G. rosea goes arboreal

My son's G. rosea spends most of its time on the ground as expected, occasionally having a quick wander round the glass but this evening it has taken to the ”tree tops” and appears to have settled for a while.

Looks like you have an arboreals style set up. That would explain why. You need more floor space and deeper substrate and less height.

BobGrill said:

Looks like you have an arboreals style set up. That would explain why. You need more floor space and less height.

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+1 Way too much height for that species, climbing like that isn't exactly safe. I would NOT use that enclosure for a terrestrial t under any circumstance. That's an enclosure that would work fine for an arboreal.

Is the sub moist or bone dry? Generally this species will climb if the sub is not to their preferences. They despise moisture, even in small amounts....was the water dish overfilled recently?

The species doesn't need deep sub as it generally won't burrow in captivity, but it also cannot be allowed such great heights in which to climb.

cold blood said:

+1 Way too much height for that species, climbing like that isn't exactly safe. I would NOT use that enclosure for a terrestrial t under any circumstance. That's an enclosure that would work fine for an arboreal.

Is the sub moist or bone dry? Generally this species will climb if the sub is not to their preferences. They despise moisture, even in small amounts....was the water dish overfilled recently?

The species doesn't need deep sub as it generally won't burrow in captivity, but it also cannot be allowed such great heights in which to climb.

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Yeah I was thinking more substrate would help in case a fall did occur.

It would, but I believe (maybe I'm wrong) that this enclosure has a front opening door that wouldn't really allow for the addition of too much more substrate.

cold blood - You're right about it being a front opening viv so adding more substrate is out of the question. The substrate is bone dry and I usually remove the water bowl for refilling so I tend not to overfill.

BobGrill - The distance from the top of the viv to the substrate is only 2x the dls which I thought would be ok if not then I shall have to look into buying a new enclosure.

Rose hairs need only real simple enclosures with not too much space to be happy from what I've read. Mine is in a Wal-Mart bin about a bit wider and longer than a shoebox. Maybe one and a half times as tall...

She's happy. The only reason I'd move her is because she's so quick to run and slap at everything and now she moved away from her log and hangs near the water dish. It's annoying for maintenance.

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves within the hobby. Rosies are a prime example. Just because something CAN live in a small set-up, doesn't mean it is ideal or that they should. It is natural for spiders to explore and to climb rocks and shrubs in the wild, even rosies. In nature, they usually dont have very far to fall since rocks don't stick up very far out of the ground. Rupturing an abdomen isn't typically an issue. But, they can and will climb on occasion if given the chance. A climbing spider doesnt ALWAYS mean a stressed spider, and I whole-heartedly believe in simulating nature and giving them things to climb on/ explore. But you have to make sure they can't injure themselves. I would leave the branches and plants, but add whatever substrate you can to cushion any falls. I love seeing spiders explore and love when their owners pay enough attention to notice it. Good for you. Just try to minimize any possible injury (just like any human child) and sit back and enjoy.

Mindibun said:

It is natural for spiders to explore and to climb rocks and shrubs in the wild, even rosies.

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Parasites and predators are also natural, but that doesn't mean my pokies will be sharing a cage with my black tree monitors.

---------- Post added 09-14-2014 at 11:03 PM ----------

Enn49 said:

The distance from the top of the viv to the substrate is only 2x the dls which I thought would be ok if not then I shall have to look into buying a new enclosure.

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That pic you posted must have a very skewed perspective, because there is clearly a far bigger distance to the sub than twice that spider's legspan. Maybe try adding sub towards the back to create a slope, since it is a front opening enclosure. You can keep the leaves and beanches at the front.

Yeah, there's a reason they live longer in captivity. Much safer and easier for them than the wild could ever be. One of my pet peeves is trying to precisely simulate their wild environment, the effort should be to consistently simulate ideal conditions, which are not necessarily "normal" in the wild. They live in micro climates with us, which in order to be ideal, need to be adjusted in captivity.

Mindibun said:

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves within the hobby. Rosies are a prime example. Just because something CAN live in a small set-up, doesn't mean it is ideal or that they should. It is natural for spiders to explore and to climb rocks and shrubs in the wild, even rosies. In nature, they usually dont have very far to fall since rocks don't stick up very far out of the ground. Rupturing an abdomen isn't typically an issue. But, they can and will climb on occasion if given the chance. A climbing spider doesnt ALWAYS mean a stressed spider, and I whole-heartedly believe in simulating nature and giving them things to climb on/ explore. But you have to make sure they can't injure themselves. I would leave the branches and plants, but add whatever substrate you can to cushion any falls. I love seeing spiders explore and love when their owners pay enough attention to notice it. Good for you. Just try to minimize any possible injury (just like any human child) and sit back and enjoy.

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I'm so pleased to come across a like minded person. I love to see them explore as they would in the wild.

cold blood said:

Yeah, there's a reason they live longer in captivity. Much safer and easier for them than the wild could ever be. One of my pet peeves is trying to precisely simulate their wild environment, the effort should be to consistently simulate ideal conditions, which are not necessarily "normal" in the wild. They live in micro climates with us, which in order to be ideal, need to be adjusted in captivity.

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In other words we give them a boring tub with only a water bowls and a hide. I wish we could ask them which they prefer.


This appears to be one happy G. rosea, been out for a drink tonight and returned to its favourite spot on the ground. It eats like a pig too so I guess it's doing ok.

Enn49 said:

I love to see them explore as they would in the wild.

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Yeah, they explore styrofoam backgrounds and plastic jungle plants all the time in the wild. Even in the wild they don't do much "exploring" and rarely venture far from the safety of their burrow, aside from mature males searching for a mate.

Enn49 said:

In other words we give them a boring tub with only a water bowls and a hide. I wish we could ask them which they prefer.

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Anthropomorphizing...

You can't ask them because they're not humans; they don't understand "boring" like a human would. Its just boring to you, the spider doesn't care.

vespers said:

Anthropomorphizing...

You can't ask them because they're not humans; they don't understand "boring" like a human would. Its just boring to you, the spider doesn't care.

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Which was why I said I wish we could ask them.

And I guess you can read their minds

they don't have minds to read. they have instincts generated over millions of years. it's the idea that they have "thoughts" that are in any way comparable to ours that is exactly the kind of anthropomorphizing that was being referred to.
get a copy of the TKG, read up (particularly the chapters on tarantula biology and behaviors in the wild). understand them and appreciate them for what they are, not what you'd like them to be.

Enn49 said:

Which was why I said I wish we could ask them.

And I guess you can read their minds

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What is up with the hostility? We're just trying to help you.

Enn49 said:

And I guess you can read their minds

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I can. They are either thinking "food", "flee", "molt", "build" or "mate". That's pretty much the extent of their nervous system.

BobGrill said:

What is up with the hostility? We're just trying to help you.

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And I appreciate the advice and will take heed but it's just smart comments like vespers that annoy me.

If a Ts instincts generated over millions of years tell it that it is a ground dweller, why would it even attempt to climb? Surely if they choose to climb they should not be denied the opportunity just because we say so. My OBT also climbs, in fact her web tunnel is around 15” high.

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Enn49 said:

And I appreciate the advice and will take heed but it's just smart comments like vespers that annoy me.

If a Ts instincts generated over millions of years tell it that it is a ground dweller, why would it even attempt to climb? Surely if they choose to climb they should not be denied the opportunity just because we say so. My OBT also climbs, in fact her web tunnel is around 15” high.

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OBTs are considered "semi-arboreal". They are naturally good climbers. The same cannot be said about a rosehair.

Enn49 said:

If a Ts instincts generated over millions of years tell it that it is a ground dweller, why would it even attempt to climb? Surely if they choose to climb they should not be denied the opportunity just because we say so.

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My dog likes to climb ladders (seriously), I do not allow her to do so because the risk of injury is just too great. She does this of her own accord and has never been taught or encouraged, even though she's clearly a terrestrial animal that shouldn't be on a ladder, much less sprinting up one with reckless abandon. Animals do or attempt things they are not good at all the time, the difference in our pets is that we can curb this behavior and make them much safer in the process. Heck, foxes and coyotes play and run near or on highways all the time, but my canine doesn't for obvious reasons.

Just because the t is willing to climb, doesn't mean a) that its safe for it to do so, or b) that doing so will automatically enrich its life.

I'm sure in the wild many terrestrials climb, I'm also sure there are fatalities as a result, at least occasionally. Heck, a terrestrial climbing will really accomplish nothing more than exposing itself to predators if it doesn't fall first. In captivity we can take those unnecessary risks away, which is a big part of the reason they tend to significantly outlive their wild counterparts.

Please don't be annoyed by people's comments, understand we are all very different and have differing ways of expressing ourselves. I know people have taken my posts the wrong way at times simply because they didn't know where I was coming from or misinterpreted my intentions or read them with an obviously negative connotation. Try to read those posts that make you uneasy with a positive, happy vibe....if that doesn't help, just take the post with a grain of salt...its nothing more than words, and they can only do you harm if you allow them to. Knowledge is knowledge, no matter how its delivered.

Enn49 said:

And I appreciate the advice and will take heed but it's just smart comments like vespers that annoy me.

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Nothing in vespers' comments were out of line - you *were* anthropomorphising your spider. There's great info here, as long as you don't go defensive every time someone says something that you don't like.