Rose hair talk

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

I got a gorgeous G. Rosea about a month and a half ago, and let me tell you, I will NEVER buy a tarantula (or any animal) from any commercial pet store, such as pet petco, petsmart again. When I got her she was unhealthy, had a bad attitude, and was afraid of people. Besides that, I've seen them treating their animals badly almost anytime I've gone in.

All that being said, I still love my baby, though she's likely an adult seeing as she's about 4 inches. I've experienced a bite from her, I've seen her molt, I've introduced her to my family, I've witnessed her spinning her silk around her home, and I've gotten used to her normally docile behavior.

Just today, however, I changed her substrate to some coconut fiber from some company that makes it in bricks that I let expand, the name of which I've forgotten, and she doesn't seem too happy with it, she's climbing around the walls and such of her tank and she's not settling. When I changed the substrate, I moved the heating pad from the side, to under the tank. She substrate is still a bit damp, (but I was told that was good for her) and I have a hide set up for her, if she's not happy with that, there's plenty of substrate for her to burrow.

I don't exactly know where this thread is meant to go, just chat? maybe give me advice on her substrate, anything.

14pokies · Nov 2, 2014

G.rosea/porteri like it bone dry if you followed the instructions on the coco fiber package then her enclosure is way to wet!.if u squeeze a clump of.it does.water come out. If so take her out and squeeze all the water from that substrate put it back in with the heatpad so it will dry further. I advise u dont put her back in untill atleast the top inch of coco looks like dry dirt.U can also bake the coco in the oven at 250 mixing it often untill its dry let it cool.completly before u put her back in! And please ditch the heating pad or just put it on the side ts burrow to escape.heat u could cook her. Rosies dont need it that warm if ur place is in the high 60s or.above she shouldnt need any extra heat. Ps if you bake the coco to dry it watch it very closely or youll need a rehouseing.lol. the rest of your setup sounds good. Duh!!! To answer your question in ernest she constantly walkin cuz her substrate is to wet. None of my rosea/porteri ever burrowed however did seem to do best when there hide was about half buried into the substrate. If there wasnt space to get in they just move the coco untill they can squeeze in.

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

Thanks for the info. I want her happy and healthy so I just spent an hour squeezing out every bit of substrate by hand to get it as dry as possible and she looks MUCH happier.

14pokies · Nov 2, 2014

Gamzee said:
Thanks for the info. I want her happy and healthy so I just spent an hour squeezing out every bit of substrate by hand to get it as dry as possible and she looks MUCH happier.

o word! Ya for future reference when using coco bedding use very hot water as hot as the tap runs and only use half the amount of water the instructions tell u to. U have may have to flip it.and break up any small dry chunks but its better than ringing the excess water out. Also with rosies make sure you have alot of ventilation. They hate humidity. If you have any more ? S feel free to ask.

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

I will indeed. I have a big ol' vent on the top, and it locks, so it doesn't get much humidity anyhow. She likes it at her heating pad though, I don't know why I've been told they don't. When I put the heating pad up on one side of her tank, she RARELY went to the other side.

nemesisT · Nov 2, 2014

I had a similar situation as yours when I bought that brick, my rose hair wouldn't stop climbing. I got rid of that substrate and got the dry coconut fiber bag and she is happy as can be no more climbing, rose hair Ts like it dry

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

Hmm... She's still climbing a bit... I hope I dried it enough...

14pokies · Nov 2, 2014

n

Gamzee said:
I will indeed. I have a big ol' vent on the top, and it locks, so it doesn't get much humidity anyhow. She likes it at her heating pad though, I don't know why I've been told they don't. When I put the heating pad up on one side of her tank, she RARELY went to the other side.

well its.not that they dont like the heat. I to use heating pads on some of my ts. Mine however dont even touch the tanks there about half an inch away on some. The heating pad your probaly using is one designed for reptiles and can reach temps of about 100 degrees. Now if u have four inches of substrate the temp on the substrate is prob 75/80 wich is fine however if the t decides to dig in that area the lower it goes the hotter its gunna get. Now to say a t wont move when it gets too hot would imply that there stupid creatures and there not.so with that said they can be victims of circumstance. Say your house is 50 degrees when it made its den over the heating pad, u crank the heat to 70 and now its refuge is blistering hot. Now the t has to decide to give up its safe haven or suffer with the heat.now its stressed either way. What if it molts over the heating pad ts are very vulnerable during molting and sometime cant move for hours or days., now helpless unable to move it boils to death! Undertank heat for ts is just bad news all the way around! Ps inside that heating pad is a series of metal coils or strips and these coils.degrade over time cuasing one series to.fail so they no longer get power the remaining coils or strips get all that extra electricity and hotspots on the pad can exceed 150 degrees. Ive had pads fail and melt

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

I've moved it back to the side of her tank by now. She's still climbing around even with her tank being as dry as I could make it...

14pokies · Nov 2, 2014

Gamzee said:
Hmm... She's still climbing a bit... I hope I dried it enough...

she wont stop till its bone dry thats y i recomended bakeing it. U can keep her in a holding tank for a day or two untill it fully dries if bakein the substate isnt an option.its not gunna kill her tho if you just keep her in there till it dries on its.own. side note tho. Rosies can be weird theres alotta case s of rosies that constantly wander there enclosure there.entire life. They never aclimate to captivity. However thats likely not the case with yours.

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

At the moment, it's not exactly an option to bake the substrate, seeing as 1, everyone in the house is asleep, and 2, I don't have any sort of appropriate enclosure for her, I was using a bowl before with a paper plate over it...

14pokies · Nov 2, 2014

Gamzee said:
At the moment, it's not exactly an option to bake the substrate, seeing as 1, everyone in the house is asleep, and 2, I don't have any sort of appropriate enclosure for her, I was using a bowl before with a paper plate over it...

ahhhh...lol. in my house people would worry if they didnt hear me messing around with my ts. At 3am dont sweat it shell chill as the substrate drys. Rosies are pretty resiliant.is she your first t?

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

She is indeed my first T, and I love her dearly, I only want what's best for her.

I actually keep my room as warm as I can for her, because the rest of the house is 65-70 degrees, my room is 70-80 degrees. When she first went into pre-molt, she scared me because she didn't eat for like three weeks, then I woke up one morning to see the old molt and her crawling around again.

14pokies · Nov 2, 2014

Ll

Gamzee said:
She is indeed my first T, and I love her dearly, I only want what's best for her. I actually keep my room as warm as I can for her, because the rest of the house is 65-70 degrees, my room is 70-80 degrees. When she first went into pre-molt, she scared me because she didn't eat for like three weeks, then I woke up one morning to see the old molt and her crawling around again.

congrats i must warn you its addictive. Pretty soon ts r gunna outnumber your family members 30 to 1! Lol. It sounds like your on the right track to provideing her great care. Your gunna make mistakes we all do. Your already doing all the right things your on here askin ? s and fixing ur foopas.lol. i would suggest getting a good book on ts tho the best so far is stanley shultzs tarantula keepers guide theres 3 editions. Im surprised with your ambient temp being mid 70s low 80s she gravitates to a hotter area. Strange. Do you plan on handleing her?

tweakz · Nov 2, 2014

I wouldn't call it "stupid," rather a lack of cognitive thought. I don't care what anyone says on here, as far as we know, insects and arachnids cannot determine a source of heat. All a heat pad does is increase the metabolism, shortening the life, of a tarantula and poses the risk of desiccation or overheating. There is no reason to use one.

Gamzee · Nov 2, 2014

yoyotits said:
Ll congrats i must warn you its addictive. Pretty soon ts r gunna outnumber your family members 30 to 1! Lol. It sounds like your on the right track to provideing her great care. Your gunna make mistakes we all do. Your already doing all the right things your on here askin ? s and fixing ur foopas.lol. i would suggest getting a good book on ts tho the best so far is stanley shultzs tarantula keepers guide theres 3 editions. Im surprised with your ambient temp being mid 70s low 80s she gravitates to a hotter area. Strange. Do you plan on handleing her?

I've handled her before, so yeah. Im trying to break my mom's arachnophobia.

gobey · Nov 2, 2014

Gamzee said:
I've handled her before, so yeah. Im trying to break my mom's arachnophobia.

You may want to try a different species for that then. My G. porteri (which I'm betting is what you have too if it's from petsmart. What color is she?) is about the meanest tarantula I have. I'm more confident doing maintenance in the OBT enclosure than in her enclosure.

If you touch my Rosie, you WILL get bitten. And she didn't act that way at first. For about a month maybe a bit longer she was very calm and I handled her a few times.....

Then one day during a rehousing.... Some switch in her just flipped and she decided "I'm not gonna take your crap anymore!" and she turned evil.

I'll not open up the handling discussion itself. But other species perhaps are better candidates for educational handling if deemed appropriate for the occasion.

My only candidate is my Eauthlus parvulus. A small little T that behaves rather curiously.

My,Brachypelma albopilosums should also fit the mold. They're just too small.

Aphonopelmas seem to be good candidates too.

As is Euathlus sp. Red.

But Grammostolas are notoriously moody, with rosies being exceptionally noteworthy of bizarre behavior and just straight defensiveness.

Mine shows immediate feeding response to any movement. Defensive response to anything else. She's ready to fight to the death... Even with people.

ratluvr76 · Nov 2, 2014

I've read several threads here that people advise against using heat pads that are designed to attach to the enclosure because Tarantulas are drawn to heat. There are a few threads I've found that the T will snuggle up to the pad and actually cook themselves from getting too hot. To imply that they don't get out of the heat is the T being stupid is not accurate. Tarantulas are cold blooded animals, like reptiles and amphibians. Take for example a frog, if you put it in tepid water and slowly raise the temperature of the water, the frog will happily sit there in the water getting hotter and hotter and cook to death. I think the situation with T's is similar.

OP, if you are comfortable in your home.... your Tarantula's are comfortable in theirs. If you feel for one reason or another that it needs the added heat, invest in a good space heater, set it a few feet away from your Tarantula's enclosure and monitor it closely.

Happy Keeping, Good luck and welcome to the boards, and the hobby!..

cold blood · Nov 2, 2014

Gamzee said:
She is indeed my first T, and I love her dearly, I only want what's best for her. I actually keep my room as warm as I can for her, because the rest of the house is 65-70 degrees, my room is 70-80 degrees. When she first went into pre-molt, she scared me because she didn't eat for like three weeks, then I woke up one morning to see the old molt and her crawling around again.

Please ditch the heat pad altogether! 65-70 is a great temp and is the temp I have kept mine at for 14 years. Please don't confuse or misinterpret your t gravitating toward the heat source, its not doing it because it NEEDS the heat, they are drawn to heat like moths to a light...and like the moth not "needing" the light, your t doesn't "need" the heat. If you really feel the need to heat the t, get a small space heater and heat the entire room with that, its by far the safest application of heat for your t.

This species does just find with temps in the 60's and can even tolerate the 50's without issue.

If she "scared" you by not eating for 3 whole weeks, you are in for quite a shock, because by rosea standards, that's not even fasting yet, its basically a meaningless amount of time for this t. The species has about the lowest food requirements in the t world, and with that, a supreme ability for long fasts. 3-6 month fasts are not uncommon, actually they are quite normal, and pre-molt fasts are often quite longer. Healthy specimens can and will easily go a year or more without food, fasting of any length of time should not be of any cause for concern. Along with this slow growth and low food requirement comes the fast that they are almost ALWAYS over-fed, which simply perpetuates their fasting. 2 to not more than 4 crickets per month is plenty.

Until your sub dries out, the t is not going to be comfortable and probably won't eat until its been dry for a while as added moisture is the quickest way to induce a fasting episode. You will also see it on the glass and on top of anything you have in the enclosure, like the hide.

Back to the op, what makes you believe she was unhealthy? You gave no examples of how her health was negatively effected. Also, the attitude of the t and "fear" of humans are totally natural and something you should expect from every t you ever own, they are not puppy dogs, they only see giant humans as potential threats to their lives, what you noticed is simply self-preservation. It was probably just not handled or messed with for a long time (which is how it should be).

For this species I wouldn't even consider using those bricks of sub that need to be re-constituted like that, its just way more work than you need to do....Just buy a small bag of the already broken up stuff, it will dry in hours or days as opposed to weeks. That or just get cheap topsoil, stuff without any pesticides, fertilizers or additives for plant growth, its very cheap and an excellent alternative. They don't need too much as they tend not to do much burrowing in captivity.

Aside from that, please do searches here on AB, there's more info available here on this species than the next 5 most popular combined, literally every question you will have, plus answers to questions you didn't even know you had are already here, just waiting for you to absorb and learn from. As an example, there is NOTHING in this thread that hasn't been re-hashed dozens of times just in the last 6 months alone.

Good luck and start planning for new acquisitions, chances are that one (or 5) just won't be enough. Welcome to the hobby and welcome to AB!

ratluvr76 · Nov 2, 2014

cold blood said:
Please ditch the heat pad altogether! 65-70 is a great temp and is the temp I have kept mine at for 14 years. Please don't confuse or misinterpret your t gravitating toward the heat source, its not doing it because it NEEDS the heat, they are drawn to heat like moths to a light...and like the moth not "needing" the light, your t doesn't "need" the heat. If you really feel the need to heat the t, get a small space heater and heat the entire room with that, its by far the safest application of heat for your t.

This species does just find with temps in the 60's and can even tolerate the 50's without issue.

If she "scared" you by not eating for 3 whole weeks, you are in for quite a shock, because by rosea standards, that's not even fasting yet, its basically a meaningless amount of time for this t. The species has about the lowest food requirements in the t world, and with that, a supreme ability for long fasts. 3-6 month fasts are not uncommon, actually they are quite normal, and pre-molt fasts are often quite longer. Healthy specimens can and will easily go a year or more without food, fasting of any length of time should not be of any cause for concern. Along with this slow growth and low food requirement comes the fast that they are almost ALWAYS over-fed, which simply perpetuates their fasting. 2 to not more than 4 crickets per month is plenty.

Until your sub dries out, the t is not going to be comfortable and probably won't eat until its been dry for a while as added moisture is the quickest way to induce a fasting episode. You will also see it on the glass and on top of anything you have in the enclosure, like the hide.

Back to the op, what makes you believe she was unhealthy? You gave no examples of how her health was negatively effected. Also, the attitude of the t and "fear" of humans are totally natural and something you should expect from every t you ever own, they are not puppy dogs, they only see giant humans as potential threats to their lives, what you noticed is simply self-preservation. It was probably just not handled or messed with for a long time (which is how it should be).

For this species I wouldn't even consider using those bricks of sub that need to be re-constituted like that, its just way more work than you need to do....Just buy a small bag of the already broken up stuff, it will dry in hours or days as opposed to weeks. That or just get cheap topsoil, stuff without any pesticides, fertilizers or additives for plant growth, its very cheap and an excellent alternative. They don't need too much as they tend not to do much burrowing in captivity.

Aside from that, please do searches here on AB, there's more info available here on this species than the next 5 most popular combined, literally every question you will have, plus answers to questions you didn't even know you had are already here, just waiting for you to absorb and learn from. As an example, there is NOTHING in this thread that hasn't been re-hashed dozens of times just in the last 6 months alone.

Good luck and start planning for new acquisitions, chances are that one (or 5) just won't be enough. Welcome to the hobby and welcome to AB!

+1 to all of this.

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