First T - Chilean Rose Questions

DavidB

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Messages
11
Hi,
I just got my first tarantula, a female Chilean Rose. I call her Elvira. She is about 3 1/2 - 4 inches. I would appreciate it if you could give me some advice.

1. I am keeping her in a 10 gallon aquarium that measures 18"L x 12"W x 12"H. Is this suitable for this species?

2. I use a home-made lid made from a sheet of Plexiglas. How many holes should I put in the lid (remember the dimensions are 18" x 12")? What diameters should the holes be?

3. I am using "T-Rex Forest Bedding" as the substrate. It is a condensed brick type that is added to water. I squeezed most of the excess water out to make it less moist. Is this substrate suitable?

4. In the aquarium I have substrate, cork bark, water dish. and spider of course. Anything else I could add?

5. I will be feeding the Rose a diet of crickets. How frequently should it be feed and how many crickets per feeding? It ate about 6 crickets today.

Please let me know any other advice that you think is important for a new T owner to know.

Thanks very much for your help.

DavidB
 

mebebraz

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 27, 2002
Messages
551
1 yes

2 1/2" holes, how many is up to you, you can kind of adjust the humidity and temp by putting more or less holes in it.

3 suitable

4 just about anything that it non toxic and not sharp or dangerous to the t's well being, ie ingestion, falls etc. I use coconuts cut in half with little doors for hides and such, mainly up to you and your likes though.

5 I feed mine once a week, three to five crix, depending on the size of the t, if the t doesnt eat it by the next morning, I remove them.

Advice......get more t's.


forgot to say, Welcome to the board.
 
Last edited:

DavidB

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Messages
11
Originally posted by mebebraz


1/2" holes, how many is up to you, you can kind of adjust the humidity and temp by putting more or less holes in it.
Mebebraz,

Thanks for your response. I am very new at this so would you give me a recommendation of exactly how many holes? I don't know if I should put 5 or 100 holes?:confused: BTW, I will be making the holes only 1/3 inch diameter because I have a dremel attachment that makes holes much better than a drill (which tends to makes the Plexiglass crack).


Thanks again,

DavidB
 

DavidB

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Messages
11
I would like to say a special thank you to Buspirone for inspiring me to get a Tarantula. He and I are members on another forum where he posted pictures of his new G. Rosea. I was so impressed that I got one myself. Thanks Burpirone!:)
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 27, 2002
Messages
1,441
In regards to the numbers of holes, as long as you put enough to provide adequate ventilation, you can put as many as you want. IMO, G. rosea will prefer drier conditions so maintaining humidity shouldn't be a concern. If you must have a number, try 10 rows of 5 or 6 holes. That should provide enough ventilation with the size of hole you are talking about drilling. You can always add more holes, but it's difficult to take them away.

I'd have to agree with mebebraz on his advice... get more T's.

Botar
 

bodc21

Arachnojason
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 14, 2003
Messages
775
hello DavidB

Personally id go with a smaller tank such as a 5 gal or a med kritter keeper like i keep my mature male in they seem more happy in smaller enclosures less stressed! it is all up to you, as for substrate id use 50/50 of peat moss and vermiculite as for decorations and hide that is up to you i gave my rosey a hide he never uses it tho he is always on top of it i hope i was somewhat of help take care-jason
 

rob

Got Inverts?
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
343
Personally id go with a smaller tank such as a 5 gal or a med kritter keeper like i keep my mature male in they seem more happy in smaller enclosures less stressed!
I agree with everyone. It'll probably be happier in a smaller enclosure. Mine stays in one spot all the time unless she is eating or is molting and once done with that she goes back to the same spot. I keep mine in a 5 gallon terrarium, but I swear she'd be happy in half of that (she's about 4.5"). She does like it on the dry side and I don't mist or anything. If the humidity gets above 60-65% or I mist the enclosure, she climbs up the wall and won't come down until it dries out.
 

Nixy

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2003
Messages
1,486
Welcome to the board!
And congrates on your new sweety.

You'll find drilling holes in plexitglass easier and with less cracking if you slow down.
I know this from doing it. Alot....
Cracking for me anyway usualy comes when I press to hard while drilling.
Also put an old phone book under it to drill into. This lessens cracking too.
You can also use a sodering gun to melt holes.

I agree with Botar's amounts. You can always add more later. :)

And to echo the others!

Buy more T's!

But um.
You will do that anyway.....

You'll find this hobby HIGHLY adictive.

You will become the energizer bunny of T purchasing along with the rest of us.
You'll just keep going and going and going.....

=D :} :D :} =D

But it is a Great Hobby!

So enjoy and fire off as many questions as you need.
This place is Full of nice helpful informative people.

Then there's me.

;P

Crazy old mommy person that babbles too much.

Like this...
erk.
Hehehe

:D
 

conipto

ArachnoPrincess
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 27, 2002
Messages
1,256
Welcome aboard!

Anyways, most of what I would say has been said already. Botar hit the nail on the head with the hole bit, with this particular species, it isn't such a concern. With a tropical species, if you should decide to do it, I'd say use the max number of holes you can and still keep humidity. Ventilation prevents mold. Too much ventilation makes dry substrate (which, as was said above, is not too much a concern with G. rosea) The last cage I made was also a ten gallon, and I experimented with holes until I found a good number (which was two rows of five, since this is a high humidity enclosure) I've also got a large slit in it that adds alot of air-flow, since the lid is hinged.

The one thing I would add to the posts about your cage being to big, is that since I have a ten gallon aquarium sitting two feet away, that has two bags of peat AND a block of that expandable substrate in it.. Your cage is too high. My big H. gigas that is in it now can stretch and reach the top of the tank, which is generally considered the rule of thumb when it comes to wall height. And as I said, I have alot more substrate in mine than you probably do. The tarantula does not need a whole lot of space. They are not like fish that will grow to the size of their enclosure, which is a popular pet-store myth I hear now and then. If you don't want to get a smaller tank, you can build the soil level up to where your Rose Hair can touch the top if it wants to, but it may burrow down into the soil, never to be seen again (much like my Chilean Rose has) Your best bet is to get an inexpensive Kritter Keeper, which will be at approximately the right height after adding soil, will already be ventilated perfectly, and is small and easy to move if you should have a need to.

Bill
 

pategirl

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 11, 2002
Messages
788
You might also want to consider purchasing an inexpensive screen top for the 10 gal. At long as the T has a hideout, food, water, and a dryish substrate, she should be fine. Rosies aren't known for being picky, just weird. You can add plastic plants if you want to make it more appealing to you, because the tarantula probably won't care too much about plants. Hope this helped a little.
 

DavidB

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Messages
11
Thank you for all your replies. Your help is very much appreciated.

Some of you have recommended using peat moss and vermiculite for the substrate. Where do I go to buy this?

Thanks,
David
 

Buspirone

Arachnoprince
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Mar 10, 2003
Messages
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You can get it at Home Depot, Lowes or any well stocked garden center. Just make sure that it doesn't contain added pesticides or chemicals. Make you sure you get the vermiculite in the garden center and not the insulation grade stuff they may have elsewhere in the hardware store.
 

conipto

ArachnoPrincess
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Sep 27, 2002
Messages
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RE: vermiculite..

The stuff can be hard to find in winter months. The home depot near me said it has been replaced with perlite exclusively in their store. Ace hardware said it's seasonal only, because it's not a big seller. Perlite is NOT vermiculite, by the way, and many people say it can be damaging to T's, especially in dry conditions.

Bill
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
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Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
Even though the sack is positively huge, the easiest and cheapest place to get vermiculite with these litigation fearing hardware stores is a feed store. You can get a 30lb sack for under $15 - at that price you can afford to throw out whatever you don't feel like storing.
 

conipto

ArachnoPrincess
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Chip, is verm used as a filler in feeder or something?

Bill
 

Buspirone

Arachnoprince
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1,064
I think its more likely used to absorb waste liquids from animal stalls. Vermiculite is also sold as an oil absorbant for garages. It absorbs the liquids so it can be swept up with a broom or shoveled out instead of seeping into the ground or concrete.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
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Messages
3,783
Originally posted by conipto
Chip, is verm used as a filler in feeder or something?

Bill
It is sometimes used for that, but the big thing its used for is improving soil, so it comes in great, big bags since it takes a lot of verm to treat any significant square footage.
 
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