New G. Rosea - I need help!!!

Hi, everyone

I am a new tarantula owner and brand new to this forum. Despite the fact that I have done a lot of research, I still have some questions regarding the care of my tarantula and I hope you all can help me out - or at least point me in the right direction.

I have had my g. rosea, Lydia, for a little over a week. I bought her at a pet store, and they told me she is captive-bred. I forgot to ask how old she is and, after reading my problems below, I'm beginning to think she is rather young. I will post some pictures of her to this thread in an attempt to have the more experienced owners help me age her.

After making sure that her habitat is acceptable, my main concern is her behavior. A couple days ago I attempted to handle her for the first time, and it did not go well. I fed her two crickets the night before (her appetite is another concern of mine, which I'll get to in a moment) to ensure that she wasn't hungry for when I planned to handle her. The next morning I placed one hand in front of her and tried to nudge her abdomen with my other hand. As soon as my finger touched the hairs of her abdomen she turned around (very quickly!) and got into her aggressive stance. Obviously I decided to not handle her at that time. :biggrin: I've seen some YouTube videos of people "testing" their T's temperaments by using forceps, pencils, etc., so I decided to try that. I put my cordless home phone in front of her face and she JUMPED at it. I even heard her fangs knock against the hard surface of the phone. At that point I figured she was rather upset so I left her alone the rest of the day. Is there a way to (or should I even) test her mood before trying to handle her?

Yesterday I was changing her water, as I do daily. Usually she walks away from the water dish area when I do this. This time, she ran towards my hand as if wanting to attack it.

Basically, she has been exhibiting very aggressive behavior over the past couple days. I have read that rosies can be very moody, so I'm wondering if that's all it is.

As I mentioned above, her eating habits are concerning me. I have read that my T should only be fed approximately one cricket a week. Lydia has eaten four large crickets over the past two days. What's going on? I'm beginning to think she was starved at the pet store.

It's only been about a week, but my opinion of Lydia is changing from a unique and loveable pet to a vicious predator. I'm starting to actually become afraid of her. Please help! Any suggestions are appreciated.

Hey there, I got my first T in May, which was also a Rosie. For age, I can't help too much but your looks pretty young, but I really don't know so eh.
For handling, I never handle mine, and a lot of people will advise against it. Not because the T is dangerous, but your reactions to the T could injure or kill it. That being said, you should probably let your Lydia have some time to chill out and settle in. It's your choice to handle her, whether you do or dont, don't be afraid of her. She's in an unfamiliar place and she's protecting herself. She may always be The defensive type. Have patience and be gentle with her. Hope that helps some, good luck to you

---------- Post added 09-23-2014 at 09:43 AM ----------

Also, add some more substrate if you can. Some Ts like to burrow, and if she falls while climbing she could get in a really bad position

Just wait for the next molt, she'll either stay the same or become relaxed. (I also think it's a he, since it has long legs and a small abdomen)

I can't write very much right now so I'll do my best:

Add more substrate, don't keep it as moist (keep it bone dry), I wouldn't recommend handling due to the fact that a fall of more than 12" can kill you spider but if you must, use a paint brush and tap the end of her abdomen lightly to see if she's feeling aggressive. Good luck, Bryce

First off, before we get to the points, your set-up and husbandry need immediate work. There's way to much vertical space, which posed a danger to the t when it climbs...and the way you are keeping it will almost force her to climb (it does not need things to climb on, its a terrestrial, not arboreal). That vine thing needs to go and I'd put in plants without so much verticality. And add more substrate to reduce the distance from the top to the sub. I recommend filling aquariums at least if not a little more than halfway. The general rule for vertical space with a terrestrial is 1.5 times the size of the t. So a 5 inch t should have about 7 or 8 inches of vertical space.

The enclosure for this species should be bone dry. The moisture on the glass is a HUGE no no with the species (excessive moisture on the glass is a bad thing), they despise moisture, period. The water dish is the ONLY moisture the enclosure should EVER have within its walls. Moisture sends them climbing for high ground and will very often shut off their food response for extended periods of time. NEVER mist this enclosure, ever.

Also their temp/humidity requirements are such that there is no reason for any measure of humidity or temp. The only reason to ever worry about temp is if it gets into the 50's for extended periods of time. Its as simple as, if you are comfortable, so is the t. The LPS LOVES to sell new t buyers all kinds of things that they simply do not need...An LPS is about the worst place to get tarantula advice from, they are notoriously HORRIBLE in just about every way (online care sheets are not much better).....now to the questions...

While is possible that its CB, chances are that it is actually WC (wild caught) as this is typically what a LPS deals with, especially regarding this species. LPS workers are highly unlikely to actually be aware of this anyway, they say what they need to in order to make the sale). The species grows EXCEPTIONALLY slowly, so its definitely not young. It appears to be at least close to a full grown adult, and its almost certainly mature. There is NO WAY to determine the age of a t, don't even try, e measure their DLS (diagonal leg span) instead of age, its more telling. The species (especially the females) live long lives. Speculation is that they can live to their 40's, I estimate mine to be near 30, but its an estimation and not something I can definitively know for sure.

Onto food requirements...their food requirements are LOW, as low as almost any t species. There is no reason to feed it more than one cricket at a time, and no reason to feed more than once a week. Your speculation that she was "starved" by the store is both unfounded and unlikely. Even at one cricket per week, you could make an argument that it will eventually become over-fed, even at this moderate pace. I will say that you are overfeeding (if you continue this pace), both in frequency and crickets per feeding if you're feeding 2 crickets at a time. There is no good reason to ever feed this species more than one prey item at a time. The more you feed, the sooner its gonna go on a long fast, which they are quite known for (mine's record fast is over a year)...when they fast, don't worry, its normal and it WILL happen. As for its willingness to eat, it appears that it may have molted rather recently as its abdomen isn't as fat as you would typically see, post-molt, all t's will be more hungry than normal. This is the only time where you can/should offer increased feedings, and once it plumps up a bit, you can slow back down.

As for the handling and attitude, its as simple as don't handle it. Handling is for you, and poses nothing positive for the t. Its a spider, it will never enjoy it and shouldn't be thought of as a requirement...think of it as a fish. The species are not the best for handling (despite what you often hear) as they are moody and often unpredictable. If you must, wait until it has both plumped up AND acclimated to its new environment (which can takes weeks or even months). And of course, be careful. Handling is not only where most bites occur, but its also very dangerous for the t. We just had a thread where someone was carefully handling theirs and it fell...a mere 4 inches...which was enough to critically damage the t. They are exceptionally fragile animals when it comes to a fall.

The aggressive responses appear to be a feeding response, which is another thing leading me to believe its recently molted. Don't use your fingers to touch or poke it (actually don't ever poke it with anything). To test, a soft paintbrush is a better alternative.

Best of luck and I am glad you found AB, its one of the best sources available for information, don't be afraid to use it. Welcome to the hobby and enjoy your new t!

So how big is she?

My rose hair (my first T) was,quite docile and calm the first month. Then a switch flipped. Now she attacks and chases anything in her enclosure. Feeding response. She'll stuff her face too. And she certainly isn't starved. I don't even bother testing her temperament anymore
I always know her temperament. Cranky and bitey.

Get yourself a pair of 10" or 12" tongs, a paintbrush, and maybe even a turkey baster for water changing. That's what I use. I NEVER stick my hand in her enclosure anymore. Especially I don't touch her. Or any of my Ts.

Anyways give your T time to settle. As I said, it took mine weeks, a month even because I rehoused her twice in the first month. Don't be afraid of your T. Just respect it and realize it's not a cuddly lovable pet like a kitten. It's not your typical companion. It's more going to turn into your fascination. Trust me.

Don't touch it anymore.

Everything Cold Blood said....

just to clarify, LPS stands for Local Pet Store.. I had some issues with not knowing what that was at first when I joined the boards too. LOL
Don't be afraid of your T, and since Cold says he thinks yours looks mature, if small, then I don't think it is male, despite the "leggy" look and the smallish abdomen. Your's doesn't have hooks on it's first legs which, if it's mature, it is female. This is good news, it means you're spider will be with you for quite a while. Don't get intimidated or scared of her, she's wild, and beautiful and if you just respect her she will entertain you for years.

Read these boards, look through old posts, familiarize yourself with navigating through all the threads. There's a wealth of information here from a wide range of people here. Most with extensive experience and a HUGE collective knowledge base. There are people here from casual T keepers and newbies such as yourself and myself, to people who breed dozens of species and have for decades, there are also arachnologists (sp?) and entomologists here too. The advice and criticisms you may receive are never meant in a mean way. They are constructive and if you don't let yourself get offended you will be able to learn a lot from these people.

Welcome to the hobby,

We don't have enough info to properly sex it, could go either way with the pics ....and I could easily be off in my size estimation.


Mort, read your profile, nice pooch, I'm on my second.

cold blood said:

We don't have enough info to properly sex it, could go either way with the pics ....and I could easily be off in my size estimation.


Mort, read your profile, nice pooch, I'm on my second.

Click to expand...

ok. I take that part back then.

I was assuming female because that's how it was referred to by the op, but it doesn't necessarily make it the case.

There is this http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/content.php?31-Methods-of-Handling-Tarantulas in-case you have not read it already, imo it's better to just not handle them but to each his own I suppose. Oh and listen to cold blood and any other more experienced keepers who may reply to this thread.

Hi, cold blood

Thank you for the recommendation on the enclosure. I picked a rather large one so that it would fit on this certain stand - a stand that prevents my cats from getting to the T. However, I will definitely add more substrate and take out the vine thing. Her enclosure is now bone dry. When I was doing my pre-adoption research, I read that the enclosure needed to be humid. I have since learned that drier is better. These pictures are from the first day I got her home and I was obsessed with humidity. The substrate is now dry and the humidity in the tank is very low. I have also removed the moss from her tank and quit misting the enclosure.

I still like to gauge her heat because I keep my house very cool. It's getting down to the mid-40s here in Indiana at night, and I have my windows wide open. That's how cold I like it haha! Therefore, she has a heat lamp and I watch the temp to make sure that her and I can both stay comfortable.

I started off planning to only feed her one cricket a week. When she reacted so violently to my attention I thought she might be hungry, so I continued to feed her. I read that if Ts aren't hungry, they won't eat, so I was rather confused. I appreciate your suggestion to slow down the feeding when her abdomen bulks up.

I'm beginning to think I just won't ever try to handle her, but I'll give her more time before trying it again if I have to. I'm just worried now how I'm supposed to make the enclosure changes when she gets into attack mode whenever I move the cover haha!

Mort, nicely done. But I have to add one more thing...regarding your heat. Heat lamps are dangerous...they can be used, but there's a fine line that you are walking. See, they are not only too hot (designed for reptiles, which have significantly greater heat requirements), but they can really draw out the humidity. And while your t doesn't require that much humidity, there still needs to be SOME, especially prior to molting. Keep it at a distance if you must use it and monitor the water dish and the t for hovering over it.

Just keep the windows closed in its room or move it to a room where you can. I can relate, I'm in WI, and its as cold as a witch's tit here much of the year. I still have found no reason to add supplemental heat in 14 years...and my windows SUCK. Its in the 60's much of the winter, topping at an occasional 70, the t has no issues, in fact slowing everything down will actually increase lifespan in the long run (it may trigger fasts, but these happen when cold hits outside even when they are kept warmer IME).

If you can keep them in a room without open windows you will be fine, if its getting really cold (a good friend of mine and his wife sleep like this....snow comes in the window and they do nothing)...in this case just add a small space heater to the room (or closet), its safer and generally more efficient.

Nice work on the quick changes!

And keep that boxer under the covers at night, they get cold

OP

As for worrying about arranging her enclosure, get a deli cup that's big enough to cover her while you work around her.

VERY much loving that name you picked! It is my eldest daughters name =)

Something for all new rosie owners to read:
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

Good luck,Mort and welcome to the hobby/addiction!