horizontal to there setup, to allow the through-flow of air for improved ventilation. 

Avicularia will spend most their time in Web-protected, vertical hides and in the wild can be found using dead tree trunks as a hide.
Commonly used items for a hide are Cork tubes, or vertical bamboo.

Many people will keep there "Avics" in cereal tubs or similar, with spiderlings being kept in small, high Tupperware. 
Getting the humidity and ventilation levels correct is vital to the tarantulas survival as both a young spider to adults.
Live plants can be used, but are not vital, although they do aid with humidity control. i personally use plastic plants as they are both cheap, and can be shaped to suit the wished effect. A downside to live plants in the terrarium Is the fact that they are pretty difficult to maintain and need certain conditions which sometimes cannot be met to satisfy the Avic and the plant. Plants also cannot contain pesticides as this can harm or kill the tarantula.

Avics, like most tarantulas, will be happy feeding on crickets or small-medium locust, but in the wild will feed on moths and tree-climbing insects and inverts. They should be fed every week for adults, with slings being fed bi-weekly but this some keepers have different feeding preferences.

Their natural habitat can be flooded and therefore they have developed fine hairs which aid water tension, allowing them to swim. These also trap air when they are midair and act almost as a parachute.

Handling is an issue very much argued, and i personally rarely handle any of my tarantulas, even the most tame of species, for there safety rather than mine, a small fall to a hard surface could rupture a spiders abdomen and cost the spider its life. If this occurs I recommend using a super glue to stick the abdomen back together to aid healing.. This is a bigger risk with Avics as they have the tendency to jump but the fine hair covering their abdomen and legs cushion their fall to an extent. 

Avicularia have two forms of defence, to flick non-airborne urticating hair, or to bite and as a rule rarely bite, if this was to occur, their venom is low in toxicity so would rarely effect anyone unless the said person had an allergic reaction to bee sting/was stings.


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## tescos (Mar 9, 2009)

*Hi, *
*I don't know too much about Avicularia spiders but here are a couple of things I did note. Hope it is of some help? *
*Cheers*
*Chris*
REPOST, please continue to add little segments i may have forgetten or may not have been correctly informed about.
JOhn
Avicularia: a basic Care sheet.

The genus "Avicularia" refers to a group of arboreal(Tree climbing) tarantulas from South America. They were not the first tarantula to be discovered, but were the first to be given a Genus name. *Would like to hear a bit more about the history of the genus. Not too much but just a little more.*

The species which are both in the hobby and described are listed below,with the more common species in *bold*
*Avicularia Purpurea*
*Avicularia Metallica **Not properly Identified as such*
Avicularia Bicegoi *Not properly Identified as such*
Avicularia Amazonica *No such species*
Avicularia Jurensis *Not properly Identified as such*
Avicularia Laeta 
Avicularia Braunshauseni *Not properly Identified as such*
*Avicularia Versicolor*
Avicularia Alticeps *Not properly Identified as such*
Avicularia Aurantiaca *Not properly Identified as such*
Avicularia Fasciculata *Not properly Identified as such but believed to be the one we have in the hobby as such*
Avicularia Guyana *Not properly Identified as such*
Avicularia Rutilans *Not properly Identified as such*
*Could stick Avicularia minatrix Pocock, 1909……..Venezuela **here. (Also if you are listing species the describer and country of origin is a nice touch). My understanding is that there are only 4 species you can definitely put a species name to. The rest are just sp.*

There are several other species, but these are not in the hobby, or/and are undescribed,and so are listed below;
*Avicularia Sp (formerly known as Avicularia Avicularia)*
*Avicularia Sp Guyana*
*Avcularia Sp Peru Purple*
*Avicularia Sp Kwitara River*
*Problem here is that there at least 2 or 3 Avicularia Sp Guyana etc.*

There are several other undescribed species, but these are either not in the hobby, as above, or are very rarely available in the trade.
*Some also could well be described only it is unknown at this time if they are or not.*
Basic Care:

Avicularia (or "Avics" or "Pink toes" as there commonly referred to) are arboreal, meaning height is more important than floor space as they spend a large bulk of their time high up in trees etc...

They require high humidity around (65-75%) *This isn’t really all that high. Infact I would say it’s a European average! Tropical jungle is no less than 100% humidity but you wouldn’t and probably can’t recreate this in a terrarium. *an thus a good moisture holding substrate is required. along with adequate ventilation, going horizontal to there setup, to allow the through-flow of air for improved ventilation. 

Avicularia will spend most their time in Web-protected, vertical hides and in the wild can be found using dead tree trunks as a hide. *Also very common in the eves of houses and other man made structures. A. minitrix is often found in bromiliade plants in an area that is quite dry for the region.*
Commonly used items for a hide are Cork tubes, or vertical bamboo.

Many people will keep there "Avics" in cereal tubs or similar, with spiderlings being kept in small, high Tupperware. 
Getting the humidity and ventilation levels correct is vital to the tarantulas survival as both a young spider to adults. *I would suggest that the ventilation is more the key to survival but, in my limited experince if the Avicularia sp. does not web up quite quick, the chances are it is going to die.*
Live plants can be used, but are not vital, although they do aid with humidity control. i personally use plastic plants as they are both cheap, and can be shaped to suit the wished effect. A downside to live plants in the terrarium Is the fact that they are pretty difficult to maintain and need certain conditions which sometimes cannot be met to satisfy the Avic and the plant. Plants also cannot contain pesticides as this can harm or kill the tarantula.

Avics, like most tarantulas, will be happy feeding on crickets or small-medium locust, but in the wild will feed on moths and tree-climbing insects and inverts. They should be fed every week for adults, with slings being fed bi-weekly but this some keepers have different feeding preferences.

Their natural habitat can be flooded and therefore they have developed fine hairs which aid water tension, allowing them to swim. These also trap air when they are midair and act almost as a parachute.

Handling is an issue very much argued, and i personally rarely handle any of my tarantulas, even the most tame of species, for there safety rather than mine, a small fall to a hard surface could rupture a spiders abdomen and cost the spider its life. If this occurs I recommend using a super glue to stick the abdomen back together to aid healing.. This is a bigger risk with Avics as they have the tendency to jump but the fine hair covering their abdomen and legs cushion their fall to an extent. 

Avicularia have two forms of defence, to flick non-airborne urticating hair,*How can they flick non airborne urticating hair? Avicularia spp. Have type II urticating hair which is not airborne. To use it they press their abdomens against the threat a little like a porcupine does. However it has been reported that in the case of Avicularia versicolor it has been observed that it has the capability to flick hairs which makes them airborne. *or to bite and as a rule rarely bite, if this was to occur, their venom is low in toxicity so would rarely effect anyone unless the said person had an allergic reaction to bee sting/was stings. *An allergy to Bee stings would not mean an allergy to tarantula venom as they are a completely different make up.*


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## amy2012 (Jul 11, 2012)

Hey, I was wondering if anyone can please tell me the best temp, humidity for my avicularia amazonica.

Also would be great to know there temperment and lifespan,
Thankyou xx


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## amy2012 (Jul 11, 2012)

Hey, its me agen haha,, I just noticed the post above says no such species about the avicularia amazonica, and when I braught mine the label on the tub said A.amazonica, if its not avicularia do u have any idea of what it is please.xx


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

amy2012 said:


> Hey, its me agen haha,, I just noticed the post above says no such species about the avicularia amazonica, and when I braught mine the label on the tub said A.amazonica, if its not avicularia do u have any idea of what it is please.xx


i have one- 'amazonica' is a makeshift name created for it until it is properly described. temperature can be anything between 70-80f. temperament of this species is usually placid- i have handled mine, but i don't make a habit of it. as for humidity, i just spray the tank once per week. ditto my a.'peru purple' & a.'guyana' sp.(ex-a.avicularia).


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## Bab1084 (Dec 9, 2011)

make sure you have alot of ventilation in there enclosure as well


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## pcharlton (Mar 23, 2012)

Realy good post. Mine are kept in deli pots with 100s of holes. Ive placed a fake plant and loads of moss. I put drops of water most days on the web and moss they are bone dry the next day they are doing realy well this method.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

how wet Paul? if you're soaking and its dry the next day that suggests your humidity is going up and down like an elevator.


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## pcharlton (Mar 23, 2012)

Poxicator said:


> how wet Paul? if you're soaking and its dry the next day that suggests your humidity is going up and down like an elevator.


no just a small pette it dont even hit the floor


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