A few questions experienced owners can answer

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
12
hello I'm picking up first tarantula tomorrow! It will be a Chilean rose.

1. Can the tarantula be housed in a clear rubbermaid shoebox type box with holes punched in for ventilation? Real question is, is this suitable enough, big enough, etc.

2. Can i use 'Aspen Snake Bedding' for substrate?
Package says: " 99.9% dust free, non-toxic, hypoallergenic, has higher absorpion properties than other beddings and contains no harmful oils."
also says: Can be used for birds, lizards, turtles, tarantulas, and insects."
does this need water added for the humidity?

3. What's a reasonable amount of crickets to get since tarantulas don't eat that much?

What other supplies do I need? Currently have acquired: home, bedding, water dish, place to hide/burrow. Anything else?

I greatly appreciate any help I can receive
 

fartkowski

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
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Jan 5, 2007
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4,904
Hi
Congrats and welcome to the hobby:D
1. The rubbrmaid should be ok, How much bigger than the T is it?
2. I'm not too sure what that bedding is but I would just use regular peat moss or potting soil. As long as it's chemical free.
3. I feed mine one cricket a week. I buy a bunch at once, and use a smaller gladware container to keep them in.

I think you have everything covered.
Oh yeh in the future you may need more tarantulas:D
I'll warn you now, this hobby is very addicting
 

aracnochicken

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Dec 26, 2007
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95
Well your questions depend on many different things .
question 1 , yes it could as long as its not a T that gets huge , somthing like a rosea or something similar would be fine .

question 2 . personaly I prefer to use coco fiber or sterile pete in mine . I've been told most T's don't care for rough substrate .

question 3 again that depends on what your getting , most T's will do fine on 1 or 2 crickets a week . I have a mature rosea and a Haitian brown that I give 2 to 4 a week .

as for your last question that again also depends what your getting , a rosea likes it bone dry were as a blondi or a Lasiodora parahybana (Brazilian Salmon Pink) and many others need to be misted , so you'll need a spray bottle .
Other then that your on the right track , I'm sure someone will chime in with somthing I might have forgotten .

and by the way , welcome to the board and good luck with your first T , but its not likely to be your last ..........trust me {D
 

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
12
okay thanks! Oh and how long do crickets stay alive, I keep worrying they'll all die within a month or two. They sell 100 for 6.99 here. Is this okay?
 

Widowman10

Arachno WIDOW
Old Timer
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Jan 25, 2007
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okay thanks! Oh and how long do crickets stay alive, I keep worrying they'll all die within a month or two. They sell 100 for 6.99 here. Is this okay?
hmmm, for 1 single T, i would just stop by the local petco or whatever you have and get 1 or 2 crickets a week. might be easier for you...
 

fishwithoutabik

Arachnobaron
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
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320
lol. buy as few as you can get at a time. crickets stink bad. plus you will be going through them very slowly with only one T. Getting 100 would be like having a cricket colony which IMO is massive overkill. Now, in a few months when you have 47 little fanged mouths to feed, 100 crickets might make more sense{D
 

von_z

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Feb 10, 2008
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571
Don't use aspen or any other type of wood shavings. Use coconut fiber or a pete and vermiculite mixture. I prefer the Eco-Earth by ZooMed.
 

aracnochicken

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Dec 26, 2007
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like Widownam said , just get what you need . your not going to need 100 thats for sure and trying to keep them alive for months will be a real pain in the butt . Not to mention crickets STINK!!! literally . I have 3 adult T's and 4 slings and I get 10 adult and 10 small crickts and they last me over a week . I feed mine 1 or 2 crickets twice a week 2 or 3 for the adults and 1 twice a week for the slings .
 

Widowman10

Arachno WIDOW
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lol. buy as few as you can get at a time. crickets stink bad. plus you will be going through them very slowly with only one T. Getting 100 would be like having a cricket colony which IMO is massive overkill. Now, in a few months when you have 47 little fanged mouths to feed, 100 crickets might make more sense{D
yep, exactly. specially with a rosie. i can just see it now:

stinky noisy cricket colony with 100s of crix, and the rosie decides to fast for a year... {D {D
 

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
12
okay so this is what I gathered so far
1. Buy as few crickets as possible
2. Don't use wood shavings for bedding
3. No misting neccessary for Chilean rose

There is no petxo where I live, but we do have a petsmart. Possibly might have something? Who knows
 

von_z

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Feb 10, 2008
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okay so this is what I gathered so far
1. Buy as few crickets as possible
2. Don't use wood shavings for bedding
3. No misting neccessary for Chilean rose

There is no petxo where I live, but we do have a petsmart. Possibly might have something? Who knows
Petsmart is basically the same thing. And what you have gathered is absolutely correct:) .
 

aracnochicken

Arachnosquire
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Dec 26, 2007
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95
sounds like your a fast learner ;) . did you know what kind of T you were planning on getting ? If you can you should see if your can find a breeder there , you'll get a much better T then you would from a petstore . Most petstore employees don't know a thing about T's , and I stress "most" but not all .
 

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
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12
thank you guys so much for the help! I'm so thrilled for what tommorrow brings...a tarantula! Ha ha I will most likely be back with more questions in the future
 

aracnochicken

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Dec 26, 2007
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hhhmmm I guess I should have read the first line to your original post , just realized you said you were getting a rose hair . DUH!!!
 

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
12
I understand that you guys said the shoebox method for housing would be fin but how come every video on youtube, these kids have these giant massive tanks? Of I recall, tarantulas do not need, nor want large enclosures. What's up???
 

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
12
sounds like your a fast learner ;) . did you know what kind of T you were planning on getting ? If you can you should see if your can find a breeder there , you'll get a much better T then you would from a petstore . Most petstore employees don't know a thing about T's , and I stress "most" but not all .
I have een reseArching for several weeks about different types. And I'm getting crickets from petsmart not the actual tarantula. I've noticed most pet stores crowding too many and have a heat lamp to help display, which is not needed. Avoid pet stores I agree
 

Mushroom Spore

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how come every video on youtube, these kids have these giant massive tanks? Of I recall, tarantulas do not need, nor want large enclosures. What's up???
A lot of people don't know or care how to properly house a tarantula. A lot of people posting on youtube, especially most LOOK MY SPIDER KILLS MICE IT'S SO KEWL or LOOK MY SPIDER FIGHTS THIS SCORPION AWESOME videos, are in that category. :D

This is not to say that someone who knows what they're doing can't set up a safe, large tank...but that requires either an arboreal or a very large terrestrial (ground-dwellers shouldn't have more than about 1.5x legspan from dirt to ceiling). Then you have the "can the spider find the crickets before they hide someplace and die" issue, etc.
 

twas__brillig

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
12
A lot of people don't know or care how to properly house a tarantula. A lot of people posting on youtube, especially most LOOK MY SPIDER KILLS MICE IT'S SO KEWL or LOOK MY SPIDER FIGHTS THIS SCORPION AWESOME videos, are in that category. :D

This is not to say that someone who knows what they're doing can't set up a safe, large tank...but that requires either an arboreal or a very large terrestrial (ground-dwellers shouldn't have more than about 1.5x legspan from dirt to ceiling). Then you have the "can the spider find the crickets before they hide someplace and die" issue, etc.
Thanks for all the helpful info! I keep seeing everywhere, "Keep temp around 70 to 80 and humidity 75 to 85%". But ive been told no misting and no to use heat pads what's the deal?
 

jen650s

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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May 29, 2007
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twas__brillig (great name, I love the Jabberwock :} )

Enjoy your new T, remember that the folks on youtube are often in it for the sensational value and many of them care little or nothing for the animals in question. Whereas the folks you talk to here are in the hobby of invertebrates for many different reasons, but most of us care deeply for our animals and want the best for them even when we aren't quite sure what that is...

welcome to the hobby/addiction.
 

jen650s

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
333
Thanks for all the helpful info! I keep seeing everywhere, "Keep temp around 70 to 80 and humidity 75 to 85%". But ive been told no misting and no to use heat pads what's the deal?
If the temps are comfortable for you they will be good for the T. Make sure that it always has access to fresh water (I've had to glue several down to make sure they don't get hauled into a burrow or flipped upside down {D {D ). For a G. rosea that will take care of all the humidity it needs. Misting will do nothing but annoy it and an annoyed t is an unhappy T. Heat pads cause unpredictable dehydration and can result in death without warning :embarrassed: which is usually a bad thing.
 
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