PRE66 6TART
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2015
- Messages
- 9
First tarantula, first post. I hope I am posting this in the right place. I was going to post some pics in tarantula ID, but I will probably need further advice beyond just an ID.
I did a little research online (although I didn't find this site yet) before getting my first tarantula, and decided to get the classic first-timer tarantula, a Chilean Rose Hair. So I walked into a small pet store that sold mostly lizards and asked if they had any. I had read somewhere that these type of stores were more likely to know what they were doing than a big chain pet store. He said they had one left, and pulled it out from behind the counter. He said it was a female, and that they had more in the back but they were just babies.
I hung out for a bit and looked at it while he put together an enclosure for me, and then he rung me up. It was 20 bucks for the spider, 100 including the 10 gallon tank, substrate, hide, water dish, various fake plants and decorative things that I wanted to add, and a heat pad that he told me I needed.
It was at this point that a couple things happened that should have made me doubt that he knew what he was doing. First a teen-age girl walked up and asked what kind of tarantula it was. He said it was a "rosehair," and she said something like, "that doesn't look like a rosehair." But he just confidently assured her that it was, in fact, a "rosehair."
Then as he was transferring it out of the little plastic box it was in into the tank, it suddenly darted away from him and moved surprisingly quickly down the side of the counter, until it fell about three feet onto the floor, where he was able to catch it again. Luckily it was unhurt.
So I've had it for a couple weeks now, and after looking at lots of tarantula pics and vids, I've concluded that it most likely isn't what it was sold as, and that the pet store guy had no idea what he was doing. I'm not using the heat pad and got rid of the sponge in the water dish. I guess I need more substrate, but I'm not sure what he gave me or whether it's appropriate.
Behaviorally, it's quick to go into that threat posture and never turns down food. It roamed around a lot and climbed on the glass for the first few days, but now it hides more and always stays on the ground. I've never seen it flick hairs, and it hasn't made any more escape attempts or caused me any trouble when I need to get into the cage. I like that it is active and fun to look at. I don't really need to handle it, so I'm pretty happy with what I got, even if it is more defensive or whatever. But I'd like to know what it is and what it's needs are.
Here's the pics:
I did a little research online (although I didn't find this site yet) before getting my first tarantula, and decided to get the classic first-timer tarantula, a Chilean Rose Hair. So I walked into a small pet store that sold mostly lizards and asked if they had any. I had read somewhere that these type of stores were more likely to know what they were doing than a big chain pet store. He said they had one left, and pulled it out from behind the counter. He said it was a female, and that they had more in the back but they were just babies.
I hung out for a bit and looked at it while he put together an enclosure for me, and then he rung me up. It was 20 bucks for the spider, 100 including the 10 gallon tank, substrate, hide, water dish, various fake plants and decorative things that I wanted to add, and a heat pad that he told me I needed.
It was at this point that a couple things happened that should have made me doubt that he knew what he was doing. First a teen-age girl walked up and asked what kind of tarantula it was. He said it was a "rosehair," and she said something like, "that doesn't look like a rosehair." But he just confidently assured her that it was, in fact, a "rosehair."
Then as he was transferring it out of the little plastic box it was in into the tank, it suddenly darted away from him and moved surprisingly quickly down the side of the counter, until it fell about three feet onto the floor, where he was able to catch it again. Luckily it was unhurt.
So I've had it for a couple weeks now, and after looking at lots of tarantula pics and vids, I've concluded that it most likely isn't what it was sold as, and that the pet store guy had no idea what he was doing. I'm not using the heat pad and got rid of the sponge in the water dish. I guess I need more substrate, but I'm not sure what he gave me or whether it's appropriate.
Behaviorally, it's quick to go into that threat posture and never turns down food. It roamed around a lot and climbed on the glass for the first few days, but now it hides more and always stays on the ground. I've never seen it flick hairs, and it hasn't made any more escape attempts or caused me any trouble when I need to get into the cage. I like that it is active and fun to look at. I don't really need to handle it, so I'm pretty happy with what I got, even if it is more defensive or whatever. But I'd like to know what it is and what it's needs are.
Here's the pics: