# My G. Rosea home



## Mello (Feb 27, 2013)

5.5 gallon aquarium with screen top from petco.
2" of Eco earth mixed with vermiculite and New Zealand sphagnum moss, little pink aquarium rocks dusted on top.
The hide is wood bark I found on a bike ride, boiled in hot water to sterilize and dried out then hot glue gunned together to form a nice arch.
Medium reptile water dish from petco. 
Zoo Med temperate/humidity gauge from amazon.com
**i also keep a small half geode with flukers cricket food so the crickets in her cage can always be gut loaded, I'm unsure if this is a good idea or not. Feedback appreciated!

Simple, attractive, and she seems to like it so far!


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## MarkmD (Feb 27, 2013)

Looks nice, you don't need the temp gauge, I have one to but I never look at it, so left it for decor with the color on it lol.


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## Mello (Feb 27, 2013)

Thank you! I use the temp/hum gauge because I live in the desert of northern nv and based on my reading g. rosea's like 50-65% humidity with a very adaptable temp, my home is typically as dry as... Well something that's really dry lol. I don't know what humidity you have in the UK, or temps. Probably better than dang nevada, USA lol. I appreciate you commenting that the set up looks nice though, so much!


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## Formerphobe (Feb 27, 2013)

> **i also keep a small half geode with flukers cricket food so the crickets in her cage can always be gut loaded, I'm unsure if this is a good idea or not.


This is not a good idea.  Do not leave crickets in with her.  If she is not hungry they can stress her.  If she molts, they might eat her.

Here is an excellent care sheet:
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html


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## MarkmD (Feb 27, 2013)

Mello G,Rosea don't care much for humidity that's why they like it completely dry, they do get a little bit from the water dish and that's enough for them, looking at my gauge it's saying 65% humidity but its cheap so probably not accurate lol.


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## Stan Schultz (Feb 27, 2013)

Ah! So we're a newbie. You've done what everybody else does: Way overkill. You've spent a lot of money on things you shouldn't have. You've incorporated a few things that were useless or even dangerous. You're stressing out over meaningless details while ignoring the real issues. That's not a criticism, it's just the way humanoids are, I suppose. We can change that.

And, there's nothing wrong with being a newbie as long as you do something about it. After 45 years of keeping tarantulas, I still consider myself a newbie. We can trace a tarantula's ancestry back over *HALF A BILLION YEARS*. They've had that long to develop and fine tune their lives and lifestyles. They're incredibly complex and detailed creatures. We're gonna be playing catch-up for a long, LONG, *LONG* time!

The first thing you need to understand is the *KISS principle*, not to infer that you're stupid. Inexperienced, maybe. Stupid, I don't think so; you can read, write, and use a computer. But, I digress. As long as you supply the basic necessities of life for your captive tarantula, the less you incorporate into its cage and care regimen, the less there is to go tragically *haywire*. KISS, indeed!

The second thing you need to understand is that tarantulas are like no other creature you've ever kept or even heard about before. All your ingrained assumptions and prejudices don't apply to them, and may even be dangerous to them. They're not tropical fish, reptiles, birds, or hamsters, and you don't take care of them like any of those animals either. One of the biggest problems with newbies is trying to get them to abandon all those prejudices and begin to look at the world from the vastly alien perspective of a huge, fuzzy spider.

*FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT.
MAKE SURE YOUR SEAT BACK AND TRAY TABLES ARE SECURED IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION.
THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE H*** OF A RIDE!*​
The way you have your cage set up is probably not too bad, but it's far from optimal. I'm going to pick it apart. Consider this a learning experience not a damnation, and carry on from there.



Mello said:


> 5.5 gallon aquarium with screen top from petco. ...


The cage is certainly the correct size. Few tarantulas require cages larger than this. You went the Cadillac route. Most people buy a *Kritter Keeper*http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&va=lee's+kritter+keeper. (Click or right-click on the thumbnails to see larger images. Click the larger images to see the photos full size.)


The Alien figurine is optional, as is the cover's color. Don't do this with the water dish. See below. (Courtesy of *Patrick Mumford*. Way to go Patrick!)

Or, even a plastic shoe box. The tarantula couldn't really care less.



I hope the screen lid isn't one of those cheap, aluminum, window screen kind. If it is, try to replace it with one made of *hot dip galvanized*, *hardware cloth*. (Note that there are 2 links there.) This is a coarse wire mesh that's been dipped into molten zinc. The coarser mesh makes it more chew resistant, and the zinc fills in the little spaces between the wires and prevents the tarantula from catching a claw.

It's entirely possible for your tarantula to chew through basic aluminum screening and maybe even escape entirely.


Compliments of Mike "troll" Dame, one of the photo-contributors for _The Tarantula Keeper's Guide, Third Edition_. "Way to go Mike!"




Mello said:


> ... 2" of Eco earth mixed with vermiculite and New Zealand sphagnum moss, ...


Read *Substrate*. Why people persist in the ordeal of mixing up all sorts of exotic witch's brews for substrates is so far beyond me I can't even see their tracks in the road dust! Such mixes invariably inherit all the undesirable qualities of their ingredients, cost a lot to make up, require a lot of work and sweat to formulate, and accomplish little or nothing really remarkable or advantageous. And, you've got to store packages and boxes and buckets of all sorts of stuff for the project.

Sphagnum moss is used almost exclusively because of its water retentive properties. One weight of sphagnum will hold something like 10 weights of water! Why would you be using it in a desert tarantula's cage?



Mello said:


> ... little pink aquarium rocks dusted on top. ...


As long as you realize that they're under the tarantula while the tarantula's eyes are on top. It can't even begin to see them. Plus, tarantulas can only see in the green, violet and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum. The hot pink is completely invisible to them. Just to be clear: You're doing this for your own personal purposes, not for the tarantula's good. There's probably no harm in it though, as long as we keep a clear head about the matter.



Mello said:


> ... The hide is wood bark I found on a bike ride, ...


This is not necessarily a bad idea as long as it didn't come from one of the several types of cedars native to your area.



Mello said:


> ... boiled in hot water to sterilize ...


Whereupon you threw it into a cage with an arguably "unclean" tarantula, living on dirt, and feeding on crickets that aren't much cleaner than your average cockroach. Explain this one to me again, please. I think I missed something!  :? 



Mello said:


> ... and dried out then hot glue gunned together to form a nice arch. ...


Scenic. Even functional. Not bad.



Mello said:


> ... Medium reptile water dish from petco. ...


Scenic. Even functional. Not bad. But I prefer something about the size and shape of a tuna fish can. Not as scenic, but it holds a little more water so I don't have to fuss with it as often. You may want to use a rock in the dish to give crickets, one of Gods most intellectually challenged creatures, an escape ramp when they intentionally jump in to drown. The rock should be large enough to protrude above the water level, but small enough that the tarantula can drink from around it.



Don't worry about the tarantula. They're covered with a waxy layer that prevents them from getting wet. It traps hair among their bristles and they float like a cork. Sort of a built-in *personal flotation device*.



Mello said:


> ... Zoo Med temperate/humidity gauge from amazon.com ...


*DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT?* It was the n00b alarm going off! Either you were sold a bill of goods by a pet shop, or you've been reading those Internet care sheets again!

Read *Caresheets...*.

Read *Stan's Rant*. Especially, pay attention to the pet shop warning! Especially, [strike]read[/strike] *STUDY* the four recommended books.

Read *Temperature...*.

Read *Humidity...*.

In fact, back up a step and read the whole *Myths...* webtree.

Read *Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula*.

In fact, back up several steps and at least skim through the whole *Spiders, Calgary* webtree.



Mello said:


> ... **i also keep a small half geode ...


Cute. Scenic. Maybe functional.



Mello said:


> ... with flukers cricket food so the crickets in her cage can always be gut loaded, ...


While feeding gut loaded crickets to reptiles may or may not be advantageous, there is not one shred of evidence that it has any effect whatsoever on tarantulas, all the old wive's tales and urban myths notwithstanding. You're going through some level of trouble and expense and wasting your time and money for no purpose. Decades of experience by thousands of enthusiasts have clearly demonstrated that "El Cheapo Special" wheat bran, being a lot cheaper and more readily available (look in the baking or bulk food sections of your favorite grocery store), works just as well. Even the crumbly meal/dust from the bottom of a bag of dry dog or cat food will work just fine.

Crickets are little more than a different kind of cockroach. And, they have all the same salient characteristics except that they won't normally infest your home. Except that they can become a nuisance when the adult males get loose and chirp under the refrigerator at 3:00 AM! But, they eventually die without reproducing in your home.

I hope this helps to get you on the right foot. I don't think there's any good reason to tear the cage apart and redo it now. But keep these suggestions in mind for about a year from now when you finally have to clean the cage again.


Enjoy your little 8-legged wonder!

Reactions: Like 1


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## MarkmD (Feb 27, 2013)

Mello read every bit of info from Pikaia, and try and buy his TKG book, you maybe a newbie to T's but even the best of us hobbyists still lern from others and started from your position.


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## Mello (Feb 27, 2013)

Oh man lots to reply to lol! But it's a good thing cause I love all the information! 
@formerphobe - thank you very much, will remove crickets and the flukers.
@markmd - thank you also! I already have TKG in my amazon cart! I've heard it's the best!
@pikaia - thank you! I will try to reply to all your questions! I don't know how to copy parts of your post to reply to lol that's how much of a newbie I am! I used sphagnum moss and the rocks solely for my viewing purposes. Since she's dark I wanted a lighter ground so I can see her better lol
And the wood boiling I did cause I watched "thetarantulaguy76" YouTube videos and his recommendation was to heat sterilize anything found in nature and it seemed logical so i stuck with it.
As for the crickets and roaches, we are trying to breed Dubai roaches but have no babies yet so we get crickets. I don't mind spending >$10 for crickets and the flukers food but I will keep in mind the wheat bran. 
Also I will read every article ^^ and I am getting your book! Thank you so much for all the useful information!


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## MarkmD (Feb 27, 2013)

Hi Mello you can only learn at your own rate, and all the proper info is around the net, (especially from this site), their is no hard and fast way with T's, only basics to begin with, I will tell you this, once you've had a few different T's for a period of time and done research on what you want and have, you will be teaching others what you've learned, alot sooner than you think.


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## Mello (Feb 27, 2013)

I feel like every day I learn so much because I am obsessive lol! I read forums on this website probably for a few hours daily and then I sit and stare at my pets for another few hours haaha at least it's a healthy addiction. And an update on my set up, I packed the medium down firm after reading the substrate article from pikaia and despite that Dahlia (my rose) has only been in this new home about 24 hours now she's on her 2nd cricket! I'm surprised she got used to the home so quick that she ate!


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## Stan Schultz (Feb 27, 2013)

Mello said:


> ... I don't know how to copy parts of your post to reply to lol that's how much of a newbie I am! ...


My E-mail addy appears in my sig below (against all advice to the contrary by those who are trying to protect me from spammers, phishers, and other agents of death!). Send me an E-mail and I'll reply with detailed instructions.

Cheers,


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## Oreo (Feb 28, 2013)

Congrats on your new T and all the responses are worth heeding. Especially Pika's (like the pokemon?) tips since he literally wrote a book on how to take care of your new pet. Just wait til your T stops eating for a few months, and you'll be adding to your collection in no time.


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## Stan Schultz (Feb 28, 2013)

Oreo said:


> ... Especially Pika's (like the pokemon?) tips since he literally wrote a book on how to take care of your new pet. ...


You're funny!  :roflmao:

A *Pikaia* is a little, swimming, worm-like thing that was found in the *Burgess Shale* in the Canadian Rockies. The fossil deposit is something like 505 million years old. At one time it was thought to be the forerunner of modern *chordates* and *vertebrates*, but a few years ago paleontologists found *fossil fish* in a 520 million year old *fossil deposit in China*. Since the fish-like creatures predate _Pikaia_ it can't be their forerunner; some other older missing link apparently is. But, by that time the name was cemented in place.

I've thought several times of asking to have my screen name changed to my real name (Stan Schultz), and I may still do so. I've hesitated because I couldn't assess how much confusion it would cause among the troops.


Enjoy your little 8-legged, living fossil!


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## MarkmD (Feb 28, 2013)

Pikaia you could have both, just use the slash, ie (Pikaia/stan) or use your name but keeping all other details that you already have, you know this so not sure whay I'm posting lol.


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