Chaco Golden Knee

[ArborealLotus]

Hey all. I am preparing for my first T. Going to be a Grammostola aureostriata - Chaco Golden Knee.

Am PUMPED to get started and wanted to use this to cross check my set up, and can double to document the introduction.

It’s a sling - maybe juvenile about 1”.

Picking up a zilla “micro habitat” wider than tall 8x4x4”.

Will plan to use some dry eco-earth and will add a little sphagnum moss and a tiny live plant TBD. Water dish.

What am I missing? Setting up habitat tonight and will bring home the spider this weekend.

Thanks! First post, sry if this has been hyper-covered already.

 

[emartinm28]

Hi, Grammostola aureostriata is now Grammostola pulchripes .

the enclosure you have in mind might be a bit big but it should be ok, i would moisten a corner of the substrate thought at this size and not leave it completely dry. As long as you have a water dish though you shouldn’t have too many issues.

i’d advise you not to waste your time with the live plant. It will probably need more water than your T likes and will probably die if you’re giving the T the proper conditions.

can’t really think of anything else you’re missing. Search the forum for sling care guides and such. I’ll edit in a link to Tom Moran’s sling husbandry guide in a moment (stay away from most* other youtubers though)

part 1

part 2

 

[ArborealLotus]

Ah yes thank you! The pulchripes sounds more familiar.

gotcha on the plant. Could save that aesthetic for an adult enclosure. Would this semi-borrower find a leaf attached to a hide favorable?

I have read through Tom’s guide and will definitely return to it frequently! It is delightfully thorough and has further reading which I like. Found it through FearNotTarantulas website.

will make an update when I’ve got the sling home! Thanks.

 

[viper69]

Hey all. I am preparing for my first T. Going to be a Grammostola aureostriata - Chaco Golden Knee.

Am PUMPED to get started and wanted to use this to cross check my set up, and can double to document the introduction.

It’s a sling - maybe juvenile about 1”.

Picking up a zilla “micro habitat” wider than tall 8x4x4”.

Will plan to use some dry eco-earth and will add a little sphagnum moss and a tiny live plant TBD. Water dish.

What am I missing? Setting up habitat tonight and will bring home the spider this weekend.

Thanks! First post, sry if this has been hyper-covered already.

Put it in a 16 oz deli cup with water dish

 

[Tarantuland]

gotcha on the plant. Could save that aesthetic for an adult enclosure. Would this semi-borrower find a leaf attached to a hide favorable?

I have read through Tom’s guide and will definitely return to it frequently! It is delightfully thorough and has further reading which I like. Found it through FearNotTarantulas website.

will make an update when I’ve got the sling home! Thanks.

Tarantulas are easy to keep. You shouldn't need to check the guide frequently. Just feed the T a small store-bought insect once or twice a week and keep it dry with a water dish, maybe a piece of cork bark wedged into the substrate. For real thats basically it.

Welcome to Arachnoboards! You're in the right place for info- Youtube, Reddit, and Facebook are all sources of full terrible husbandry advice. Tom Moran is good though. Anything on most other sites is gonna be surrounded by dookie and since you're a new person to the hobby, it can be tricky to decipher.

Even as an adult, live plants aren't really going to work for this species. Live plants aren't really beneficial to the spiders, and these guys want even less moisture as an adult. If you're heart set on going bioactive, get a crested gecko or something.

 

[ArborealLotus]

nice. I hear you on the simplicity. I’m sittin here like a nervous mother awaiting her first kid prolly overthinking all the elements. I’m used to fishkeeping and expected a similar heft of details to get right haha.

ended up sticking with the 8x4x4 and chose “creature dirt” instead of eco-earth.
It’s not as tiny as the deli cup but is still small and will last for quite some time.

Got a little water dish, a little cork bark piece for a hide and I’ll call it complete.

 

[emartinm28]

I think you’ll find that T’s are refreshingly simple when compared to fish and reptiles, takes some getting used to but when dealing with these guys the simplest answer is usually the correct one. Enjoy!

 

[Tarantuland]

T’s are the easiest pets, and grammastola take a while to grow. Patience is virtue. That’s why a lot of people get multiple

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Also, don't be alarmed if yours buries itself in the substrate for long periods of time! They grow slowly, have slow metabolisms, and can sometimes spend what feels like an eternity in premolt, hiding underground. My little guy has disappeared into the substrate for months at a time before a molt.

 

[ArborealLotus]

Also, don't be alarmed if yours buries itself in the substrate for long periods of time! They grow slowly, have slow metabolisms, and can sometimes spend what feels like an eternity in premolt, hiding underground. My little guy has disappeared into the substrate for months at a time before a molt.

Yeh I’ve heard such things leading up to pre-molt! I’m in this for the long haul, willing to sit with a 1-2” sling for a long while. Pleased to keep company with a little guy for his/her own sake : ). Yes the full 20cm will be amazing, AND, that’s only a portion of their life.

here’s a pic of the enclosure (pen for scale), 1.5” substrate, 2.5” air. The “tiny” water dish I got now seems gigantic and may opt for the bottle cap haha. Will punch a hole to offer a burrow just in case it shows interest, but am ready for him to shuffle the dirt around overnight .

will introduce the fella tomorrow.

 

[Neonblizzard]

Congratulations and welcome to the fuzz club! You'll have a whole pile of them very soon

 

[Matt Man]

dirt, bark hide and a water dish. at 1" you can go with the smaller mini they are like 7x3x5, use a plastic bottle cap for a dish. About 3" of substrate

 

[Matts inverts]

I would wait until he’s bigger to use a water dish. I would just spray the sides with water.

 

[ArborealLotus]

Congratulations and welcome to the fuzz club! You'll have a whole pile of them very soon

Yeh woah it’s already happening. To keep the story short and the thread specific to the Chaco, I’ll just say I’m already being gifted a Mexican Fire Leg sling from a friend of a friend of a friend. Reputation as a spider keeper has already begun lol.
Very excited.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

The addiction is real haha! They're simply fascinating, beautiful, creatures that never cease to amaze me. You'll love it.

 

[ArborealLotus]

On second thought, I called this creature a 1” sling in the beginning, and went with my instinct to keep the 8x4x4 habitat bigger than the deli cup.

I realized, slings are measured WITH legs, and this guy is probably closer to 2.5” Will be patient to get an actual measure when he’s comfortable and not stress-curled-up.

Alright.
New T rehomed, finally ready to be at peace and do spidery things.

 

[RoachCoach]

T’s are the easiest pets, and grammastola take a while to grow. Patience is virtue. That’s why a lot of people get multiple

That's why most T owners should invest in slow growth index stocks. We are in for the long haul and put all skill points into +Patience.

 

[Neonblizzard]

Yeh woah it’s already happening. To keep the story short and the thread specific to the Chaco, I’ll just say I’m already being gifted a Mexican Fire Leg sling from a friend of a friend of a friend. Reputation as a spider keeper has already begun lol.
Very excited.
[/QUOTE

Alright.
New T rehomed, finally ready to be at peace and do spidery things.
View attachment 378640
View attachment 378642

2 cute! Those lil gold knees

 

[ArborealLotus]

Pleased to see the lil guy during 2nd night under the hide, start a little pit for itself. Bulldozed around a little, moved a pinch of sphagnum closer to the hide which I put in a corner. I'm not sure what under the hide looks like anymore but he made little mounds which block the openings to the hide from view but kept a little opening in which I've seen a leg poking out today haha. The mound on one side poured into the water dish a wee bit and I'm not so unsure this was done on purpose to wick the water out and moisten under the hide. I love it.

I'm at peace seeing him do things that spiders do. Not going to disturb as best I can, and am already ok with not being able to see him haha. Oh, to be a young T sling.

 

[ArborealLotus]

Read up on suspected premolt for my oooother rather enlarged abdomen Fireleg, but I think that that T is just chubby from previous keeper overfeeding, and this Chaco actually miiight be showing two premolt signs? The dark yet patchy booty, and the closing itself up under the hide with a wee bit o webbing over the entrance.

I’m pumped to see what emerges! Even if it takes a long time.