Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula 1st timer

[SpiderLady79]

Hi,

I have a few questions that I asked the "spider" lady where we got her and she acted like i was annoying her. So....... I was told to feed her once a week 15 large crickets well we got her on a Friday and gave her 6 they were gone in a day then we went and got her 15 they were gone in 2 days so in 3 days she had eaten 21 crickets. Well a few days later I got her some more she hasn't eaten in over a week I am worried. She still moves and lets me handler her a bit testy the last few days has reared twice but NEVER bites (so far lol). Also I have a question on misting her and what not. Her temp is at the recommended 72 - 85 and the humidity ranges 80 - 90ish I have her water over her heat source wich is under her tank as I was told to do to help with the humidity. I was told to mist her cage once a day. I do but it always seems dry in there after a few hours. Is she maybe not hydrated enough? We have only had her a few weeks but love her to death she is actually for my daughter who is 6 but I am in charge of her and I calm her as mine I am addicted to them already. Any info would be great I include some pics of her cage and her if I can figure it out we are new and wanna learn and do this right for her. (the time stamp wasnt right on my camrea sry)

Sara

Her cage

 

[clam1991]

switch to eco earth or peat moss
dont worry they have a history of fasting for months at a time
and yes they can get testy
for temp and humidity they dont have to be that high
and with rosies i think they should actually be kept pretty dry

 

[Aurelia]

Yeah you don't need to spray at all and you don't need a heat source, room temperature is just fine. 3-4 large crickets a week is PLENTY and she's not going to starve. Some have gone an entire year without eating.

Oh and here, read this-
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=5292

Welcome to AB! ^_^

 

[Mushroom Spore]

So....... I was told to feed her once a week 15 large crickets well we got her on a Friday and gave her 6 they were gone in a day then we went and got her 15 they were gone in 2 days so in 3 days she had eaten 21 crickets. Well a few days later I got her some more she hasn't eaten in over a week I am worried.

Holy poop. I can tell you right now why she's not eating: she's full! Two crickets a week or two every two weeks is already more than enough! Even on two a week, sometimes they won't be hungry. (They can go months or sometimes years without eating and not even lose weight. These are not huge eaters.)

Her temp is at the recommended 72 - 85 and the humidity ranges 80 - 90ish I have her water over her heat source wich is under her tank as I was told to do to help with the humidity. I was told to mist her cage once a day.

The person you got this spider from is a moron. Stop trying to raise the humidity and never, ever mist the tank again - your spider is from the driest desert in the world, and they freak out and are miserable if they get a single toe wet.

They also don't need a heat source unless your house is regularly below 65F. You also shouldn't ever put a heat source UNDER the tank, because their natural response to being too warm is often to burrow or hide. This works in the wild to escape the sun, but their instincts get confused when the heat is coming out of the ground, which is unnatural. They just keep burrowing even though it isn't helping, and get cooked.

 

[Spider787]

I have had my rose hair for about 10 years I have never kept her more than the temp of my house. They do have a tendency to not eat sometimes and as they get older they eat much less and not as often. They are better kept dry with a water dish available at all times. I handle my Ts some but use caution in doing so no matter the T or its temperment there is always a chance for a fall or a bite. Ts are not demesticated persay they are still wild and sometime unpredictable. Good luck with your T.. d

 

[marvs08]

just keep the bowl always with water, not exactly full, it wud suffice its humidity requirement, as for fasting... it is not actually measured in weeks for a rosie, but even months!!!!

 

[hasani1408]

welcome to AB and to the hobby. T's are so addictive. a year ago I was terrified of them now I own 5. get the book The tarantula keepers guide its a great book and will answer a lot of questions.

 

[betuana]

Welcome to arachnoboards. This is a great place to learn! A rose hair was my first T, they are hardy tarantulas and easy to take care of.

Definitely read that link Aurelia posted - it is specifically written for Rosie owners and has EXCELLENT information. Also look into getting a copy of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide by Shultz and Shultz. It is a must have with tons of great information.

Here is some advice that will hopefully be helpful to you, from things I've learned with mine!

Don't worry about her not eating. Rose hairs are known for fasting for long periods of time - as long as her abdomen is not looking shriveled she is fine. And with the amount of food they had you feed her at once, she may not eat again for a while! That was quite a gorge she got! Not a bad thing - its probably closer to wild conditions where they will gorge as insects appear, and then have to fast for months until food appears again. But 15 large crickets a week is definitely more than she needs. My little rose hair (4" or so leg span) eats 4-6 large crickets every TWO weeks, and seems to be quite content and happy with that.

I'd suggest putting one or 2 crickets in once a week for a day or so, and if your girl hasn't eaten them in 24 hours take them out, wait a week, and try again. She'll start eating again eventually. Never leave the crickets in there for longer than 24 hours - they can stress her, and if she molts they could hurt her.

She might be getting ready to molt too. If she does molt its a good idea to wait at least a week, or better until you can see her fangs are black, before trying to feed her. Its best not to handle her right after she molts - wait until she hardens up.

Chilean Rose Hairs come from the Atacama desert, its one of the driest places on the planet! So you really do not need to worry about adding ANY humidity to their cage. Don't worry about misting - in fact, she will be MUCH happier if you don't! Rosies hate getting wet, mine will scramble for her hide when I just try to fill her water bowl. As long as there is water available in a bowl (big enough for her to get her front half in it is usually recommended), she will not have moisture problems. In many cases they'll get most or all of their needed moisture from their food.

As for the heat, room temperature should be fine, as mentioned by others. Unless your house is regularly below 65 degrees, your rose hair will be perfectly comfortable without supplimental heat.

For your cage, I'd recommend replacing the reptibark (or whatever type of bark that is) with a peat or coconut fiber (eco earth, etc) mix. The bark can be very abrasive and cause problems. If you get the stuff that comes in a compressed brick that needs to be soaked to expand and soften it, make sure you dry it before putting it in, or she'll be hanging on the walls for a while - as mentioned before rosie's don't like moisture! If you spread it thinly on baking pans and put it in the oven (300 degrees for 15 minutes or so, some people use warmer or cooler) you can expediate the drying process. Just make sure to keep an eye on it!

Speaking of the walls - the cage seems very tall. Rose hairs are terrestrials, which means floorspace is more important to them than height (although even floorspace doesn't really need to be much more than 3x their legspan or so). But height actually can be dangerous - if its much more than 1.5x their legspan they can get hurt if they fall. So if you plan to keep her in that cage you'll want to fill it quite a ways with the bedding - from the picture it looks like about halfway would be about right, but its hard to say for sure. You just want to make sure she doesn't have far to fall if she decides to try to climb.

Hopefully all of that is helpful for you. This is a great (and very addictive) hobby. Welcome again, and good luck with your rose hair! Have fun learning - tarantulas are fascinating creatures!

 

[SpiderLady79]

Thank's

I went and turned off her heat I might need it this winter as it gets really cold in our house but for now its off and I will move it to the side if needed. I am sure i will have more questions lol thanks again. She was not happy when I would mist her would almost run up the walls. but like I said this lady was supposed to know her stuff but I thought it didn't sound right I sat and watches her groom her fangs and nibble on her toes for 30 min today thanks again

 

[Autonerd]

Hey all, I'm another new owner (Chilean rosehair, I am pretty sure), and just wanted to say thanks for all the information in this post -- very helpful!

 

[Strix]

Welcome to the hobby.

That does seem like an excessive amount of crickets to be feeding your T though. Don't want the poor lady to explode ;P.

Don't worry if your T isn't eating... my rosehair fasted for about 7-9 months before she finally molted.

If you can handle roaches I'd recommend switching over from crickets to Blaptica dubia (orange spotted) since they can't climb plastic and because it is much safer on the T if they are molting since the crickets will nip at the poor T and possibly kill it.

Like others have already said the cage seems excessively big. I housed my rose hair in a 10 gallon before until I learned about how easy it is for them to fall and crack open. I now house mine in a critter keeper and have enough bedding so that when she is on the side her legs can reach from the floor to the ceiling of the enclosure.

Pretty soon you will be surrounded by T's... it kind of comes with the hobby. In a matter of a few months I jumped from 1 to about 11 along with some scorps (Emperor & Olive keeled flat rock), a giant african millipede, a dubia colony and some gold dusted day geckos.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

hey check out this link it will help answer a lot of your questions
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=5292

 

[fireeater4087]

Another New Comer.

I'm also new to the hobby and addicted. I only have two T's right now a rose hair and a martinique pink toe. That were bought at Koi Kountry in harrington, Delaware. I was just wondering where you bought yours from???

 

[ShellsandScales]

I have a few questions that I asked the "spider" lady where we got her and she acted like i was annoying her.

Well it sounds to me like the "spider" lady knows very little about proper husbandry for tarantulas. I wouldn't go back there. Normally I would encourage you to help educate her but in this case sounds like she wouldn't listen anyway. If you sensed that she felt annoyed that was probably the case but it wasn't because of you. Its likely nearly everyone "annoys" her. Just read all you can on here and you will do just fine. There are many great resources of knowledge on this site and people are willing to help out. Just make sure if you have a question to search for the answer on here first because chances are someone has already asked that same question and you can get your answer a lot faster instead of waiting for replies. Good luck with your T and enjoy the addiction!!!!

 

[ilovebugs]

did anyone else think they reflection on the glass enclosure makes it look like it's filled with water?


welcome to the world of tarantulas.