Chile rose personality question

Right folks brace yourselves for yet another newbie question though this one is on behalf of my aunt and not me).

My aunt bought an adult female Chile Rose about 7 weeks ago which I had been looking after for a bit. Now this girl was a real sweetheart with me and very well mannered (never showed any hint of a threat posture or hair kicking).

However my aunt has noticed that in the last two weeks she has been very jumpy, kicking hair and also lunging at unwary hands that enter her cage. I'm at a total loss to explain her behaviour and put it down to Chile rosies being very unpredictable in terms of personality.

However my mum had a theory about "Scruffy's" personality changes and I wonder if she has a point. My aunt has a large curly hair which shares Scruffys shelf and she was wondering if Scruffy was being un-nerved at the pressence (or smell) of the curly hair (which is massive by the way). When I kept Scruffy she was downstairs on her own and I never had a problem with her. My aunt has only recently moved the two trantulas to be on the same cabinet.

I wonder seriously if the pressence of another tarantula is causing her behaviour as I did a small experiment with my male Chile rose today. He is very calm for a male and like Scruffy had never once shown any threatening behaviour. Out of interest I dropped a moulted skin from my female Chile rose in his cage and almost at once he reared back and showed his fangs. It seems odd that he acts this way towards another tarantula and yet be perfectly fine with people and I wondered if Scruffy may be the same?! Is it possible she's picking up the pressence of the big curly hair and therefore sees any movement as a threat?

Answers on a post card! :8o

Sounds like the other T could be bothering her. I can imagine a smaller T would view a larger one not only as a threat, but also a competetor for food and territory.

Maybe try separating the tanks and see if she continues the behavior.

It's possible. It could also be that she is getting ready to molt. One other possibility, since you said your aunt just got her, is that she was WC and gravid. My rosie, which I picked up as an adult from a pet shop, laid an egg sac about 2 months after I got here home. She also got fiesty right before laying the egg sac.

This all seems very possible. I have had my Rosie since december and after acting exactly the same for 3 months she molted. She has now completely changed her daily routine. Like people seem to say on these boards, "Rosies are wierd."

But your theory seems sound...as well as 'chaser's...

i agree, rosies are really weird. maybe she just hates everyone like mine does?
i keep my T's on bookshelves in mixed sizes, etc. and have never had such a problem. Perhaps mine just don't mind condo living? LOL

Let's not forget that a T's eyesight is very poor. They are not going to be able to tell that the shape near them is another tarantula. They rely more on touch (and vibrations). IMO, the reason the spider you dropped a molt in front of freaked out is because it could feel the other spider. When breeding out of territory, people will sometimes rub the male spider with a molted skin from a female so that they know they are there. The eyesight is that poor.

If the T is getting a little grouchy, it may very well be getting ready to molt. I've heard a lot of people report this, and my G. rosea flicked hairs for the first time right before her molt. She hasn't done it since.

I suppose a moult is possible but my aunt hasnt noted any difference in her appearence but then she hasnt eaten since we got her. Surely if she was gravid then she'd have increased in size and if she was moulting her abdomen would have gone dark?!

Most of us have multiple T's... the only time I recall seeing a response from neighboring tanks (reported on the boards) are from mature males responding to the druming of other males.

All my T's are in close proximity to one another and I have never observed any behaviour changes as a result with exception of once when I was silly enough to have 2 T's in a split 10 gallon.

Interesting and good to hear that Ts don't react aggressively just because another T is in the area that can be "smelled". I'm in the middle of custom building loads of tanks for a bookshelf and if the result of those cramped conditions would end in all Ts going berzerk I'd have been really unhappy now.

Only time I saw my vagans flick was hours before a moult.

thats the only time my rosie kicked hairs too, right before a molt

The only time mine ever kicked was AFTER a molt,lol!

Move her and see if behavior changes. All of our T's are close and we have never experienced anything like you have described. It is unusual.

nowhereman said:

Move her and see if behavior changes. All of our T's are close and we have never experienced anything like you have described. It is unusual.

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I have lots of t's sharing the same shelf as well, I just wondered if it was down to the fact that Scruffy has spent her life away from other T's (she is a long term captive).

Her cage has been moved so we'll see what happens

Could it be that she is simply stressed from a new cage, new cage position (such as lighting, temps, humidity changes), and things like that? If the new position for the cage is closer to, say, an overhead lamp I can see that stressing out a T pretty badly. Plus it could be warmer up nearer to a light source, dryer...

Are there leftover food items in there with her that could be stressing her out? Is the cage size any smaller or larger? Maybe she wants a hiding place? I know many people say their G. roseas don't use hides, but mine periodically uses hers. She just went in there last night after catching a nice big lobster roach. I guess she didn't want me to watch her eat.

I don't know though. My G. rosea has never displayed at me, and only kicked hairs once, but that was neither right before or right after a molt... so I assume me breathing on her was just too much for her.

None of mine have ever even noticed each other that I can tell, and I've always kept them on shelves together, near each other.

Could it be that she is simply stressed from a new cage, new cage position (such as lighting, temps, humidity changes), and things like that? If the new position for the cage is closer to, say, an overhead lamp I can see that stressing out a T pretty badly. Plus it could be warmer up nearer to a light source, dryer...

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Her cage has been in the same place for the past two months and the temperature and humidity hasn't varied (or at least it cant have varied much).

Are there leftover food items in there with her that could be stressing her out? Is the cage size any smaller or larger? Maybe she wants a hiding place? I know many people say their G. roseas don't use hides, but mine periodically uses hers. She just went in there last night after catching a nice big lobster roach. I guess she didn't want me to watch her eat.

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Scruffy has a rainbow rock in her cage along with a half buried flower pot I think. She hasn't eaten since we got her (which was in January) and my aunt knows to take uneaten food out after a couple of hours.

My rosie NEVER hair flicks, however their setae is suppose to be among the worst. Be careful it does not end up in your eyes. I read an article about a kid that got rosie setae in his eyes...I think I'd rather get bit by a pokie...I'm serious. Long term complications.

you know those clearish white bits on the under side of their leg joints?

coax her onto the glass, and see if theyre dark, or turning brown.

Thats the only sign my rosie showed.