Just got my G.Rosea! Questions however..

[rm90]

I just got my first tarantula, well two now they gave me a free Mexican Red Rump aswell. I am so stoked about getting them, I cant really see the Red Rump hes so small so that'll be a pain in the butt to feed but for now I will ask some questions about my G.Rosea.

I put a bottle cap with water in the enclosure about an hour ago when I got him home. He is already drinking out of it! (Or so I think. His head/body is over the cap). I think this means he was drinking out of it..

So my first question is, should the water I put in be tap water, bottled water, or boiled?

My second question is when should I feed him/her? Should I wait a few days or what?

Thanks!!

[GailC]

I just use tap water, as for feeding, use small crickets. Try to give ones about as long as your T's butt. A 3/4" rosea should be able to take down 1/2" cricket.
If your vagans is really small them give it pre killed crickets, remove if not eaten overnight.
You can try to feed tonight, my T's ahve always taken food right away. Of course if they don't eat overnight the remove the cricket.
What do you have your guys housed in?

[MindUtopia]

To echo what Waldo said, tap water is perfectly fine. So long as they seem alert and healthy, I will feed T's the day that I get them if I have food lying around. The only time I wait is if they seem ill, are obviously in premolt, or show any signs of shipping stress. If they seem active and happy and are in permanent enclosures, then you might as well feed them.

[rm90]

Alright, thank you for the replies! I alas have one more question. Can my G.Rosea go without a hide for tonight? I will get one tommorrow. I did not have time to go get one and the stores are closing soon. He/She is in my bedroom where it is peaceful and dark so I want to create minimial stress.

[OldHag]

For my slings I just get a curved oak leaf and they hide under them. Make little web openings. Im sure it will be ok without a hide for a night. Put it in a dark place so it feels safe if you want to.

For your tiny sling, if your crickets are too big for it, just kill it first and pop it in, the sling will find it and eat off of it. Tiny slings are easy to care for.

Good luck with your new ones!

[rm90]

I just gave my G.Rosea a cricket and he went right for it!! The cricket stopped moving as soon as the rosea caught it with his fangs or whatever. I left him alone to munch on his feast. Is there a list of things I can feed to my G.Rosea?

[ShadowBlade]

Is there a list of things I can feed to my G.Rosea?

There are many options, but I tend to stick to crickets, roaches, and mealworms. Fruitflies for small ones, and lizards for a female before breeding, thats about it.

Yes the T will be fine without a hide tonight, it would probably wander anyway.

[rm90]

Alright -- one more question. Last one. I swear!! How many crickets should I give him. Just 1?

I felt like I did all my researching then when I finally get it I have a billion more Q's! Lol

[Mushroom Spore]

Alright -- one more question. Last one. I swear!! How many crickets should I give him. Just 1?

One per week, yes.

[IguanaMama]

You can ask as many questions as you like, keep them coming, no bother. Congratulations on getting your first T. It is great that you got the freebie vagans, that is one of my favorites. They are really good eaters, so just try to find the smallest cricket you can. They can handle crickets that are almost their own size, you just pull the jumping legs off the cricket and they are fine. If you can't find crickets small enough, like others have said, just kill it first. For the Rosie, keep the substrate dry, but for the vagans, keep one side dry and mist the other side a bit, so it is not so dry.

[rm90]

I got a wooden hide today. Is this good? It isnt that bright in my room the camera made it brighter





Does the tank look too boring? Do I need to add anything?

[Mushroom Spore]

Does the tank look too boring? Do I need to add anything?

"Boring" is better for the tarantula, trust us. You DO need to add about two or three times more substrate, though, as your enclosure is WAY too tall. Terrestrial tarantulas die very easily from falling even short distances - they can crack open like an egg. At that point, they die in a few seconds.

The dirt needs to be high enough that the distance between the dirt and the top of the enclosure is about equal to its legspan. This will also help it if it climbs and gets a toe caught in the mesh or whatever ventilation you have in the lid, as it can touch the ground. Apparently this makes them less likely to panic and just rip the leg off.

[rm90]

Ok i'll add some more. I think im stressing him out I keep opening it and changing it around. :| How can I add more if hes in it? :S

[Windchaser]

Ok i'll add some more. I think im stressing him out I keep opening it and changing it around. :|

Better to do it now since it has not settled in yet. Not to mention that with it wandering, which is fairly normal when put into a new enclosure, the risk of injury due to a fall is increased. So, even though your changing it around will unsettle it a bit for the moment, you will significantly reduce the risk of injury due to a fall by raising the substrate as suggested.

[Mushroom Spore]

Ok i'll add some more. I think im stressing him out I keep opening it and changing it around. :| How can I add more if hes in it? :S

Which would scare you more: being put in a safe little box of some sort and then returned to your home, or sitting quietly in your home when an avalanche comes down and the dirt is moving around everywhere? Just get a small tupperware or something and carefully herd him into it - watch you don't squish his toes when you close the lid! And you don't need to worry about ventilation since it'll only be a few minutes and Ts hardly breathe anyway.

Another bonus to having the dirt appropriately high is that many Grammostola specimens love to play in the dirt. They push it around, roll it up into balls and move it into new shapes and mountains, they dig canyons and build hills and do all sorts of stuff. My G. aureostriata is a veritable bulldozer, though my own G. rosea is a big dumb lump of lazy and only does it a little bit (and instead is webbing like mad lately ). It just depends on the individual T's personality once they get settled in.