G. Rosea...a few questions

Tammy

Arachnopeon
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Jul 29, 2006
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I got my chilean rose-hair about 5 days ago for my birthday. Unfortunately I'm having trouble finding ways to make it as happy as possible. The girl who bought it had forest bard substrate down but I've read that peat moss or potting soil would be a better choice. So for question 1: Should I change the substrate?
Question 2: Do these kinds of T's dislike being handled?
Question 3: Will my T burrow?
andd....Question 4:What are some extra things I can do in order for it to feel more at home?? It seems to be sulking.....I don't want it to be depressed!:(


I appreciate any help or info anyone has about these Tarantulas! Thanks.
 

Gigas

Arachnoprince
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G. roseas are happiest doing nothing :) they are a classic pet rock tarantula.
Q1, yes,it is better for the Tarantula in the Longterm, but if the peat is too damp the spider may climb off and away from it till it dries out, either put in dry substrate of give it a large piece of something dry to sit on whilst the substrate dries out.
Q2, To my knowledge no T "enjoys " being handled, many people disagree with handling tarantula's i personally handle my rosea on the odd occasion.
Q3, most roseas will sit in the open on a web mat rather than burrow, only as slings have i seen the species attempt to make a burrow of any kind.
Q4, as i say they do often just sit ther,but make sure there is a water bowl and a hide of sorts for the T to use if it chooses.
 

NikiP

Arachnobaron
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Just a tip...

If you want to handle your T, try using a long blunt object like a pencil or tongs to nudge your G. rosea & see how it reacts before handling.

Some G. roseas are nice, some are very not nice.
 

darkness

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NikiP said:
Just a tip...

If you want to handle your T, try using a long blunt object like a pencil or tongs to nudge your G. rosea & see how it reacts before handling.

Some G. roseas are nice, some are very not nice.

yea like said some are not nice but mine has mood swings some time but she is mostly happy all the time :) :)
 

Tammy

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Thanks alot for your help! How does my rosea's setup look? Adequate?
And also, do I need to worry alot about the urticating hairs on his behind?
 

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Mushroom Spore

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Ack. Get rid of the wood chips, those aren't a good substrate at all. Buy a big bag of chemical-free peat moss for like two bucks, and pile it high enough that the distance between the peat and the top of the enclosure is about equal to the spider's legspan. A fall from a greater distance than this can kill it.

Get that garbage out of the water dish immediately. Tarantulas can't drink from that. If that's a sponge, you're also looking at a nice round of bacteria. Just put water in the dish, your T will thank you. :)
 

Gigas

Arachnoprince
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I agree with mushroom spore, and that water dish is a bit... huge ? isnt it
 

Tammy

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Like I said, I really knew close to nothing about tarantulas before I started surfing the web...so thanks alot! I'll take out the sponge, put down some peat moss, and find a smaller water dish.
With the peat moss, how ofter should I clean it out? And will my T drown without the sponge in the water dish? I was told it would, hence the only reason it's there.
 

NastyNate

Arachnoknight
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get rid of the sponges as not needed and they invite mold and bacteria
 

Mike H.

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Your spider will not drown, no real need to change the peat, just remove any leftover food items, make sure there is a hide a water dish and room temps are usually fine, they are very easy to care for...

Good Luck....

Regards, Mike
 

Gigas

Arachnoprince
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With a smaller water dish the T will be fine no chance of Drowning, If that is an Exoterra water dish, try the "small" size, its what i have for all my inverts
 

cacoseraph

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Tammy said:
question 1: Should I change the substrate?
Question 2: Do these kinds of T's dislike being handled?
Question 3: Will my T burrow?

I appreciate any help or info anyone has about these Tarantulas! Thanks.
1) i use the ground up coconut fiber mixed with either shredded cypress bark or chunks of coconut husk added to give the substrate some structure. one i have mixed the components together well and gotten them moist i PACK them into the cage until there is a spiderlength of room on top

2) while none like or dislike (too simple to have emotions like that) some tolerate it better than others. roses have a huge range of "attitudes" and can be quite tolerant one day and very much against the idea the next. i've handled my roses and most other pet bugs and have never had a death or injury result (for either party ;))

3) probably not, but mine has made a ~12" deep burrow with a massive room at the end of it, so sometimes they do
 

ilovebugs

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Hey welcome to the world of tarantulas, g.roseas and arachnoboards.
In my opinion finding this place so soon is one of the best things that could ever happen to you and your spider.

mayonase lids make great water bowls (most of my Ts have them) and if you use filtered/bottled water you won't have to clean it out as much (tap water tends to get calcium build up)

I wanted to add to what NikiP said:
Some G. roseas are nice, some are very not nice.
sometimes the nice ones are very not nice and some very not nice ones are very nice.

my first rosea was held nearly everyday for a year, it seemed to be pretty used to it.

Oh, I don't know if you took it off for the pics or what, but I didn't see a lid on the enclosure. If you don't have one, GET ONE. Roseas aren't the best glass climbers but they can and will on occasion. also, if you do have a lid and it's screen, that is another reason to go for the peat moss. If your spider climbs that high and gets one of it's hooks on it's legs stuck a fall from that high could injure your T very badly. so it's good to lessen the airspace a bit by adding plenty of substrate (they don't jump around or anything, so it's not like it will need that extra room anyway.)

well, thats all for now. if you need any advise well... your here.
 

ilovebugs

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cacoseraph said:
3) probably not, but mine has made a ~12" deep burrow with a massive room at the end of it, so sometimes they do
thats amazing, I've given some of mine plenty of digging space but nothing ever came of it. sometimes they make a small hole just deep enough to be over their body. thats really cool.
 

Nightshade

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Welcome to the boards!

My first two Ts were rose hairs.
I keep them on approximately 3 inches of peat moss. They have clay flowerpots to hide in, because they've grown too fat for those log hides.
Your T might be a little agitated until it's settled into it's new home. Rose hairs in particular hate damp substrate. Mine cling to the walls if their substrate is too damp when I change it. Once it's settled though, it should be okay. I wouldn't worry too much about it being depressed. Just give it around 4 crickets every two weeks and make sure the water dish is full and clean and it'll grow fat and happy.
 

Tammy

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Thanks alot everyone. I'm making all the changes sometime tomarrow...what should I do with my rosie while I revamp his/her aquarium??
 

Gigas

Arachnoprince
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I normally just let mine run free range around the bathroom lol, but you can keep it in a container big enough for it to turnround in
 

Tammy

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ilovebugs said:
Oh, I don't know if you took it off for the pics or what, but I didn't see a lid on the enclosure. If you don't have one, GET ONE. Roseas aren't the best glass climbers but they can and will on occasion. also, if you do have a lid and it's screen, that is another reason to go for the peat moss. If your spider climbs that high and gets one of it's hooks on it's legs stuck a fall from that high could injure your T very badly. so it's good to lessen the airspace a bit by adding plenty of substrate (they don't jump around or anything, so it's not like it will need that extra room anyway.)
I'm glad you mentioned this, because I do indeed have a screened lid. so thanks alot....

But here are some pics of the re-done cage. It may not be as pretty but more practical, I hope? Thanks again everyone, and if there's any more changes I need to make, please just let me know{D
 

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Tammy

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And is there a chance that the peat moss is a little too damp? Because he/she is currently crawling upside down across the lid of the cage....trying to escape the peat moss maybe? or maybe just being daring and testing it's boundaries? hehe...its quite fun to watch actually:)
 
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