Brand New to this!

Sirtubblord

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
1
Good Morning! I just got my first Tarantula a few weeks ago and I'm really loving watching him do all his spidery things but I have some questions and I'm hoping some nice folks here can help me out.
I named him Burt so I'll refer to him as a he but I do suspect "he's" a female. He's a rose haired and looks to be really healthy. We got him because I read that rose hairs are generally docile and friendly. Burt is not.
I read that he should eat maybe up to 6 crickets a week but he'll attack and eat whatever or however many I hand him. Yes, I had to stop putting crickets in his house with my hand because as soon as I open his door he's coming to get whatever is being offered.
Now I use long tweezers and he'll grab crickets right out of them. So here's my question: is it possible to over feed him? I was told from the pet store that I got him from to always have a few crickets in his cage but if there's 3 in there he attacks and kills them all right away.
Another thing he does that I'm being told is strange is his dirt moving. I've got a bunch of that coconut strand stuff and he has built what he likes. He's moved all the dirt stuff from one side to the other and built a kind of perch on his cork stump deal. If a cricket or super worm gets down in the dirt he digs them out in a hurry.
I don't mind him being aggressive and pretty much constantly active. It'll make cleaning his cage a little trickier but it is super fun to watch him do his thing.
Any advice or really anything someone might like to contribute will be very much appreciated as I know virtually nothing about these awesome little critters!

Thanks!!!
 

Sam_Peanuts

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
408
Don't feed them constantly, you're better off offering 6 crickets every 3-4 weeks if you don't want her to fast for months at some point(you can't over feed them, but if they're too fat, it can be dangerous if she falls).

Search the forum for "G. rosea" or "Grammostola rosea" and you'll see a ton of threads about keeping them.
 

eminart

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
Messages
52
As someone who is also really just getting into the hobby, I'd recommend purchasing and reading "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide". I think there is some debate about some of the info being a little dated, but overall, I've found it to be an excellent read.
 

lalberts9310

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
1,083
You run the risk of a ruptured abdomen with a overfed T, especially with a fall or rubbing against abrasive objects in the enclosure.. rose hairs are notorious for their mood swings and fasting abilities.. I would offer it food once or twice a week.. wise decision to use long tongs, I also advice against handling.

The tarantula keepers guide is a great source of information when it comes to NW terrestrials.. buy the latest version of the book..

Leave him be when he moves around substrate, he's being a tarantula.. roseas likes bone dry sub, make it deep enough to cushion a fall, add a water bowl, never mist, never put a sponge in the water bowl and never use water gel.. add some form of a hide.. no sharp/heavy objects, and keep water bowls etc away from the sides of the enclosure.. he might fill his water bowl with dirt, if he does this clean the bowl and put it in another location.. never leave uneaten food (especially crickets) in the enclosure for more than 24h, also don't feed during pre-molt or at least a week post-molt.. usually Ts lay on their backs when they go into the molting process, this is a stressful situation for the T and very important to leave it be, don't poke at it or anything, and NO food during this time, crickets can injure or even kill a molting T, since the T is vulnerable and defenceless at this stage.. no heat lamps, heat pads etc.. they are not reptiles.. and no screen tops, Ts can chew through screen tops, get their fangs or claws stuck and even lose a leg if this happens..

Like Sam already said, search the forums and you'll find lots of threads regarding care of a G. Rosea

I would refrain from listening to advice given by LPS, most LPS have employees that has little to no knowledge of tarantulas, you'll find everything you need to know on this forums..


Welcome to the hobby!!!!
 
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IHeartTs

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
435
Too many cricket. Mine gets 2 a week. They're actually known for being moody rather than friendly. But as long as you don't mind it doesn't really matter lol. You don't really need to "clean" per se. Just pick out boluses and wipe poop when it gets excessive. Even the meanest of the mean will allow you to do maintenance with no issues. Even my obt unhappily allows for maintenance. If it's having a feeding response, let it know you're in there and not food by gently touching their back leg with a straw or paper towel. Thats how I deal with aggressive eaters.
Always remove all uneaten prey after max 24 hrs. You wouldn't like rambunctious strangers in your home, they don't either. Always keep the water dish full. People have observed their rosies chilling by it more than expected, mine included. Shell get in it sometimes.
Congrats on the T!
 

Shrike

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
1,598
Good Morning! I just got my first Tarantula a few weeks ago and I'm really loving watching him do all his spidery things but I have some questions and I'm hoping some nice folks here can help me out.
I named him Burt so I'll refer to him as a he but I do suspect "he's" a female. He's a rose haired and looks to be really healthy. We got him because I read that rose hairs are generally docile and friendly. Burt is not.
I read that he should eat maybe up to 6 crickets a week but he'll attack and eat whatever or however many I hand him. Yes, I had to stop putting crickets in his house with my hand because as soon as I open his door he's coming to get whatever is being offered.
Now I use long tweezers and he'll grab crickets right out of them. So here's my question: is it possible to over feed him? I was told from the pet store that I got him from to always have a few crickets in his cage but if there's 3 in there he attacks and kills them all right away.
Another thing he does that I'm being told is strange is his dirt moving. I've got a bunch of that coconut strand stuff and he has built what he likes. He's moved all the dirt stuff from one side to the other and built a kind of perch on his cork stump deal. If a cricket or super worm gets down in the dirt he digs them out in a hurry.
I don't mind him being aggressive and pretty much constantly active. It'll make cleaning his cage a little trickier but it is super fun to watch him do his thing.
Any advice or really anything someone might like to contribute will be very much appreciated as I know virtually nothing about these awesome little critters!

Thanks!!!
Awesome, and welcome to the hobby. I'd recommend you get yourself a good book and read up on your new tarantula. I'm guessing you have a Grammostola rosea. FYI, scientific names are the way to go around here. They help you avoid the confusion that arises when somebody says they own a fiery winged pink toed skeleton baboonish spider. You absolutely can overfeed tarantulas. Sadly, most of the time pet stores don't know what the hell they're talking about. With the crap advice they gave you regarding feeding your pet store falls into this category. You can feed your tarantula once per week. One, or perhaps two crickets will suffice. Besides leading to obesity, overfeeding can lead to fasting periods, which Grammostola rosea are notorious for. They can go months and months without eating. Fasts of over a year aren't unheard of. Feeding 1-2 crickets per week will help you advoid this behavior and the anxiety it can cause a new tarantula owner. Other than that, you picked up an extremely hardy species. Keep the substrate dry. Offer it a water dish. Provide it with a hide. You'll be good to go!

Post a picture if you can so we can ooh and ahhh over your new T.
 

Sirtubblord

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
1
Thank you Lalberts and Iheartts! That is all great advice! I'll look into the guide book as well. For now I'll back off on his food and stop misting. The LPS told me to mist... I'm actually glad he's moody and aggressive! I think he's more fun that way!
The tank is about 70 degrees and the LPS told me it was too cold so I bought a small heat lamp and he did not like it a bit. After a few minutes he got all scrunched up in the corner and tried to hide from it. I removed it and he was fine.
All in all he seems like a pretty happy spider if there is such a thing. If I go to his cage and talk to him he'll come out of his corner and to the door. I'd like to fool myself into believing he likes me but I'm pretty sure he's just thinking he gets to kill something! And he's very good at that!
The fancy enclosure I bought does have a screen top so I'll have to see about something else.
Thanks again for the help! I really appreciate it!!!
 

Shrike

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
1,598
Thank you Lalberts and Iheartts! That is all great advice! I'll look into the guide book as well. For now I'll back off on his food and stop misting. The LPS told me to mist... I'm actually glad he's moody and aggressive! I think he's more fun that way!
The tank is about 70 degrees and the LPS told me it was too cold so I bought a small heat lamp and he did not like it a bit. After a few minutes he got all scrunched up in the corner and tried to hide from it. I removed it and he was fine.
All in all he seems like a pretty happy spider if there is such a thing. If I go to his cage and talk to him he'll come out of his corner and to the door. I'd like to fool myself into believing he likes me but I'm pretty sure he's just thinking he gets to kill something! And he's very good at that!
The fancy enclosure I bought does have a screen top so I'll have to see about something else.
Thanks again for the help! I really appreciate it!!!
Misting and heat lamps. More awful advice from your pet store. 70 degrees is totally fine for your G. rosea. You won't need any supplemental heat. And you sure don't need to mist it. Just give it a water dish.
 

IHeartTs

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
435
I prefer fast and defensive Ts, so I know the feeling lol. LPS advice makes me face palm. Its a rose hair, not an advanced species that requires exposure to the blood moon. Requirements for it are for more frugal. Here's all you need: about 2 inches of dry sub, water dish filled at all times, wooden hide. No lamps, heat pads, misting, sponges, etc. The enclosure should be about the size of a 14×11×6.25 sterilite tub. That's actually what I use for a lot of mine. I'm starting to put together an adult e pachypus and adult p subfusca enclosure using different sizes of sterilite. It's that simple. LPS really try to oversell things. Like "you should probably get a hamster wheel for it too so it can work out". Unnecessary. It happens all the time.
 

IvanATP

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
7
Don't want to start a new thread and I don't know where to post this so I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread OP.
My G rosea was on the side of its enclosure today and it just plopped back and fell on it's back. Don't worry about it being hurt from the fall it literally plopped back it doesn't really have room to climb but when it "let go" it fell down about 1/2 inch and laid on its back for a few seconds. At first I thought it was molting but then it got back up after laying there for a bit. Is this normal? Should I be worried?
 

IHeartTs

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
435
Do you get up right after you fall? Lol. It's probably fine. My darlingi did that. She's fine and being her usual self.
 

IvanATP

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
7
Just making sure, it's one of my three Ts that I got around the same time so I'm new to the hobby and it's been a learning experience.
 

IHeartTs

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
435
Just making sure, it's one of my three Ts that I got around the same time so I'm new to the hobby and it's been a learning experience.
Unless she appears injured they'll kinda just sit there for a minute and take in what just happened. If you're worried, just keep an eye on her. I'm sure it's fine if it was like half an inch. But you're right to check. Tiny falls can kill a tarantula. My heart stopped a little when the darlingi fell. Pancaked, I gave her a nudge and off running she went.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
Back to the op, good advice so far.

Never, never, ever just take the word of any LPS worker on the subject of t's. Education is below minimum and is more designed to sell you things, as they already have than provide your t with what it requires.

Return the heat lamp, you have no use unless you have reptiles. Heat lamps have no place with t's and are dangerous for the animal, as are heat mats. Your species has very great tolerances for temp and you have no concern with your temps. They can handle it in the mid-low 60's for extended periods of time without issue and deal with 100 just fine as well. Heck they can deal with overnight temps into the 50's.

As for the feeding, wherever you read 6 crickets per week, this is HORRIBLE advice, its not a 7 inch LP, its a rosehair, which btw have about the lowest food requirements in the t world. Most in captivity are over-fed, however they deal well with it as they have no issues just fasting for a month or 12 to compensate...long fasts should be expected and never met with concern, especially if you binge feed as you currently are. There is no need to ever feed this species more than one cricket per feeding. I feed one every 7-12 days spring through fall, in winter its down to once a month, and even that's refused at times. And mine's still a fatty.

If you feed superworms you should space the next feeding out even further as its a much larger, fattier meal than a cricket. And NEVER, under ANY circumstances just leave a superworm in the enclosure. If its not eaten immediately, remove it. They can bury rather quickly and they can be a death sentence should your t molt. They eventually become large black beetles, which pose an even greater threat to your t as they will remain dormant for extended periods of time (long enough that you may forget they're in there) and will only emerge when food becomes available...guess what, the only food that will ever become available in a t enclosure is the t after it molts. I've posted pics of them going to town on a freshly molted female GBB several times.

I'd love to see a pic of the set up you have since the set up was almost certainly an LPS job.

Welcome to the hobby, its quite fascinating.
 

lalberts9310

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
1,083
I would add more substrate than 2" personally.. the distance between the lid and the substrate should be no more than the leg span of the T, make sure the lid locks tightly tough, roseas can push them up if they want.. the problem with screen tops is it prevents a micro climate from forming, and the fangs and claws of Ts gets stuck in it, and they chew trough it.. get a new lid ASAP. These are arid desert species,they need absolutely no misting, the substrate must be BONE DRY, roseas hates moist/damp substrate.. just a water dish would provide the humidity it needs.. 70 degrees is nothing to worry about, if it really gets cold and you feel the need to heat up the room, use a space heater, please please please no heat lamps and heat pads, those do more harm than good.. there is no specific temperature or humidity requirement.. keep the substrate dry, the room temperature above 65, and provide a water bowl and your T will be fine..
 
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Ghost Dragon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 8, 2014
Messages
27
Welcome to the hobby/obsession, Sirtublord. :)

My very first T three years ago was a rosie too, a rescue that someone didn't want anymore. They can be a little frustrating with their winter fasts, but a great starter T all the same. Congrats.
 

Sirtubblord

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
1
Thanks again for all the great advice and knowledge! You guys have asked about my enclosure; It an 8x8x8 Exo Terra glass terrarium with a screen top, which I guess I need to change out ASAP. I've got a fake little plant, a reptile water dish, a piece of cork branch, and a pretty think layer of that substrate stuff.
It came with a little heat pad to stick under the tank and although you guys say it's not needed, Burt seems to like it. In fact no matter how much substrate I put in he moves it away from his little corner spot and lays pretty much on the glass so I think he likes the warmth.
As much as I don't really want to, I've stopped feeding him. I was seriously feeding him at least three big crickets a day. I guess I kinda figured if he ate them like he was starving I should just keep giving him crickets.
Plus, it super fun to watch him attack. We've got a much larger enclosure with little frogs in it and we are thinking about switching them out. It's quite a bit taller so maybe that's not such a brilliant idea either.
At the end of the day I think I must be doing something right because he looks great and seems to be very content. He spent a couple hours cleaning himself the other day and I swear he got fluffier as a result.
Thanks again! I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me!
 

lalberts9310

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
1,083
Thanks again for all the great advice and knowledge! You guys have asked about my enclosure; It an 8x8x8 Exo Terra glass terrarium with a screen top, which I guess I need to change out ASAP. I've got a fake little plant, a reptile water dish, a piece of cork branch, and a pretty think layer of that substrate stuff.
It came with a little heat pad to stick under the tank and although you guys say it's not needed, Burt seems to like it. In fact no matter how much substrate I put in he moves it away from his little corner spot and lays pretty much on the glass so I think he likes the warmth.
As much as I don't really want to, I've stopped feeding him. I was seriously feeding him at least three big crickets a day. I guess I kinda figured if he ate them like he was starving I should just keep giving him crickets.
Plus, it super fun to watch him attack. We've got a much larger enclosure with little frogs in it and we are thinking about switching them out. It's quite a bit taller so maybe that's not such a brilliant idea either.
At the end of the day I think I must be doing something right because he looks great and seems to be very content. He spent a couple hours cleaning himself the other day and I swear he got fluffier as a result.
Thanks again! I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me!
A tarantula can't particularly 'like' something.. there's a reason we advice against heat pads and heat lamps, especially for a g. Rosea it is completely unnecessary, if your T decides to dig to the bottom of the enclosure, and decides to stay down there.. it might as well fry down there.. in 70 degrees fahrenheit additional heat in forms of a heat pad or heat lamp is not only unnecessary but very dangerous (especially when placed at the bottom of the enclosure), heat pads and heat lamps also contributes to drying out the air in the enclosure which is not good.. remove that thing, your T doesn't need it.. not even experienced members like coldblood who lives in a VERY cold area uses heat pads for his Ts.. heat pads are bad news
 
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