My Chilean Rose Hair (G. Rosea) is seemingly unhappy and so is perpetually trying to escape.

[TkFrost]

Howdy y'all,

I just got my first tarantula after my interest was sparked by a buddy of mine some months ago. I've had her for about 3 days now (June 22-25) and she has spent most of that time on the walls or ceiling of the enclosure. I really do want to make her
comfortable so she doesn't feel the need to climb. I looked at several articles online including a few on this site and the overwhelming result seems to be that the substrate/humidity-temp/vibration is causing her to seek out a better place ie, anywhere but the provided enclosure.
She has slipped and fallen from the walls a few times and I'm getting very worried that repeated trauma could rupture her thorax ending with her death. :/
I'm looking for any advice on how to resolve the issue asap to mitigate the risk of her harming herself. Any help/advise is greatly appreciated.

 

[cold blood]

take a step back and give us a shot of the entire enclosure please.

 

[TkFrost]

Sorry for the quality my phone camera isn't the best in low light and I had to lighten the pictures slightly

 

[Haksilence]

Add a lot more substrate and you won't have a fall issue. Height from sub to ceiling should be around 1.5x or less of the tarantulas legspan. Preferably less.

Follow up questions:
I don't see a water dish, is there one?

Have you been misting? (Spraying the enclosure or substrate)

What's the temperatures in that particular room and is there a heat mat on the enclosure?


All this aside, it's perfectly normal for a tarantula to spend the first week or so in a new enclosure wandering about and climbing, she will settle eventually. Just remember that this is a dry species, no moisture needed besides a water dish. The substrate is perfectly fine, I've often used the same stuff when I run out of my mix.

 

[TkFrost]

Haksilence,

There is a waterbowl, it's gray/black so it didn't show up well.
I have misted the sub and will add more to help the fall issue.
The temp has been 73-78. I have not used a heat pad yet.

So should I not mist the sub? Or mist less in accordance with her being a dry species?

 

[cold blood]

Add a lot more substrate and you won't have a fall issue. Height from sub to ceiling should be around 1.5x or less of the tarantulas legspan. Preferably less.

Follow up questions:
I don't see a water dish, is there one?

Have you been misting? (Spraying the enclosure or substrate)

What's the temperatures in that particular room and is there a heat mat on the enclosure?


All this aside, it's perfectly normal for a tarantula to spend the first week or so in a new enclosure wandering about and climbing, she will settle eventually. Just remember that this is a dry species, no moisture needed besides a water dish. The substrate is perfectly fine, I've often used the same stuff when I run out of my mix.

+1

You want things to get under, but you want to avoid things to climb on. IMO there's too much elevated wood (along with a serious lack of substrate)....even a short fall onto that wood could easily be fatal. In fact rose hairs don't use hides too often, so its really not the ideal choice to go overboard on a hide for.....The cork bark you have is really nice, but it would be much better served for an arboreal.

Make sure to keep everything dry, all the time....but always keep a water dish, with water in it.

Acclimation times can very from t to t, some can take a long time to get comfortable, but generally the better the set up, the faster they acclimate (but not always).

Also make sure the substrate is tamped down.

You will never need a heat pad, they're bad...this species has zero need for added heat anyway as they can handle temps into the 50's.

Its also the species with the lowest food requirement around....over-feeding is very common with the species, as are long unpredictable fasts.

Never mist.

 

[BobBarley]

Haksilence,

There is a waterbowl, it's gray/black so it didn't show up well.
I have misted the sub and will add more to help the fall issue.
The temp has been 73-78. I have not used a heat pad yet.

So should I not mist the sub? Or mist less in accordance with her being a dry species?

Do not mist at all. They hate moisture for the most part (just a waterdish is fine). That is part of the reason she is falling. I would use a smaller enclosure so it's easier for her to catch her food. No supplemental heat is needed, and a heat pad can be detrimental.

 

[TkFrost]

Im adding a few inches a few inches of sub.to help with falls.
Elongated wood removed, left the half log as a hide or just something to hang out on.
All misting will be stopped.

For the time being I'm just going to make the mentioned changes and wait for her to get acclimated and see how things improve.

Thanks for all the help guys! Will update with changes.

 

[BobBarley]

Im adding a few inches a few inches of sub.to help with falls.
Elongated wood removed, left the half log as a hide or just something to hang out on.
All misting will be stopped.

For the time being I'm just going to make the mentioned changes and wait for her to get acclimated and see how things improve.

Thanks for all the help guys! Will update with changes.

Also, a couple more things while we're at it, the screen top should be replaced if possible. I recommend replacing the whole enclosure with something like a Sterilite box with some drilled/poked holes (mostly because I suck with modifying and fixing things like that). If she climbs it's possible that she can get her claws or fangs stuck and she may lose them. Some use screen/mesh with no issues, but it's a risk. Also, I would bury about 1/3-1/2 of the half log into the sub with the other end sticking out. This lets her dig out her hide a little and can help her feel more secure. She most likely will not do that because the 'rose hairs' are for the most part, pet rocks.

On the subject of 'rose hairs' you should be aware that what you have is most likely not a G. rosea. What is usually referred to as the G. rosea is the red color form (RCF) 'rose hair'. The 'normal' color form is the G. porteri. A while back there was an import ban/restriction for these 'rose hairs'. From what I can gauge, G. rosea (RCF) imports have more or less stopped and the G. porteri (NCF) imports are restricted. Not sure on that though. However, now pet stores are looking for another 'rose hair' to import. They've found Grammostola sp. "Northern Gold" so it's called. (They still label their 'rose hairs' as Grammostola rosea, Grammostola porteri, even Grammostola cala sometimes, which is not a valid species name) There are also some other 'rose hair' variants out there now (it's messed up). I think what you have is most likely the "Northern Gold" but a better picture in sunlight would help.

 

[TkFrost]

I have a few pictures with better lighting. Will be getting more sub tomorrow. I made a few temporary changes until more sub can be added. Also have attached a better picture of her. Will take a picture with sunlight in the morning

 

[BobBarley]

I have a few pictures with better lighting. Will be getting more sub tomorrow. I made a few temporary changes until more sub can be added. Also have attached a better picture of her. Will take a picture with sunlight in the morning
View attachment 214261 View attachment 214262 View attachment 214263

Looks good! Not necessary, but I would change the waterdish to something smaller in area and deeper. Smaller in area so your t doesn't have to step in it as much and deeper so that you don't have to refill the water as much. Also, that type of waterdish looks like the kind that I used before that was made of porous rock. Although it looked good, it leaked water. I switched it for a plastic waterdish.

 

[TkFrost]

Definitely going to change it. It's too big. Thinking maybe a pizza slice shape one I can seat in the corner?
I watched a few videos/ read some threads with conflicting information regarding watering. Some said that sponges were great because they hold water and give the tarantula something to push off of after drinking, but others said it was harmful due to bacteria and the claws could catch in the sponge material causing the tarantula to panic? What are your thoughts?

 

[BobBarley]

Definitely going to change it. It's too big. Thinking maybe a pizza slice shape one I can seat in the corner?
I watched a few videos/ read some threads with conflicting information regarding watering. Some said that sponges were great because they hold water and give the tarantula something to push off of after drinking, but others said it was harmful due to bacteria and the claws could catch in the sponge material causing the tarantula to panic? What are your thoughts?

No sponge definitely no for the reasons you listed and more. Also, a lot of Youtube videos are completely wrong regarding t care. You should check out a few of the members' channels on Arachnoboards. @EulersK @louise f @z32upgrader have great YouTube channels to take a look at.

 

[TkFrost]

Fantastic. Definitely going to be going through those over the next day or so. Thanks for all the help!

 

[BobBarley]

Fantastic. Definitely going to be going through those over the next day or so. Thanks for all the help!

No problem, good luck with your t!

 

[viper69]

You have a Zilla Critter Cage. Replace the screen top w/a piece of acrylic that can either slide in its place or fit on top of the tank. Ts get caught, esp terrestrials ones, on screen just like that w/their tarsal claws. If the sub height is not increased to 1.5x DLS, your T may hang itself to death, or fall and injur or just plain fall and die.

Nice T, and good start.