Hello fellow pet lovers! I go by the username junivix and I'm seeking advice from those who have experience with tarantulas. I am new to this website, so please forgive anything wrong I do! Thank you.
On October 18, 2014, I won this beautiful tiny Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula at a bug fair at my university. The man at the booth only gave me a few details before I had to leave, and this is all I know about my new baby tarantula:
That is all the information I was given. Sadly, I do not know the age. I went to my local Petsmart and picked up a critter box that the store suggested along with some "Coco fiber" or something like that, as well as 4 live crickets of the smallest variety. Immediately, I realized the crickets were too big for my tiny little tarantula.
Here is a DropBox link to pictures of him: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dmnzyn89yaodpgw/AADuo3MOJqR0YEIRMAfeWPlQa?dl=0
In the first picture, he is seen burrowing in the soil given to me when I won the little guy. The second picture shows him happily sitting in that same soil. In the last picture, he is in the new critter carrier I purchased for him, clinging to the wall. I placed the penny there in hopes that someone could help give me a rough age estimate.
I have a couple of questions regarding my baby tarantula as online many guides are limited to fully grown tarantulas and I don't have a clue how to care for this little guy.
Here are my concerns:
1. He refuses to eat the cricket as I'd imagine he's afraid of it. I killed the cricket and cut it into small pieces but he still didn't even touch it. I removed the cricket a day after. How do I feed it, or what alternative method should I try? I have had the little guy for 4 days now and he hasn't eaten a thing. I'm beginning to worry! I can't be sure when the last day he was fed was.
2. He does not want to burrow in the soil as I had read he would want to. In fact, he stays far away from the soil and sticks to the edges of my container. I have tested it with different moisture contents for the soil, ranging from wet, damp, semi-dry to dry and it still does not like it.
Please, if you have any useful advice on raising a young tarantula, I would truly appreciate it. I've already grown very attached to him as I've been wanting a tarantula for the longest time and I'll do anything I can to keep him healthy and happy!
On October 18, 2014, I won this beautiful tiny Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula at a bug fair at my university. The man at the booth only gave me a few details before I had to leave, and this is all I know about my new baby tarantula:
- It is a Rose Hair tarantula.
- I am to feed it a live cricket weekly.
- It needs moist or damp soil.
- It should like to burrow in the soil.
That is all the information I was given. Sadly, I do not know the age. I went to my local Petsmart and picked up a critter box that the store suggested along with some "Coco fiber" or something like that, as well as 4 live crickets of the smallest variety. Immediately, I realized the crickets were too big for my tiny little tarantula.
Here is a DropBox link to pictures of him: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dmnzyn89yaodpgw/AADuo3MOJqR0YEIRMAfeWPlQa?dl=0
In the first picture, he is seen burrowing in the soil given to me when I won the little guy. The second picture shows him happily sitting in that same soil. In the last picture, he is in the new critter carrier I purchased for him, clinging to the wall. I placed the penny there in hopes that someone could help give me a rough age estimate.
I have a couple of questions regarding my baby tarantula as online many guides are limited to fully grown tarantulas and I don't have a clue how to care for this little guy.
Here are my concerns:
1. He refuses to eat the cricket as I'd imagine he's afraid of it. I killed the cricket and cut it into small pieces but he still didn't even touch it. I removed the cricket a day after. How do I feed it, or what alternative method should I try? I have had the little guy for 4 days now and he hasn't eaten a thing. I'm beginning to worry! I can't be sure when the last day he was fed was.
2. He does not want to burrow in the soil as I had read he would want to. In fact, he stays far away from the soil and sticks to the edges of my container. I have tested it with different moisture contents for the soil, ranging from wet, damp, semi-dry to dry and it still does not like it.
Please, if you have any useful advice on raising a young tarantula, I would truly appreciate it. I've already grown very attached to him as I've been wanting a tarantula for the longest time and I'll do anything I can to keep him healthy and happy!