One thing for people that may be considering these. They poo like firehoses. It's funny, but true. Go to bed with a clean enclosure, wake up with the walls of same enclosure pigeon painted. They are the messiest of any spider I have kept so far, aside from standard pinktoes, which do the same. Beautiful spider, and enclosure. Thanks for the video.
this one was my first sling together with n. chromatus and a. geniculata. that was 4 years ago, now i have a pretty lady, about the same size as yours in the video. as a sling she always came out for a stroll on my hand, but now, she is a fiesty beast :D
Lmfao!!! Are you seriously sponsored by simply limead?!! That is fucking hilarious!!! I bet they never expected this in their future of sponsorship 🤣🤣🤣
C. versicolor is one of the main reasons I got into the hobby, well that, OBT, and GBB but mainly the versi. My girl, since last molt has kicked up her feeding response. She's roughly 4.5" (DLS) now and looking fine
Had mine about 9 months now and it's finally getting some size. I keep mine in an Arachnosys arboreal sling enclosure so the ventilation is excellent. I keep relatively dry with a water dish and occasionally mist the webbing as she shows a preference for drinking from there. One of my absolute favourites!
Hey, bud! I hope that all is well. I wish that I could get more of those Arachnosys enclosures. My two are lonely...haha They are such awesome spiders.
I think I have moved from beginner to intermediate tarantula keeping! I just bought my first bottle of Limeade and Orangeade ONLY to use the bottles for moving my tarantulas around. 😂 Great idea, Thanks!
My first c. versicolor died, I don't know if it's the slightly moist substrate cause I heard dry substate is much better. I definitely put a lot of cross vents so I know that is not the issue why my T died. But I bought another 2 c. versicolor, I hope this time it'll all go well. Wish me luck
Hi, Joel! When I did a poll of the species folks struggled with most, this one came in at number 1. It's not just you. I hope things go better with the next one!
my wifes favorite T. great video again. wish there wasnt so much negativity towards ease of keeping this species. weve had a couple with zero issues. Congrats on getting the teaching gigs. and thanks for the video
Great care video! My sling is now probably 3" DLS and I watched your video a few times before I rehoused her(I'm hoping that it's a her) but that enclosure you used is so nice I might have to get one and move mine again. If I could only keep one species from now on I think I'd be happy to get a sling every year because every stage of development is visually stunning. Stupid question now, does a female live much longer after having an egg sack?
Hi, Mia! Fingers crossed that you have a lady. And I agree about the stages of development. Not a stupid question at all! Females can go on to have many sacs. Females continue to grow and shed through adulthood.
Great video Tom,I did have a sub adult,not sure of the sex,it die suddenly had it for some time,I think it was just unfortunate.in the past I was keeping to moist and they was lasting 24 hr.now I keep dry I've no problems. Glad your back teaching.
I keep my A. purpurea with a water dish and an occasion misting of the substrate and she's doing well, she's a small juvie. I must admit the S.A.D.S thing made me wonder if I wanted to dip my toes into the Avicularia world, but when I saw pics of how she'll be when she's grown up, I HAD to have one.
There’s a type of arboreal sling/juvie enclosure that a lot people on Facebook are using for their versis. There isn’t a ton of cross ventilation put people are having success apparently. Can I email you a picture and a link and would you be willing to give me your opinion on them (if you have time of course)? I’m considering using the larger one for when my slings need an upgrade
Tom as a teacher ,we talk spiders all day ,plus in detention we talk about T s awesome, My avic avic after her last molt she is mean ,an would bite me ,she does not messed with at all , Great to see a video from you ,Tom's big spider video I clicked instantly,👍👍👍👍
Yes I rehoused mine about a week ago. As it turns out it got loose. Yeah, I had a catch cup, but I'm not that fast because it jumped. Luckily it landed on the edge of a soft piece of plastic bag that completely broke its fall. It after thinking it was gone for good I was able to find it catch it put it back in its cage. No harm done.
i got a pair and the female needed around 1,5 month to build her first web in the enclosure while the male did it in a empty corner after 2 days, so both gave me the middle finger and didnt used my nice kork bark i gave them...i dont like the slings, so weak and the only species i ever lost slings, i raised diversipes slings at the same time, same enclosures, everything same, caribena died 3 of 4 and now the diversipes are double the size, so...
Hey, Brad! Avicularia versicolor, although I've referred to them as "Versicolor versicolor" before. haha Mine are usually quite bright red after a molt.
Tom don't feel bad for focusing on your work and family that's why we like you because you never let TH-cam overtake your life you keep it in its place and still some how reply the everyone do a pod cast take care of hundreds of spiders a teacher and a Dad got dogs dude your insane how do you do it all
I know there is a lot of concersary over some teachers and all that political crap. I have a feeling you are an awesome teacher though. So thank for you doing what you do. It is super important. I have family members that are teachers and it is so much more than a job.
Thank you so much, Brad! I'm very focused on making good connections with the kids and making sure that everyone that walks into my class leaves having improved (and KNOWING that they improved). I love teaching, and I think that the kids appreciate what I do. :)
Anecdotal confirmation: I've seen some of my adult Avicularia (including Caribena versicolor) kick hairs. However, they don't seem to have the top patch until adult, at least it doesn't seem visually distinct from the other abdominal hairs. I've never observed a sling of any size, "kick" hairs, but I have seen them do the rubbing thing from about an inch.
The only spider DTG has been bit by. I remember that story from yrs ago. She was trying to rehouse I believe. I think she tried picking the T up from one enclosure to the next. I can't remember the story good but I know it's the only T she's been bit by. Awesome video brother. Gotta love these jewels ❤️😎
Hey, Damien! Hope all is well, bud! That is an excellent point...I completely forgot about that. Every time I put a C. versicolor video up, someone comes on and asks why I don't handler her (because theirs is tame). Figured I'd explain why. haha Thanks, bud!
High school special education. This year, I'm teaching a mixed class (both general and special ed students) and we're working on inproving literacy skills. My background is in English, so this is right up my alley. :)
Great video buddy I'll be breeding these soon as my male just matured, do you have any breeding tips when it comes to the conditioning of the female ect? Also great rehouse 👌 p.s we need to talk via email soon for that special video ....
Funny I got this species first and picked up two slings and one pretty much juvi. Slings are fairly docile but the Juvi is kinda nutty. I believe you even though this re-house went well.
Hi, Kelly! I think there is a lot out there about how docile and handleable this species is. I just want folks to be aware that there are some high strung C. versicolors out there! Thanks!
Sorry to hear that. On the other hand, they are so arboreal, you may still find it in a corner by the ceiling, especially looking at night. Even tropical species can last a bit. I lost a pumpkin patch sling for two weeks, found it alive under the base of my flat tv.
Nice spider and video. I am tired of people and their bio-active enclosures. EVERYTHING have to be bioactive nowdays. Its tarantulas we are dealing with, NOT frogs. I have one bioactive enclosure for my E murinus. I have had her in there for 6 years with plants and woodlice but no false bottom,i have never used that and i have had many so called bio active set ups. I see people using like clayballs and think its nessesary, but it is not imo! And for speicies that need less humidety, just overflow the waterdish once in a while.. But all other i have just on substrate with some plant is it is a soeicies that use a little moisture. just wonder. How old are the kids you are teaching and what kind of teaching. Is it math, geography or what? And yeah, i hope you get royalties from that juice company LOL
Yeah, it was all the rage for a while. I've backed off from doing anything more than putting plants in a few enclosures. I don't think that they are appropriate for many species. I have only one with a false bottom, and that's it. I actually spoke about this not that long ago in a podcast. I teach high school, and right now it's literacy skills/English (reading and writing). My background is actually in English. Hope all is well, bud! Thanks!
Brilliant video as usual Tom, and what a fantastic species featured, informative and very agreeable viewing as always, thanks Tom and Billie for all your hard work. 😀.
I'm getting my first in this morning and I've learned a lesson have the enclosure ready first. it came sooner than I expected. it's only my second decent size spider about 1 1/2 inch. I had a container almost identical to the one you have that that you are rehousing from. I'm a bit nervous but soo excited.
Hey, Kelvin! With my first C. versicolor, temps would drop to mid to high 60s in the winter at night, and she did fine. That said, this is one of those species that can be a bit more finicky when it comes to temp. Is there a higher shelf you can keep her on that gets just a bit warmer?
@@TomsBigSpiders I crafted a sling nursery as seen on the Tarantula collectives channel. So they should be a bit warmer now. I've been keeping Ts for over 5 years now I've just not had many I think I've kept 9 tarantulas in that time and my first 2 were a moult away from become mature males when I bought them and I've only owned a couple of slings and usually of a more hardy nature. You'd think I'd know more in that time haha. Still learning everyday. Thank you for your help I really appreciate it.
Hello from the uk 🇬🇧 I have to ask as I'm curious (if you don't mind) what subject do you teach?? Thanks to your channel I ignored cate sheets talking about humidity and successfully raised a versicolor sling and now she's a sub adult. She was my first sling too. So thank you from me and my beautiful girl Magenta-blue. X
Hello from the US, Gemma! I'm a high school special education teacher. This year, I've got mixed classes with both general education students and special education student where we work on literacy skills. :) And that is awesome! I'm so glad that she did well. :)
@@TomsBigSpiders awww thank you for the reply. What an amazing job. I too support kids with special needs, autism and mental health issues as a specialist nurse. Do your students find your 8 legged venom kitties fascinating and ask about them?? X
@@TomsBigSpiders that's excellent! Both my kids are "special needs" but were mostly mainstreamed in class and motivated me to go into non for profit working with adults with ID/DD. It's a very rewarding experience.
I have a C.Versicolour sling that came with instructions to keep it in 70-80% humidity. I'm really glad I double checked and didn't overdo the water and focussed on the airflow. I read they live in trees in windy areas. So damp is not ideal at all.
Ugh! It drives me nuts that they are still putting that type of information out there. That's why so many of them die. I'm so glad that you got the right info.
I've been told that a told me it needs a heat matt at back incloure on low heat 😬 lucky I never as i watched about them mine a sling had it a few weeks 👍
Tom, you Rock. I’m sure that you are an awesome teacher and are full of enthusiasm. Anyone that doesn’t get that RL comes first always is a muppet. Anyhow, that is one pretty little lady. I love spiders with attitude. It’s becoming a trademark of your videos to have your fabulous wife giggle. You seem an awesome couple.
This is by far my favorite species.... that said. Yes. They can be unforgiving. I had 5 of these guys delivered to my on 5/27/2020. I lost one due to it shedding it's mouth parts from 3rd to 4th instar. On 9/16/2021 I lost one due to it getting stuck in the molt. I knew it was in heavy pre-molt. I sprayed the enclosure down and watched it drink from the sides of the enclosure. My guess is it didn't get enough water.... It never drank from the water dish unlike the others. I have one that loves to walk around on the substrate. All 4 are set up the same way. I mist the webbing every Wednesday and change their water. The air to water ratio is high for about 2 days and then settles down to what my apartment is which is about 45%. I know you don't like the "H" word LOL. Nothing in the enclosure to say what the "H" word value is. I have 6 hygrometers placed through out my apartment to get my "means and extremes". It gives me a good average. I have them placed from the floor to the top of my cabinets in random places. I check them on watering day for peace of mind and to guide me on when it is too dry or the opposite in my apartment. I do have a large ghost pepper plant to help modify my air to water ratio. I hope that out of the 3 that are left I end up with a female. All 3 are growing at about the same rate so I might have either 3 males or 3 females. I will try to sex the next molts to determine what they are. Love your content Tom! Love the podcasts as well! A tarantula is the best neglected pet ever! Oh and feeding day is every Tuesday unless they are obese/pre-molt. My Brachypelma boehmei has been super "Chonkers" for 24 days. I fed it a pinhead cricket hoping to spur a molt..... no luck yet. It has been really chunky since 7/15/2021 and has only had 2 pinhead crickets (one per month). Looking to get 3 more versicolor slings in order to perfect my husbandry of them. I am thinking on switching to the Bio Dude substrate and getting some Tarantula Crib arboreal adult enclosures. I am using the Zilla Jungle Mix right now. These Zilla ones are nice but after this last death it has left a sour taste in my mouth since you are limited on how much substrate you can put in it. About 2 inches is all they can hold and it seems to dry out fairly quick. I am also going to get a slightly bigger water dish to hopefully offset the dryness a bit. Maybe they will be able to find the water dish a little better if it is bigger. If this doesn't work I will create some scaffolding structure to elevate the water dish. I plan on doing little things over the next 24 months to see what works and what doesn't. I am trying not to over complicate things as you have said in past podcasts. Oh and my temps are between 75-80. 75 in the summer and 80 in the winter. The big H stays at around 47% year round which seems to work well for all 7 of my tarantulas. Oh crap. Sorry just saw how much I typed. Can't wait for the 2 hour podcasts again!!!
Hey, Dusty! Thanks so much for chiming in! I, too, keep a thermometer/hygromter in my room just to give me a ballpark idea of where things are at. I have nothing in any enclosures. Yeah, I've found that the enclosures that don't offer enough depth for substrate (even with arboreals) don't work well for me. I like to pile it in, especially for moisture dependent species. Those long podcasts take a lot out of me! haha Hope all is well!
My favorite of ALL "Ts" !!!!!!!! Weird your doing a video of a rehouse with her right now I literally just watched all of your videos on this beautiful "T" 🥰🥰🥰
I love her and her enclosure. I wish we could put pics in here. Then I'd show you Dallas my grown on Versi sling..I'm so proud of her, she was my first ever T. I'd only had jumping spiders before then xx
I really enjoy your channel. I'm only into my second year as a tarantula-owner and own seven different individuals. Your care-videos are often a must-see upon making a purchase. Great job! Warm regards from Sweden 😊
Hiya Tom!! In my personal experience with Avicularia, I have to keep them damp with a water dish. I changed my husbandry with my first two from damp to dryer with a water dish and they both died. l had them for over a year when I changed the husbandry. I now have 6 Avicularia with 5 different sp and I have kept them damp with a water dish and haven’t lost but one tiny 5/8” sling in a year now. You are not alone in your husbandry and for most it seems to work well but for me it doesn’t 🤷♀️. Just thought I’d put this out there to let people know it is trial and error in seeing what works best based upon your location. I do also keep them with very good ventilation
Great vid. Regarding temperament, both of my males were pretty chill (maybe a little skittish at worst) but my female can be kinda defensive at times, never seen any of mine kick hairs but I'm sure I read a paper which says that this is the only species from the Aviculariinae subfamily that can kick them. As for husbandry, what I've found works best is providing a good amount of ventilation, keeping about 1/4 - 1/3 of the substrate damp, and providing a water dish (I usually catch mine drinking from their dishes days/weeks prior to moulting). I've had issues with Avics (specifically slings/smaller juvies) either just outright dropping dead or suffering from fatal moult complications over the winter months if kept over completely dry sub.
Your kids are lucky to have you as a teacher! And your spiders are obviously lucky. And this is my fave species, my Tribble just molted again and is almost ready for a new enclosure.
Great video as always Tom and we're always happy with the content you release and totally understand your a very busy man with your teaching. I hope them kids are all behaving for you this term. This has to be up there with the most beautiful tarantulas although I don't have one yet, but it's on my list. If I had a teacher like you I would have got into the hobby at a young age. Do your pupils get into the hobby after watching your vids? Stay safe tom and family.
Thank you so much! The kids have been great. I have a bunch of freshmen, and they are a blast to work with. Some of them do actually get into the hobby, but some have parents that won't allow for it.
My little .5 inch C. versicolor that I got in the latter part of July just molted a few days ago. I was thrilled! It moved the exo out of the web chamber and looks to have almost grown by half. Nice video! Thank you so much for all of your videos, for a new keeper they are priceless.
She sure is pretty! I admit my first tarantula was an A.Avic and I listened to the care sheets about humidity. I did end up with a dead spider. I was crushed and it was a while before I would try again. About 4 months after, I ran across your site and you have helped me with every one of my spiders since!!
Best of luck heading back to school! I unfortunately lost my versicolor sling early on in the hobby to a bad molt. I always regretted not getting to see their awesome color changes!
I totally agree that this species is gorgeous and ventilation is totally the key. I mist mine twice a week but not to the point the substrate is soaked. Take care of yourself and I'll see you in your next one. I'll sent you a picture of the Aviculara Baunchous. I know I butchered the spelling. Ibnsarachnids aka rob
She's very pretty! I love that enclosure with the slotted ventilation and two ways you can use it. They were using their head when they designed it. I'll have to check into that. Thanks.
Hi Tom! Its great that you are actually working with live specimens, ah..I meant children. 😆 🤣 😂. Of course I live in the southern Appalachian's so I never worry about humidity since its usually around 80% +/- here. Winter time it tends to be less but I still think the water dish is enough. As we talked before, supply and demand, can be a bit of a bother when you are shopping for your next new T. But, news flash, my local pet store is willing to buy the ones I'm looking for and since he's a dealer, he doesn't have to pay for shipping. It ends up being cheaper for me in the long run. I love the way you tend to keep enclosures on the simple side. I've seen a lot that are so over the top with what-nots and decor. Silly to me. KISS is my motto. Especially, when a number of T's tend to rearrange their enclosures and covering said decor. Anyway, have a great weekend. BTW, what kind of classes do you teach? Elementary, Jr. High, High School?
Hey, Linda! Hahaha Indeed! And that is awesome about your local pet store...how convenient! Yeah, I try no to go too crazy with the enclosures. If they get too busy, they are just terrible to keep clean. I teach high school special education. Right now, I have mixed classes (both general and special education kids), and we're working on improving overall literacy skills. Thanks so much!
@@TomsBigSpiders thanks for the advice, love all the advice I can get, especially from you. I currently have my eyes an a Juvenile A. avic for an extremely awesome price! As for enclosures, I usually apply the "KISS" philosophy. In February i purchased a bunch of deli containers off of Amazon. I also made sure I had supplies, (substrate mixes, containers, plastic plants, etc., ) before I started getting any T's. And because I am slightly OCD, I even bought a fancy Brother Labeler. Yeah, i know I could have waited, but I'm weird like that sometimes. 🤣 My current project is building a few colonies of Dubias and Red Runner roaches as nobody around here have them or supply them. I sure I can sell my extras since I know there are a bunch of people around here with lizards, T's, etc. Besides, it gives me something to do other than watch TH-cam all day. 😆 🤣 😂
Everytime I see either a picture or a video of these, my jaw drops. So beautiful. I will have to attempt to keep one of these eventually, but not before I'd have the perfect enclosure for it. Stay safe and thanks for sharing :)
I keep mine in a critter keeper. Before that, an arboreal deli cup setup. If you have the proper ventilation, dry substrate, and water bowl, you can keep them in almost anything.
One thing for people that may be considering these. They poo like firehoses. It's funny, but true. Go to bed with a clean enclosure, wake up with the walls of same enclosure pigeon painted. They are the messiest of any spider I have kept so far, aside from standard pinktoes, which do the same. Beautiful spider, and enclosure. Thanks for the video.
I totally forgot to mention their Poo Cannons. haha They really do cover everything with crap. haha Thanks for chiming in, bud!
this one was my first sling together with n. chromatus and a. geniculata. that was 4 years ago, now i have a pretty lady, about the same size as yours in the video. as a sling she always came out for a stroll on my hand, but now, she is a fiesty beast :D
That's awesome! Yeah, I haven't been lucky enough to get one of the really tame ones yet. :)
Lmfao!!! Are you seriously sponsored by simply limead?!! That is fucking hilarious!!! I bet they never expected this in their future of sponsorship 🤣🤣🤣
Hey, bud! hahaha It's kind of a running joke. Not yet, but it would be HILARIOUS if they contacted me!
C. versicolor is one of the main reasons I got into the hobby, well that, OBT, and GBB but mainly the versi. My girl, since last molt has kicked up her feeding response. She's roughly 4.5" (DLS) now and looking fine
She's getting big! That's awesome!
Had mine about 9 months now and it's finally getting some size. I keep mine in an Arachnosys arboreal sling enclosure so the ventilation is excellent. I keep relatively dry with a water dish and occasionally mist the webbing as she shows a preference for drinking from there.
One of my absolute favourites!
Hey, bud! I hope that all is well. I wish that I could get more of those Arachnosys enclosures. My two are lonely...haha They are such awesome spiders.
I think I have moved from beginner to intermediate tarantula keeping! I just bought my first bottle of Limeade and Orangeade ONLY to use the bottles for moving my tarantulas around. 😂 Great idea, Thanks!
Hi, Laura! Hahaha That's awesome! All joking aside, I LOVE those bottles! :)
My first c. versicolor died, I don't know if it's the slightly moist substrate cause I heard dry substate is much better. I definitely put a lot of cross vents so I know that is not the issue why my T died. But I bought another 2 c. versicolor, I hope this time it'll all go well. Wish me luck
Hi, Joel! When I did a poll of the species folks struggled with most, this one came in at number 1. It's not just you. I hope things go better with the next one!
my wifes favorite T. great video again. wish there wasnt so much negativity towards ease of keeping this species. weve had a couple with zero issues. Congrats on getting the teaching gigs. and thanks for the video
Hi, Jason! Man, that's awesome. I love them, but folks STILL seem to struggle with them.
Great care video! My sling is now probably 3" DLS and I watched your video a few times before I rehoused her(I'm hoping that it's a her) but that enclosure you used is so nice I might have to get one and move mine again. If I could only keep one species from now on I think I'd be happy to get a sling every year because every stage of development is visually stunning.
Stupid question now, does a female live much longer after having an egg sack?
Hi, Mia! Fingers crossed that you have a lady. And I agree about the stages of development.
Not a stupid question at all! Females can go on to have many sacs. Females continue to grow and shed through adulthood.
I have an A. Avic that tends to be a bit crazy. Definitely doesn't live up to the docile reputation 👀😆
Yeah, I'm sure that there are plenty of docile ones out there...but there are also a lot of crazy ones!
Great video Tom,I did have a sub adult,not sure of the sex,it die suddenly had it for some time,I think it was just unfortunate.in the past I was keeping to moist and they was lasting 24 hr.now I keep dry I've no problems.
Glad your back teaching.
Thanks so much, James! I'm so glad that the more dry setups worked for you.
I keep my A. purpurea with a water dish and an occasion misting of the substrate and she's doing well, she's a small juvie. I must admit the S.A.D.S thing made me wonder if I wanted to dip my toes into the Avicularia world, but when I saw pics of how she'll be when she's grown up, I HAD to have one.
That's great to hear! I get a lot of folks asking me about the A. purpurea, but I have never raised one.
I bought Simply Limeade for the first time last week just because of your vids haha!!
Oh man...that is amazing! hahahaha
Also, I seem to have good results just over filling the water dish for humidity purposes
That'll work too...great point!
There’s a type of arboreal sling/juvie enclosure that a lot people on Facebook are using for their versis. There isn’t a ton of cross ventilation put people are having success apparently. Can I email you a picture and a link and would you be willing to give me your opinion on them (if you have time of course)? I’m considering using the larger one for when my slings need an upgrade
Hey, Bronnie! Yes, could you please send me some pics at tomsbigspiders@outlook.com ? thank you!
Tom as a teacher ,we talk spiders all day ,plus in detention we talk about T s awesome,
My avic avic after her last molt she is mean ,an would bite me ,she does not messed with at all ,
Great to see a video from you ,Tom's big spider video I clicked instantly,👍👍👍👍
That's just awesome. My kids this year seem to be particularly interested in them. Thank you so much!
I am new to Tarantula Life, do you have a good recommendation for buying Tarantulas in Canada? I love your videos, so informative and fun to watch.
Hi, Robin! Tarantulas Canada usually gets a lot of positive mentions.
Yes I rehoused mine about a week ago. As it turns out it got loose. Yeah, I had a catch cup, but I'm not that fast because it jumped. Luckily it landed on the edge of a soft piece of plastic bag that completely broke its fall. It after thinking it was gone for good I was able to find it catch it put it back in its cage. No harm done.
Hey, Walt! Yikes, that must have gotten the blood pumping. I'm so glad that it all ended well!
i got a pair and the female needed around 1,5 month to build her first web in the enclosure while the male did it in a empty corner after 2 days, so both gave me the middle finger and didnt used my nice kork bark i gave them...i dont like the slings, so weak and the only species i ever lost slings, i raised diversipes slings at the same time, same enclosures, everything same, caribena died 3 of 4 and now the diversipes are double the size, so...
Yeah, these guys tend to give folks fits. We can talk all we want about them not being that hard to keep, but folks continue to lose them.
I just wish the "rump" of the caribena versicolor (I think they used to be versi versicolor right?) did not get discolored.
Hey, Brad! Avicularia versicolor, although I've referred to them as "Versicolor versicolor" before. haha Mine are usually quite bright red after a molt.
Tom don't feel bad for focusing on your work and family that's why we like you because you never let TH-cam overtake your life you keep it in its place and still some how reply the everyone do a pod cast take care of hundreds of spiders a teacher and a Dad got dogs dude your insane how do you do it all
I appreciate that, TJ. Some folks just don't seem to get it, though...and that can be a bit annoyi8ng. haha Thanks so much!
gotta love their other defense mechanism of shooting poo across the room
Oh, man...I forgot to mention the Poo Cannons! haha
hahaha ohhh yeahh the best part lol
Got 2 slings of these, the slightly bigger one just molted and has just started to show some of the reddish hairs on it's abdomen.
That's awesome, Violet! :) Congrats on the molt. : )
One the more popular Avicularia sp that's a joy to watch transition in appearance as they mature
I agree completely, Michael!
Just got my versi today! Luckily i have a breeder who lives nearby 😁
That's awesome...congrats!
I know there is a lot of concersary over some teachers and all that political crap. I have a feeling you are an awesome teacher though. So thank for you doing what you do. It is super important. I have family members that are teachers and it is so much more than a job.
Thank you so much, Brad! I'm very focused on making good connections with the kids and making sure that everyone that walks into my class leaves having improved (and KNOWING that they improved). I love teaching, and I think that the kids appreciate what I do. :)
Anecdotal confirmation: I've seen some of my adult Avicularia (including Caribena versicolor) kick hairs. However, they don't seem to have the top patch until adult, at least it doesn't seem visually distinct from the other abdominal hairs. I've never observed a sling of any size, "kick" hairs, but I have seen them do the rubbing thing from about an inch.
Thank you so much for chiming in with this, Dan!
she's beautiful. my second fave spider in the hobby
Thank you, Ellie! And that's awesome.
Yay first one love your vids Tom thank you 😊
Hahaha Nice job, Charlene! And thank you!
Mines still pretty tiny, just molted a week ago
Hey, Bill! congrats on the molt!
She a mom bless her congratulations 🎊
Thank you, Shirley!
The only spider DTG has been bit by. I remember that story from yrs ago. She was trying to rehouse I believe. I think she tried picking the T up from one enclosure to the next. I can't remember the story good but I know it's the only T she's been bit by. Awesome video brother. Gotta love these jewels ❤️😎
Hey, Damien! Hope all is well, bud! That is an excellent point...I completely forgot about that. Every time I put a C. versicolor video up, someone comes on and asks why I don't handler her (because theirs is tame). Figured I'd explain why. haha Thanks, bud!
What do you teach? Curious minds want to know!
High school special education. This year, I'm teaching a mixed class (both general and special ed students) and we're working on inproving literacy skills. My background is in English, so this is right up my alley. :)
My Versi is s freaking nut job. Lol
My older female is too, Chad!
Really a stunning species of tarantula
Thank you!
I just bought a versicolor.
Congrats, Dovine!
Hoping to get one, but can't afford to buy
Hopefully some day!
Great video buddy I'll be breeding these soon as my male just matured, do you have any breeding tips when it comes to the conditioning of the female ect? Also great rehouse 👌 p.s we need to talk via email soon for that special video ....
I haven't forgotten about this, don't worry! I did a feeding video today, and I purposely left Phormictopus out of it... ;) We definitely do!
@@TomsBigSpiders hahaha I have a phormictopus feeding video premiere in 20 minutes 🤣🤣🤣 it's OK I have a LOT of footage
Funny I got this species first and picked up two slings and one pretty much juvi. Slings are fairly docile but the Juvi is kinda nutty. I believe you even though this re-house went well.
Hi, Kelly! I think there is a lot out there about how docile and handleable this species is. I just want folks to be aware that there are some high strung C. versicolors out there! Thanks!
@@TomsBigSpiders For sure 👍
My Caribena Versicolor escaped about a week or so ago. I'm still devastated.
Sorry to hear that. On the other hand, they are so arboreal, you may still find it in a corner by the ceiling, especially looking at night. Even tropical species can last a bit. I lost a pumpkin patch sling for two weeks, found it alive under the base of my flat tv.
Man, I'm so sorry to hear that. fullonsociopath is right...you may still find her!
Nice spider and video. I am tired of people and their bio-active enclosures. EVERYTHING have to be bioactive nowdays. Its tarantulas we are dealing with, NOT frogs. I have one bioactive enclosure for my E murinus. I have had her in there for 6 years with plants and woodlice but no false bottom,i have never used that and i have had many so called bio active set ups. I see people using like clayballs and think its nessesary, but it is not imo! And for speicies that need less humidety, just overflow the waterdish once in a while.. But all other i have just on substrate with some plant is it is a soeicies that use a little moisture. just wonder. How old are the kids you are teaching and what kind of teaching. Is it math, geography or what? And yeah, i hope you get royalties from that juice company LOL
Yeah, it was all the rage for a while. I've backed off from doing anything more than putting plants in a few enclosures. I don't think that they are appropriate for many species. I have only one with a false bottom, and that's it. I actually spoke about this not that long ago in a podcast. I teach high school, and right now it's literacy skills/English (reading and writing). My background is actually in English. Hope all is well, bud! Thanks!
@@TomsBigSpiders ohh dear. Highschool with all the kids. Must be tough?
Brilliant video as usual Tom, and what a fantastic species featured, informative and very agreeable viewing as always, thanks Tom and Billie for all your hard work. 😀.
Thank you so much, George!
I'm getting my first in this morning and I've learned a lesson have the enclosure ready first. it came sooner than I expected. it's only my second decent size spider about 1 1/2 inch. I had a container almost identical to the one you have that that you are rehousing from. I'm a bit nervous but soo excited.
Congrats, Stephanie! I hope that the housing went well!
@@TomsBigSpiders it was great. My first to crawl on me and I'm even more in love with these little beauties.
Thank you for sharing your Premium Time with us. 🖤
Thank YOU for watching and commenting, Gwendolyn!
Another cute species
I must agree! :)
Great job Tom !
Thanks, Allen!
and i really dig the enclosure! gonna be picking those up for sure
Hey, Jason! Yeah, I really like this one.
@@TomsBigSpiders the fact that they made it terrestrial or arboreal capable is awesome. need me about 20 of them sons of guns lol
My temps in my house can drop to low 60s at night in the winter, will a versicolor sling be OK at these temps overnight and upto 70s during the day?
Hey, Kelvin! With my first C. versicolor, temps would drop to mid to high 60s in the winter at night, and she did fine. That said, this is one of those species that can be a bit more finicky when it comes to temp. Is there a higher shelf you can keep her on that gets just a bit warmer?
@@TomsBigSpiders I crafted a sling nursery as seen on the Tarantula collectives channel. So they should be a bit warmer now. I've been keeping Ts for over 5 years now I've just not had many I think I've kept 9 tarantulas in that time and my first 2 were a moult away from become mature males when I bought them and I've only owned a couple of slings and usually of a more hardy nature. You'd think I'd know more in that time haha. Still learning everyday. Thank you for your help I really appreciate it.
Also its weird talking Fahrenheit when I'm English🙈🤣
Hello from the uk 🇬🇧
I have to ask as I'm curious (if you don't mind) what subject do you teach??
Thanks to your channel I ignored cate sheets talking about humidity and successfully raised a versicolor sling and now she's a sub adult. She was my first sling too. So thank you from me and my beautiful girl Magenta-blue. X
Hello from the US, Gemma! I'm a high school special education teacher. This year, I've got mixed classes with both general education students and special education student where we work on literacy skills. :) And that is awesome! I'm so glad that she did well. :)
@@TomsBigSpiders awww thank you for the reply. What an amazing job. I too support kids with special needs, autism and mental health issues as a specialist nurse. Do your students find your 8 legged venom kitties fascinating and ask about them?? X
@@TomsBigSpiders that's excellent! Both my kids are "special needs" but were mostly mainstreamed in class and motivated me to go into non for profit working with adults with ID/DD. It's a very rewarding experience.
EXCELLENT SHIRT, TOM!!!!
Thank you so much!
I have a C.Versicolour sling that came with instructions to keep it in 70-80% humidity. I'm really glad I double checked and didn't overdo the water and focussed on the airflow. I read they live in trees in windy areas. So damp is not ideal at all.
dry with a water dish works well for these and most other avics
Ugh! It drives me nuts that they are still putting that type of information out there. That's why so many of them die. I'm so glad that you got the right info.
I've been told that a told me it needs a heat matt at back incloure on low heat 😬 lucky I never as i watched about them mine a sling had it a few weeks 👍
SLAYER!
\m/
Great information
Thank you, Channy!
Tom, you Rock. I’m sure that you are an awesome teacher and are full of enthusiasm. Anyone that doesn’t get that RL comes first always is a muppet. Anyhow, that is one pretty little lady. I love spiders with attitude. It’s becoming a trademark of your videos to have your fabulous wife giggle. You seem an awesome couple.
Thank you so much, Bobbi! I'm MUCH more energetic and lively than I come across on my videos. :) Thank you again from both of us!
🕷💜💜🕷
Thank you, Lisa!
Great video! Got myself a little versicolor the other day, funny coincidence.
Thank you so much, Sergio! And good timing. :)
Hello great video rehousing and update Tom
Thank you so much, Moon!
Fuckin SLAYER!
Hell yeah! \m/
🤘🏼
This is by far my favorite species.... that said. Yes. They can be unforgiving. I had 5 of these guys delivered to my on 5/27/2020. I lost one due to it shedding it's mouth parts from 3rd to 4th instar. On 9/16/2021 I lost one due to it getting stuck in the molt. I knew it was in heavy pre-molt. I sprayed the enclosure down and watched it drink from the sides of the enclosure. My guess is it didn't get enough water.... It never drank from the water dish unlike the others. I have one that loves to walk around on the substrate. All 4 are set up the same way. I mist the webbing every Wednesday and change their water. The air to water ratio is high for about 2 days and then settles down to what my apartment is which is about 45%. I know you don't like the "H" word LOL. Nothing in the enclosure to say what the "H" word value is. I have 6 hygrometers placed through out my apartment to get my "means and extremes". It gives me a good average. I have them placed from the floor to the top of my cabinets in random places. I check them on watering day for peace of mind and to guide me on when it is too dry or the opposite in my apartment. I do have a large ghost pepper plant to help modify my air to water ratio. I hope that out of the 3 that are left I end up with a female. All 3 are growing at about the same rate so I might have either 3 males or 3 females. I will try to sex the next molts to determine what they are. Love your content Tom! Love the podcasts as well! A tarantula is the best neglected pet ever! Oh and feeding day is every Tuesday unless they are obese/pre-molt. My Brachypelma boehmei has been super "Chonkers" for 24 days. I fed it a pinhead cricket hoping to spur a molt..... no luck yet. It has been really chunky since 7/15/2021 and has only had 2 pinhead crickets (one per month). Looking to get 3 more versicolor slings in order to perfect my husbandry of them. I am thinking on switching to the Bio Dude substrate and getting some Tarantula Crib arboreal adult enclosures. I am using the Zilla Jungle Mix right now. These Zilla ones are nice but after this last death it has left a sour taste in my mouth since you are limited on how much substrate you can put in it. About 2 inches is all they can hold and it seems to dry out fairly quick. I am also going to get a slightly bigger water dish to hopefully offset the dryness a bit. Maybe they will be able to find the water dish a little better if it is bigger. If this doesn't work I will create some scaffolding structure to elevate the water dish. I plan on doing little things over the next 24 months to see what works and what doesn't. I am trying not to over complicate things as you have said in past podcasts. Oh and my temps are between 75-80. 75 in the summer and 80 in the winter. The big H stays at around 47% year round which seems to work well for all 7 of my tarantulas. Oh crap. Sorry just saw how much I typed. Can't wait for the 2 hour podcasts again!!!
Hey, Dusty! Thanks so much for chiming in! I, too, keep a thermometer/hygromter in my room just to give me a ballpark idea of where things are at. I have nothing in any enclosures. Yeah, I've found that the enclosures that don't offer enough depth for substrate (even with arboreals) don't work well for me. I like to pile it in, especially for moisture dependent species. Those long podcasts take a lot out of me! haha Hope all is well!
Great video, great info! We keep C. Versicolor as well. Beautiful!! 😍
Thank you so much! They are beautiful spiders.
My favorite of ALL "Ts" !!!!!!!! Weird your doing a video of a rehouse with her right now I literally just watched all of your videos on this beautiful "T" 🥰🥰🥰
Hi, Tammie! That's awesome! :)
My big girl is crazy too! Incredible food response. Would never trust to handle her but my stars is she gorgeous. Love her.
Glad to know I'm not the only one, Hilary! Thank you for chiming in!
I love her and her enclosure.
I wish we could put pics in here.
Then I'd show you Dallas my grown on Versi sling..I'm so proud of her, she was my first ever T. I'd only had jumping spiders before then xx
Send me an email at tomsbigspiders@outlook.com. I would love to see her, Laura!
I really enjoy your channel. I'm only into my second year as a tarantula-owner and own seven different individuals. Your care-videos are often a must-see upon making a purchase. Great job! Warm regards from Sweden 😊
Man, thank you so much. I truly appreciate that!
Love my versicolor, she's a little crazy but I have a soft spot for the crazies. I keep her dry with a big water bowl and she's growing like crazy.
They are just such pretty spiders! Thanks, Jason. :)
Hiya Tom!!
In my personal experience with Avicularia, I have to keep them damp with a water dish. I changed my husbandry with my first two from damp to dryer with a water dish and they both died. l had them for over a year when I changed the husbandry. I now have 6 Avicularia with 5 different sp and I have kept them damp with a water dish and haven’t lost but one tiny 5/8” sling in a year now. You are not alone in your husbandry and for most it seems to work well but for me it doesn’t 🤷♀️. Just thought I’d put this out there to let people know it is trial and error in seeing what works best based upon your location. I do also keep them with very good ventilation
Hey, Darcy! Thanks for chiming in! Yes, people need to do what works for them. :)
Great vid. Regarding temperament, both of my males were pretty chill (maybe a little skittish at worst) but my female can be kinda defensive at times, never seen any of mine kick hairs but I'm sure I read a paper which says that this is the only species from the Aviculariinae subfamily that can kick them.
As for husbandry, what I've found works best is providing a good amount of ventilation, keeping about 1/4 - 1/3 of the substrate damp, and providing a water dish (I usually catch mine drinking from their dishes days/weeks prior to moulting). I've had issues with Avics (specifically slings/smaller juvies) either just outright dropping dead or suffering from fatal moult complications over the winter months if kept over completely dry sub.
Thanks so much! I hope to some day get one of the more laid back ones. Mine have all been pretty skittish. And great info!
Your kids are lucky to have you as a teacher! And your spiders are obviously lucky. And this is my fave species, my Tribble just molted again and is almost ready for a new enclosure.
Thank you so much! And love the name Tribble...that's awesome!
Great video as always Tom and we're always happy with the content you release and totally understand your a very busy man with your teaching. I hope them kids are all behaving for you this term. This has to be up there with the most beautiful tarantulas although I don't have one yet, but it's on my list. If I had a teacher like you I would have got into the hobby at a young age. Do your pupils get into the hobby after watching your vids? Stay safe tom and family.
Thank you so much! The kids have been great. I have a bunch of freshmen, and they are a blast to work with. Some of them do actually get into the hobby, but some have parents that won't allow for it.
My little .5 inch C. versicolor that I got in the latter part of July just molted a few days ago. I was thrilled! It moved the exo out of the web chamber and looks to have almost grown by half.
Nice video! Thank you so much for all of your videos, for a new keeper they are priceless.
Congrats on the molt! And thank you so much!
She sure is pretty! I admit my first tarantula was an A.Avic and I listened to the care sheets about humidity. I did end up with a dead spider. I was crushed and it was a while before I would try again. About 4 months after, I ran across your site and you have helped me with every one of my spiders since!!
Hi, Toni! That is so great to hear! It drives me nuts that people are STILL telling folks to keep them really moist.
Best of luck heading back to school! I unfortunately lost my versicolor sling early on in the hobby to a bad molt. I always regretted not getting to see their awesome color changes!
Thank you so much, Lilly! And I'm so very sorry to hear that. :(
I totally agree that this species is gorgeous and ventilation is totally the key. I mist mine twice a week but not to the point the substrate is soaked. Take care of yourself and I'll see you in your next one. I'll sent you a picture of the Aviculara Baunchous. I know I butchered the spelling. Ibnsarachnids aka rob
Hi Rob not to but in but do you mean the braunshauseni?
@@darcystcorner2580 yes I couldn't remember how to spell that name its not very common. I now have 2
@@ibnsarachnids9175 ah I’m jelly Rob I only have one lol. It’s a tiny one but I’m excited to see it grow
@@darcystcorner2580 I have five different types of Aviculara lol
@@ibnsarachnids9175 me too lol I meant the braunshauseni
Thanks Tom . Quick question . Do they ever lose the mirror patch ?
Hi, Dan! Mine always have them.
What a beauty she is Tom. You are very fortunate to have such a great videographer. Hi Billie.
I truly am, Joyce...thank you!
She's very pretty! I love that enclosure with the slotted ventilation and two ways you can use it. They were using their head when they designed it. I'll have to check into that. Thanks.
Yeah, I really like this enclosure design. Thanks so much!
Hi Tom! Its great that you are actually working with live specimens, ah..I meant children. 😆 🤣 😂. Of course I live in the southern Appalachian's so I never worry about humidity since its usually around 80% +/- here. Winter time it tends to be less but I still think the water dish is enough. As we talked before, supply and demand, can be a bit of a bother when you are shopping for your next new T. But, news flash, my local pet store is willing to buy the ones I'm looking for and since he's a dealer, he doesn't have to pay for shipping. It ends up being cheaper for me in the long run. I love the way you tend to keep enclosures on the simple side. I've seen a lot that are so over the top with what-nots and decor. Silly to me. KISS is my motto. Especially, when a number of T's tend to rearrange their enclosures and covering said decor. Anyway, have a great weekend. BTW, what kind of classes do you teach? Elementary, Jr. High, High School?
Hey, Linda! Hahaha Indeed! And that is awesome about your local pet store...how convenient! Yeah, I try no to go too crazy with the enclosures. If they get too busy, they are just terrible to keep clean. I teach high school special education. Right now, I have mixed classes (both general and special education kids), and we're working on improving overall literacy skills. Thanks so much!
@@TomsBigSpiders thanks for the advice, love all the advice I can get, especially from you. I currently have my eyes an a Juvenile A. avic for an extremely awesome price! As for enclosures, I usually apply the "KISS" philosophy. In February i purchased a bunch of deli containers off of Amazon. I also made sure I had supplies, (substrate mixes, containers, plastic plants, etc., ) before I started getting any T's. And because I am slightly OCD, I even bought a fancy Brother Labeler. Yeah, i know I could have waited, but I'm weird like that sometimes. 🤣 My current project is building a few colonies of Dubias and Red Runner roaches as nobody around here have them or supply them. I sure I can sell my extras since I know there are a bunch of people around here with lizards, T's, etc. Besides, it gives me something to do other than watch TH-cam all day. 😆 🤣 😂
Hell Awaits was their finest album imo.
SLAAAAYERRR! \m/
Hell yeah! :)
Everytime I see either a picture or a video of these, my jaw drops. So beautiful. I will have to attempt to keep one of these eventually, but not before I'd have the perfect enclosure for it.
Stay safe and thanks for sharing :)
lol the guy whos afraid of old worlds. idk if you're ready for c versicolor maybe give it another 10 years just to be on the safe side.
I keep mine in a critter keeper. Before that, an arboreal deli cup setup. If you have the proper ventilation, dry substrate, and water bowl, you can keep them in almost anything.
Hey, Luc! They really are just gorgeous spiders and go through such wonderful color changes. Hopefully, you pick one up someday! :)
Ana, why the sarcasm?
Oooooo soooo pretty ❤️💜 it's too cute 😍🥰 ( Melody Trotter )
Hey, Molody! You're going to have to keep reminding me that this is you! hahah
@@TomsBigSpiders LoL 😂😆
Where have you been? 😒
He explains that in the intro.
Appreciation goes a long way; especially, when we remember that we aren't entitled to any of his time at all.
F is just messing with me. haha This has been a running joke with us for quite some time. :) All is good!
@@TomsBigSpiders Sorry for being mean to you tom 😞 LOL