Rose Hair tarantula

[Peloquin]

I use peat as well. Everything here has been kept on peat since I started keeping spiders 17 years ago. Never had any problems. Tried coconut fibre but it seems to gry out too fast. Vermic I never liked as it looks crap.

 

[Sevenrats]

Here we go. Now I've offended all peat moss lovers of the world. :wall:

There isn't anything wrong with peat moss. I actually don't use it for my tarantulas because I sleep on it myself. I love it. If you pour milk on it you can eat it for breakfast!

Coconut fiber isn't as dusty and it looks a little less like dirt. It might be more susceptible to mold because peat is chemically resistant to mold but most tarantula especially a rose hair aren't kept that wet anyway.

Go to petco or wherever and buy a brick of it. You'll love it. Save the peat for your own bed.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Here we go. Now I've offended all peat moss lovers of the world. :wall:

No, we're annoyed because you're huge-text screaming at a newbie for using a very popular and perfectly fine substrate. If you personally don't like peat, that's your right, but I advise a chill pill or two.

Mother of god! Why do people ask a question and then not listen to the answer????!!!!!!

 

[Tuwin]

I was at the pet store lastnight getting some new substrate for a few new slings that i am getting and i decided to go with Eco-Earth Coconut Fiber. While i was at it i decided to get some for my Rosea.

I did as the package directions said. I put it in water and squeezed all the water out and the fiber formed in my hand. I packed the 5.5 gallon tank with it and than put a heat bulb on it to dry it out. It seemed to be taking a lot longer to dry than i thought. For some reason i didn't think it would hold the water as well as it did as i have seen many people suggest it for a G. Rosea.

I waited a while and than had to go to bed so i went a head and placed my girl in there. She didn't seem to like it at first as it was still a little damp. She made her way to the top of the cork bark hut.

This morning i woke up and check on it and it's still damp it seems. She was off the bark though and sitting in it.

How long does it normally take to dry out to a Rosea style dry substrate? is it a good sign that she was off the cork bark?

 

[bluegootty]

look buddy..peat moss are great to use..1 they are excellent substrate..2 they are cheap.. just for thta 2 reason.. hey nothing beat it.. beside ,you will end up getting more than 1 T's maybe not now ,but eventually you will... this hobby is just like drug addicts..u will get suck in to it..believe me..i start out with 1.. then BOOM.. now i got 96 T's...wat ta hell right??? but you'll see..

 

[Moltar]

IMO peat or a peat mix is fine for dryer condition t's. When you get into haplo's, chilobrachys, tharaphosa etc that need lots of moisture i think it's preferable to use coco or at least 50% coco in the mix. If you let peat dry out it's a real pain to get it rehydrated. That doesn't mean you CAN'T use it, just that coco is a little better for that application.

Just my opinion...

 

[Stan Schultz]

... I'm not saying the Shultz's are wrong, they've been working w/ tarantula's since i was i kindergarten and vermiculite is ok according to them. ...

The Schultzes are wrong! The Schultzes are wrong! Use either peat or shredded coconut husk. Peat is a lot cheaper but you have to look all over to find it. Try the garden departments in the larger bulding suppliers, flower departments in department stores, and landscaping and horticultural suppliers.

Shredded coconut husk is available under a variety of trade names from most any pet shop, but it can get expensive if you have a lot of tarantulas. (See the end of this post.)

Some enthusiasts report that it's hard to deal with as well, but I've been told that if you use only half the recommended water and let it stand overnight it'll work a lot better, being drier. Also, you don't need to use the whole brick at once. Using a common wood saw, cut off a chunk and pro-rate the amount of water you use.

Can anyone tell us how much (by volume) a whole brick of shredded coconut husk turns into? Four quarts (liters)? Some other amount?

We just haven't had the time to change that care sheet. Been working too hard on the book and spending too much time on these forums.

... If after 2 weeks she's still climbing the walls or sitting constantly on top of a log or something (avoiding contact with the substrate) then you may want to switch it out for peat. ...

When tarantulas don't like, or are even a little unsure of, the substrate they often hang from the cage's walls. Sometimes for days or weeks depending on how much they hate the substrate. If yours persists in this behavior after a week or ten days, consider changing to another substrate.

However, remember that both burrowing tarantulas and the arboreals basically live in a vertical environment in nature. A dirt cliff on a hillside, a tree trunk and the inside of a vertical burrow in the dirt possess very little horizontal space. Everything is oriented up and down. When we put a wild caught tarantula in a 5-1/5 gallon aquarium or a plastic shoebox we're placing the tarantula into a completely foreign environment. It may not know what the substrate is or have an opinion about it at all. It's just used to being on a vertical surface and out of habit (and maybe instinct) climbs up there because that seems "normal" to it.

Give it a little while to chill out. It'll deal with it just fine.

Have you heard the little joke the we arachnoculturists have?

"Like those potato chips, you can't have just one!"

 

[Kevmaster06]

Like everybody else has said "Use Eco earth or Coco fiber..." Mine is on Eco earth and is fat and is such a sweet heart. I gave it a small water dish that i sometimes overfill on purpose because thats how my T knows when it is time to drink. When it overflows my T almost instanly comes out and drinks. Also i give it a bottle cap full of large meal worms. I am stopping that because that is why it is so fat.


Dont mean to steal the thread but my Rosea has made something that looks like a trapdoor and he pulls it up when he hides in it. Will get PIC later but im currently in school