Rose haired Tarantula Questions

Hello,
I recently got my first tarantula, a Rose Haired, and I just wanted to know a couple things so I know if im taking care of him/her alright.
First I made a hide for him/her out of a mason jar, but I havent seen the T go into it at all, from what ive read about tarantulas, I assumed he/shew would spend most of its time in the hide, does it not like the hide or is that nothing to be worried about? also my rosie spends alot of time crawling up the walls of the tank and hanging out
along the top of the tank, and from what i had read these T's are terrestrial, is this a behavior i should be worried about? any tips or suggestions you guys can give me would be appreciated, I just want to make sure my Rosie is as comfortable as can be. thanks :biggrin:

Pics will help a lot. Most rosies don't use their hides but it is good to have one offered. Again, pics will help make sure you are doing everything right.

here is how it is currently being housed. i bought it from petco just recently like i said, the poor thing is missing 2 legs, so im assuming they werent keeping it very well.

Biollante is right, we need to see to really help identify any issues. Just from what you said though one issue can be cleared up: using a mason jar for a hide. If it's see through that right there is a problem--the hide needs to block out light. A cork half-round would be much better. As far as it climbing, is the substrate still moist? If not it's probably just adjusting to the new environment. Just make sure you've got enough sub that a fall will not hurt it.

Edit: from the pic, it looks like the sub is both still moist and like there's not enough of it. The T should not have any further than one and a half times it's leg span to drop.

You could also use one of those half bark hides. I have two of those in mine, I bury it in the substrate at an angle so it is like a burrow. The substrate looks moist as well, the tank looks good other than that!

attazach said:

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here is how it is currently being housed. i bought it from petco just recently like i said, the poor thing is missing 2 legs, so im assuming they werent keeping it very well.

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actually your set up does look pretty good from what I know except for a few easily fixable details. First, you will want to add more substrate. The substrate should be no more than one and one half times the leg span of your spider from the top of your enclosure to the substrate surface. A short fall, even a couple of inches, could cause fatal injuries. One of the leading causes of death in captive tarantulas is ruptured abdomen/internal injuries sustained from falls. Second, the substrate does seem just a tiny bit damp, that may be while she's chilling on the walls/top. Time will fix that, the substrate should dry out pretty quickly and will be perfect. Rosie's HATE moisture. The prefer their enclosures to be bone dry with the water bowl always full. Some people would also suggest you locate the water dish close to the center of the enclosure since most of the falls they may have happen will be around the perimeter of the enclosure and most of us try to keep anything hard like that as much as possible, out of the "drop zone"

Other than that, everything looks amazing. You haven't had her very long and sometimes it takes a little while for them to settle in enough to really make the space their own. All of my rosies, (three of them to date), use their hides.

Welcome to the hobby.. congrats on you're little friend.

I live in a small town so there arent really any petstores, so next weekend i will go get more of that coconut substrate stuff, and as for it being too moist, is there any way to dry it out other than just letting it dry naturally?

attazach said:

I live in a small town so there arent really any petstores, so next weekend i will go get more of that coconut substrate stuff, and as for it being too moist, is there any way to dry it out other than just letting it dry naturally?

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yes, I've taken it and spread it out on a cookie sheet and let it sit in a 225 degree oven for a couple of hours.

---------- Post added 09-30-2014 at 04:02 PM ----------

and just a piece of bark or something solid for her to sit on, on the bottom, might be just as effective, giving her a spot to chill out on without having to climb the walls..

Another question i have is how much space does she need? i have heard so many different opinions on this, i heard that at the size she is now, i dont want a big tank because she will "get lost" but i have also heard that these types of T's need a lot of room to roam, so how much space do you guys usually give your T's?

I have mine in a 10 gallon but it is purely for looks. I could put it in half that size and it will be fine.

attazach said:

Another question i have is how much space does she need? i have heard so many different opinions on this, i heard that at the size she is now, i dont want a big tank because she will "get lost" but i have also heard that these types of T's need a lot of room to roam, so how much space do you guys usually give your T's?

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They don't need much space. They're called pet rocks for a reason.

attazach said:

Another question i have is how much space does she need? i have heard so many different opinions on this, i heard that at the size she is now, i dont want a big tank because she will "get lost" but i have also heard that these types of T's need a lot of room to roam, so how much space do you guys usually give your T's?

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Mine are in 5.5 gallon enclosures and they are perfectly happy with that.

alright i added some pieces of bark like you said i should and i moved the water dish away from the corner of the cage, hopefully this looks better

attazach said:

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alright i added some pieces of bark like you said i should and i moved the water dish away from the corner of the cage, hopefully this looks better

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I think it's perfect aside from needing to add more substrate, which you are taking care of... Love the bark like that it's awesome. I see you're little friend is using her jar hide..

There are people here that have much much more experience then I do, they might chime in if they see anything else. They'll correct me if they need to but most people here are really just wanting to help. There's a definite preference for what the spiders needs are over sparing feelings of the owners LOL. Hang around for a bit, lots of good people here.

Oh dont worry i have thick skin. dont worry about my feelings im more worried about the care of the T. i know im a newbie to this so im gonna make mistakes, thats why im posting on here so that way i wont learn how to take care of a tarantula by killing one off and saying "oh ok in the future dont do that." so yea dont worry about hurting my feelings haha :laugh:

ratluvr76 said:

I think it's perfect aside from needing to add more substrate, which you are taking care of... Love the bark like that it's awesome. I see you're little friend is using her jar hide..

There are people here that have much much more experience then I do, they might chime in if they see anything else. They'll correct me if they need to but most people here are really just wanting to help. There's a definite preference for what the spiders needs are over sparing feelings of the owners LOL. Hang around for a bit, lots of good people here.

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I agree with rattie, attazach, other than a bit more substrate, your setup is perfect. Bone dry substrate, and that's a good size water dish, and your rosie seems to really like the mason jar hide. Great job. Hope you have many joyful years with her.

The only thing left to ask yourself is: What species do I want next? (says the guy who went from 3 to 23 T's in just over a year) LOL