Just to Verify... (Rose Hair Care)

Yesterday I made a semi impulse buy. I have been wanting a tarantula for a few years now. I did not plan on getting one at the expo yesterday, but I did. She spent the night in a critter keeper and I am almost ready to put her in her enclosure, but before I did, I just want to verify that my setup is suitable, and that the information I am working with is correct.

She is a Chilean Rose Hair and about 1 1/2 inch leg span right now. (Anyone have any idea about how old that would make her?)

Enclosure (see attachment - The tank wont be staying there, It will be away from direct sunlight.)

I am going to be placing her in a ten gallon fish tank with a screen top that is 3/4 covered with plastic wrap to keep the humidity in.

For substrate I am using eco-earth, which I have dampened to the point where if you put your hands in it, it sticks to you, but not so moist that you can squeeze water out of it. It is about 2 inches deep. I also have two small patches of sphagnam moss in there to help with the humidity and give a variance in texture.

I am unsure about my choice of decor for a couple reasons. First after reading some, I am concerned that maybe the tree branch thing is a bad idea because she could fall and hurt herself. Do you think it is too high for her right now? Second I dont have a real hide spot for her. I have a half log that I was going to put in for a hide, but it takes up about half the floor space of the tank so I was worried that if I put it in I would never see her. If having a hide is necessary, I will get a small cocoa hut if that would be a good choice.

Water

For water I am using a small 1/2 inch deep glass candle holder. It holds a decent amount of water but is not nearly big enough to have to worry about her drowning.

Heat and Humidity

From what I have read, it seems the consensus on heat and humidity is about 70-85 degrees and 70-80%. Is this correct?

Feeding

For now I have large crickets, but my husband cannot stand the chirping. Are there quiet alternatives? I know some people use roaches, but is this nutritionally sound as a staple? I also dont have problems at all with superworms if those are alright to feed. We could feed crickets once a week if we have to and just pick them up on the way home and feed that night, my husband just really doesnt want to keep a stock of them in the house.

Also, everywhere I look I seem to get different information regarding frequency of feeding and no information on quantity. It seems anywhere from twice a week to once every other week is acceptable. Is this true? And how much do I feed? As much as she will eat or only a few at each feeding?


Thanks in advance for any replies I might receive. I want to give this girl a long happy life so any help is greatly appreciated.

BTW, here she is in the critter keeper....

Good choice for a first Tarantula, G. porteri is a really hardy species! I have several adults and have bred this species twice in my personal hobby experience.

I keep my adults in 10 gallon glass aquariums, I use a substrate mixture of shredded coco husk and clean sand at a 1:1 ratio. The sand is mixed after the coco husk is finished drying to keep it from clumping. Juveniles are more apt to construct small burrows than adults, I find my adults to be more oppurtunistic and prefer a pre-existing hide or burrow start thats large enough for the animal to retreat from sight and ambient light. I've always housed slings and juvies in size appropriate cups and small plastic containers, and kept the humidity higher for younger animals as they are molting far more often than sub-adults and adults. For my adults the humidity hovers around 40%, and I keep records and monitor behavior to anticipate molts and raise humidity slightly during that time.

As far as cage furniture goes, it's really an aesthetic choice from the keepers perspective. As long as they have a sufficient hide they will remain stress free. Younger animals climb far more often than adults, and it's not unusual to find them scaling the sides of the enclosure or even hanging inverted from a screen top. I've watched sub-adults fall from 6"+ heights onto substrate and I've never had a split opisthosoma, despite this I still cringe every time it happens. I began housing sub-adult animals in shorter 'breeder box' type plastic enclosures for just this reason. I provide a small water dish with several large pieces of aquarium gravel to break the surface tension at all times for 1"+ juvies. I find the gravel not only helps keep feeder insects from drowning but some of my tarantulas like to place their front legs and sometimes their palps on the gravel when lowering to drink.

Crickets, if you want to eliminate chirping you can either purchase only females (the females have a long thin ovipositor protruding rearwards from their abdomen) or smaller younger animals that are not sexually mature. Numerous species of feeder roach are available and make no real audible sounds, and are perfectly acceptable food items. They are often quicker and better at remaining hidden from predators, so watch to make sure the tarantula is actually catching them. I prefer not to feed superworms to my tarantulas, my scorpions love them, but my tarantulas make a mess out of them. They have a tendency to leave large amounts of un-digested superworm still silk wrapped laying around their enclosure. As far as frequency for younger animals I offer prey items every two to three days, for my adults I offer a larger more substantial prey item (like an adult dubia, or three to four adult crickets) once every five to seven days. They are predators, and posses a slow metabolism so missed feedings here and there won't impact health at all. Monitor eating, if prey items are unconsumed after a night in the enclosure, or your tarantula retreats from them they need to be removed. This can also be a good sign your animal is about to molt or something is causing stress.

Hope this helps some, this species is hardy and long lived (especially if you have a female). My oldest female is 14 years, I've had her since she was a thumbnail.

Keep the substrate dry as can be. I personally would not recommend mixing with sand. It can get into the book lungs, which in turn with time will cause death.

Feeding can just be one cricket once a week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofa_CefXhkE

Watch this vid...and others from him. Rosies are VERY easy to say the least. Dry substrate, small water bowl, 5 gallon tank with screen lid, and one cricket a week.

As easy as it gets.

Thanks for the replies.

So it seems like I definitely need to dry out the substrate. With the substrate needing to stay dry and having a small water dish, how do you keep the humidity up? From what I understood they need moderate to high humidity. Is that not true? If they do need the humidity than do you think the moss clump will be enough to keep it up?

Watching that guys videos confirmed my thought that maybe the tank is a little too big for her, but I had a thought. What if I turned it on its side (i.e. lay it down on the front pane so the opening is in the front. This is how I have my tanks for my snakes with a hinged door. That way the tank would not be as high. Then I could just lay the tree branch thing down on its side and not have to worry about her falling too far.

As far as feeders, after looking around I definitely want to go with the dubias, however it looks like I will need to wait a couple months because its too cold to ship right now. I am going to ask my local shop though if they can order some for me. They are pretty good about getting things you need if they dont have it. Also, I know that the assistant manager is huge on spiders. He has an entire room of them, so Its possible that he may even breed them, so I will ask and maybe he can sell me some.

Originally Posted by AGoodwin

Thanks for the replies.

So it seems like I definitely need to dry out the substrate. With the substrate needing to stay dry and having a small water dish, how do you keep the humidity up? From what I understood they need moderate to high humidity. Is that not true? If they do need the humidity than do you think the moss clump will be enough to keep it up?
.

I don't know where you are getting this from, but rosies need low humidity. Many other species of spiders need high humidity, but rosies aren't one of them.

Your tank isnt too big really, just don't be surprised when she doesn't use the whole thing. lol

Originally Posted by FosterHerpetological

I don't know where you are getting this from, but rosies need low humidity. Many other species of spiders need high humidity, but rosies aren't one of them.

Your tank isnt too big really, just don't be surprised when she doesn't use the whole thing. lol

What do you suggest then, would 20-50% be about right?

As for the tank, If the size is okay then I will leave it upright for now at least. Maybe someday when Im up for a project I will still convert it to have it on its side with the hinged door.

Ive decided to put the tree branch thing down on its side so its not so tall. That way if she falls it will only be 2 inches max.

Originally Posted by FosterHerpetological

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofa_CefXhkE

Watch this vid...and others from him. Rosies are VERY easy to say the least. Dry substrate, small water bowl, 5 gallon tank with screen lid, and one cricket a week.

As easy as it gets.

This is the exact setup I have for mine. She's 11 years old. I have tried other prey items, but she won't touch them. I do keep a rock in the water dish, to keep the crickets from drowning. If there's water anywhere, a cricket will use it to commit suicide.

Noelle