Thanks for the feedback guys and gals, much appreciated

I think I will be getting some Avics along with everything else I want to get in December. Unfortunately my bonus is paid after the auction

There was a link on an international site somewhere with tons of useful stuff.. If only I'd bookmarked it

Anyways... What this Avic owner does (when they're still iddy-biddy slings) is place the enclosure in a moat of water and ventilates exceptionally well with lots of holes in the side of the enclosure.

I raised my A. versicolor from |__| <---- this big and I'll let you in on the best secret ever:

Go to Pick n' Pay, go to the section where they sell condiments, and buy yourself a toothpick holder (the transparent plastic one). This works like a charm, because it has one of them rotating lids where you move the lid from a few small holes to one big hole (like spice bottles).

Therefore, you can move it to the small holes for extra ventilation and move it to the one big hole to drop in baby crickets or roaches (just don't leave the lid in this position, or you'll have a Houdini on your hands). This keeps the webbing in place because you don't touch the main lid.

To poke the holes in the side, you'll need to heat up a needle using a candle and "melt" the holes.

Once the sling need rehousing, it will have passed the "SADS" stage - That's an acronym for Sudden Avic Death Syndrome in case you didn't know.

I hope this helps.

The toothpick holder is a great idea! Thank you for sharing CarsinemiA. These toothpick holders should work well for most spiderlings.

Thanks CarsinemiA too for a great idea!

Just clarify something regarding SADS me please?

Does this only affect slings below a certain size/age?

I always thought it was something that affected the species throughout their lifespan and could strike at any time?

Spydaman wrote:

The toothpick holder is a great idea! Thank you for sharing CarsinemiA. These toothpick holders should work well for most spiderlings.

No probs!

Masta_Splinta wrote:

Does this only affect slings below a certain size/age?

I always thought it was something that affected the species throughout their lifespan and could strike at any time?

If your enclosure is bone dry and your ventilation is poor... Then it SADS or rather ISOATBIAIT (I shouldn't own a Tarantula because I'm an ignorant tool) might apply.

However, I don't think there's anyone on this site that suffers from the above.

SADS, as far as I'm aware, only applies to the "danger" period of a small sling. The same person who had the moat idea also kept a sub-adult avic in an enclosure with no ventilation and no substrate. Literally just a spider-in-a-box... And the Avic was fine.

I wouldn't recommend the above though. I regularly mist my Avics enclosures and the substrate is permanently moist. I prevent mould build up with a few Isopods (go into your garden and lift a few wood-blocks/rocks, you should find a few).

Thanks again CarsinemiA!

This info is invaluable. I think I will get me some Avic spp. soon. I have always been put off by the SADS thing, thinking it could affect them at any age so it's good to learn that this only seems to affect them as slings

And such a shame I've waited so long too! These Avic's are fantastic looking T's!

I will make sure I setup my enclosures for them carefully with extra ventillation. I might adopt the moat idea for the slings too, it cant be that hard to stand the deli cups in a saucer of water. Hopefully that will satisfy the need for humidity too.