My first Spider! (G. Rosea)

Raine

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
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10
Oh, wow. Looking up threads and 8 inches is an average and 10 inches possible? :eek: But any post I've found thus far describes them as mostly docile. One thing I've really discovered here is that ANY spider can bite, no matter temperament and not all in the same species are docile. Which is surprising but teaches me to really respect my rosea's capabilities now for both speed and biting. I itch a lot from the hairs when I cleaned out the remainder of food from the tank! That site looks great, Chris! I'm going there to read the Care Sheet now. :D

Edit: sorry to sound like a moron, but what is 'mechanical damage'? I've seen it mentioned in a few of the bite posts.
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
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Jan 31, 2010
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Damage it can do to your tissue, skin, muscle, etc. Like how big of a wound it can make.
 

Raine

Arachnopeon
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Nov 12, 2010
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I can't find any bite reports from LP's on the site save the really small ones! Do you think the larger ones can cause permanent nerve damage like my lizard and some snakes? My lizard is a giant suck up though and I know he's not going to bite. :)

Thanks for the explanation though. I was thinking due to being larger than the G. rosea and Brachys the LP would have stronger venom capabilities. Especially given it can eat birds! Still so far looking really good!

Omg. 1/4" slings are only $5 at Tarantula Canada! But man, I can't even imagine a spider so small...how will I properly care for it if it's so little? :( I'd be scared to hurt it trying to care for it!
 

AmbushArachnids

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Jan 30, 2010
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629
I can't find any bite reports from LP's on the site save the really small ones! Do you think the larger ones can cause permanent nerve damage like my lizard and some snakes? My lizard is a giant suck up though and I know he's not going to bite. :)

Thanks for the explanation though. I was thinking due to being larger than the G. rosea and Brachys the LP would have stronger venom capabilities. Especially given it can eat birds! Still so far looking really good!

Omg. 1/4" slings are only $5 at Tarantula Canada! But man, I can't even imagine a spider so small...how will I properly care for it if it's so little? :( I'd be scared to hurt it trying to care for it!
Caring for slings is actually simple. Mist one side of the deli cup. Make sure to pinch the heads of small crickets just incase. Thats about it. The worste that can happen is a cricket killing your lil spider while it is molting. Its as easy as that. Good luck and dont let a small challenge push you away.
 

Fran

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I can't find any bite reports from LP's on the site save the really small ones! Do you think the larger ones can cause permanent nerve damage like my lizard and some snakes? My lizard is a giant suck up though and I know he's not going to bite. :)

Thanks for the explanation though. I was thinking due to being larger than the G. rosea and Brachys the LP would have stronger venom capabilities. Especially given it can eat birds! Still so far looking really good!

Omg. 1/4" slings are only $5 at Tarantula Canada! But man, I can't even imagine a spider so small...how will I properly care for it if it's so little? :( I'd be scared to hurt it trying to care for it!
They wont do more than a good couple of days in pain, and depending on the size, the mechanical (physical) damage can be quite nice.
Imagine 2 needles of an inch in size inside your hand...

But, in general, they will kick hairs before bitting.

I have a 9" LP gravid, and i have had a 10" one.

My opinion?//// Get a Theraphosa ;)
 

Fran

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PS: Any large Theraphosid could eat a same size prey. So a small bird can be eaten if given all the propper situations.

Now that doesnt mean that thats what they look for in the wild.
 

Raine

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Nov 12, 2010
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Wow, that's a BIIIIG T, Fran! But after looking at our forums I think an LP is more suitable for my starter sling. Not that I won't keep the Theraphosids in mind. ;)

But in either case, I see a lot of posts about T. Blondi being pretty aggressive! I'm not looking to get any aggressive Ts until I'm more experienced. I don't need any battle scars from a T that big until I'm good and ready and get a bite or two (or if I'm lucky not!) from my rosea or even my LP. {D

I wrote the owner of Tarantula Canada! He has LP for only $5 and a few Grammostolas for $10-$60. I like the pulchripes but also eying the B. auratum it's a neat looking T. As I said I will probably get about 3 at least when I order. The only one I am now 100% sure on is a LP sling. :D
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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Wow, that's a BIIIIG T, Fran! But after looking at our forums I think an LP is more suitable for my starter sling. Not that I won't keep the Theraphosids in mind. ;)

But in either case, I see a lot of posts about T. Blondi being pretty aggressive! I'm not looking to get any aggressive Ts until I'm more experienced. I don't need any battle scars from a T that big until I'm good and ready and get a bite or two (or if I'm lucky not!) from my rosea or even my LP. {D

I wrote the owner of Tarantula Canada! He has LP for only $5 and a few Grammostolas for $10-$60. I like the pulchripes but also eying the B. auratum it's a neat looking T. As I said I will probably get about 3 at least when I order. The only one I am now 100% sure on is a LP sling. :D
Mack&Cass are selling a female LP. It's not so tiny too, and a good price. It's in their post in the Canadian sell boards.
 

curiousme

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But in either case, I see a lot of posts about T. Blondi being pretty aggressive! I'm not looking to get any aggressive Ts until I'm more experienced.


Ts can be very defensive of their homes/ enclosures and they can be prey aggressive/ good eaters, but to say that a T is aggressive is just hooey. This is a very heated and much debated subject, but I am sure you can find plenty of multi-page threads that try and hash that out. I am not trying to start a discussion about it here..........


After you posted that pic, I would concur that Char is older than you were told. In fact she looks larger than our adult one in the pic, but I have nothing for size reference in it.

Mack&Cass are good people. I have never ordered from them, but have conversed with Cass online and FB.
 

ZombieGal

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Joined
Oct 8, 2010
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38
I just found and joined this site on recommendation of a friend who breeds tarantulas. I never thought I would own a tarantula. It's not that I'm arachnophobic or anything. I just thought they were neat but couldn't see the interest in keeping them as pets for more than their neat look. Well, that was BEFORE I got my own.

I went to view an apartment where the guy was moving. He had this Chilean Rose tarantula sitting in her tank with a sign saying 'WARNING GIANT ARACHNID'! I thought it was funny so commented on it. I recognized the breed immediately as my friend had let me see some of his before. I was quite fascinated with his specimen though. So lovely in coloration! I asked if she was handleable. Don't know why I did it, but he laughed and confessed he had gotten her about a year ago and only held her once. I was curious as to why that was until he explained a friend who breeds tarantulas had given her to him to help him get over his arachnophobia! Well after staring at her and oohing and awing about how lovely she was, I stood up and said: "You know, this is the most lovely tarantula I have ever seen. You're lucky to have her I think if I would have found one like this I would have been apt to purchase her!" Well, little did I expect what he said next.

"Do you want her?"

At first I thought he was just kidding. So I laughed and said "you're joking, right?" with a friendly smile. And he shook his head and replied that he was going back home in a month and his parents would not approve of the tarantula. That and he wanted a better home for her because try as he might he could not bring himself to handle her or care for her the way someone else could. So I found myself on my way home with my new three year old G. Rosea in her little five gallon tank. Well, she is a lovely spider. Immediately I went to my pet store and purchased her a ten gallon instead. I bought her a little shallow water dish and a half log hide, and put some rocks at the bottom with a bunch of spaghum (sp?) and some pesticide and fertilizer free dirt. I set up her little terrarium, eying her curiously. I realized I really didn't know much about tarantulas--time to change that!

I looked on recommended sites and they said she is to eat about 3-4 crickets every two weeks. They said that coconut stuff and spaghum was the way to go for substrate. I use the same for my ball python, you see, so it was no issue there. That they do not need under tank heaters in a room that is about 23 degrees Celsius (and mine is always warm because of my free range Savannah Monitor and his flood light set up and the humidity misters in my room. So far, so good. Only I'm no tarantula expert. I was told that the bites hurt as much as a yellow jacket sting. I've been stung by wasps and queen bees with no allergic reaction. So I decided to look up how I could even tell if she wanted to bite me or was fine to be picked up.

I learned the way to pick her up was to place a flat hand and then gently touch her abdomen. That she could 'kick hairs' at me that itched and release a smelly substance were not happy things to learn, but it is what it is. I also read that if she hisses, goes up on her two sets of back legs and rears or is molting or has molted the day before it is best to let her be. Well, I had to move my new pet into her bigger terrarium. Now that I think about it I was probably foolish to use my hands and not something else. Especially since she had not been handled in eight months! I watched her closely for a while, feeling nervous. I have never been spider bitten. I did not want to experience it. But I now own a tarantula and I realized it could bite me at some point or another.

So I put my hand down flat and she didn't do anything. Nothing at all. She just sat there and one front leg would occasionally raise a little then be put back down. Good sign, right? I inched the hand a little closer. Still no reaction. So then I ever so gently began to stroke her abdomen. No reaction. So I prodded her backside gently and much to my surprise she went into my hand. Of course I had forgotten to breathe and I had also read if they fall from more than a foot or so they could burst. So I carefully lifted my hand out of the tank and stared in fascination at her. She was just SITTING there on my hand, acting as though nothing could bother her in the world. Me, first time holding a big spider, was half totally nervous and half pleased and excited. Newbie, I am!

Then she began to move slowly up my arm and I didn't know what to do, so just put a hand in front of her. She went on it and proceeded to crawl hand to hand until she was done and was still again. So I put her into her new home and that was that.

I'm a new tarantula owner. I had never thought to own one but now I completely love her after only three days having her. I named her Charlotte though I call her Char. I figured it would help my arachnophobic guy relate her to the friendly spider from Charlotte's web. Ironically he held her the other day! Stiff as a board, looking terrified, but shocked that this 'creepy crawly thing' wasn't trying to bite him or attack him. I was delighted!

So, any advice would be GREAT. On feeding routine, on my set up for her (I think there is about a few inches of dirt but the way it is set up she has MANY places to burrow down into. I can take pictures if needed. She seems very happy in there. So is there any advice you other more experienced owners can give me? I want to make sure I do this right! I own a Sav. and Ball Python so I am used to exotics. I have always kept reptiles and not arachnids though! :) Nice to meet you all!

Rai
It's awesome to see that you really researched this, and will be able to be an awesome owner for the little fella!

Don't worry, you'll be buying more T's soon. ;) It just happens with time.
 

Raine

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
Messages
10
@Hobo: Thank you SO much for pointing me to them, Hobo! I'm not only buying the female LP I'm going to the expo with them! {D I have never been and as no one I know wants to go and drives, I am 26 and have never been to an expo. Even though I go to my local pet store just to look at the animals. So this will be a HUGE experience for me. I can't even put into words how grateful and excited I am. I've been keeping reptiles since 8 years old, and with me being new to Ts it's the perfect place to get a couple! :D

@curiousme: I don't want another debate either! But I did read some horror stories of Ts leaping out of their enclosures to 'chase' people and then biting them! I would certainly want to avoid that at all costs.

Yes, it was Cass who offered to take me to and from the expo! I am so floored, as I said. I guess I'm not sure what to think. I really, really want a pokie sling. They are my favorite so far as vibrant colors so far. But when I hear they are aggressive it does make that an issue for me. I don't even want to handle any of them. But the thought of being randomly bitten isn't the most appealing thing. Even if I know any T could do it.

As for Char, yeah. I called and left a message on the machine for Riley but no response yet. So I'm kind of unsure when I'll hear back. He's really busy at the UoG and life in general so not even sure if he heard it yet. But nonetheless I really, really want to track down the OB and get some info on 'her'. How long do males live, by the way? At the size she is, wouldn't she be mature if she were male already...?

@ZombieGal: aww, thanks Zombie! I'm doing my best, that's for sure. I really try very hard to provide the best care possible for all my pets, be they four legged, eight legged or even NO legs at all! :D
 

cacoseraph

ArachnoGod
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Jan 5, 2005
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8,325
You may want to wear gloves when you handle brachys. Some people including my self build up a nasty reaction to the urticating hairs. Usually when exposed to them more than once. Its not too fun when your itching for 3-7 days. ;)
fully.

it took me a couple few years and a lot of handling to build up my senstivity... but boy howdy am i sensitized now




as far as venom goes... i find it quite amusing that there are some quite good indicators that G. rosea are actually sort of midfield for their venom and not totally wimpy and yet they are one fo the lynchpin starter species. they are scientifically verified as being in the quickest group for killing mice... along with a few Poecilotheria and Haplopelma... the traditional bad boy genera of venom. some ppl have very much more than a zero response to their venom including a variety of general symptoms
 

jb62

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
69
I will keep her in her lovely new 10 gallon then! She is 3 years and she seems to be enjoying her new home. She goes from one end to the other though she has a favorite dug out corner she likes to sit in. I would always go with 10 gallons for my adults, if I get more. It is a nice size and leaves room for multiple burrows and hides and plants and rocks. :D

Well, I just did some more research on the forum about Chilean rose T's. And all of it mostly points to the fact they are one of the more docile species and make one of the better hand pet tarantulas. Though I don't immediately expect to never be bitten if I'm not careful! :)

I'm not really worried. The lid is secure and heavy enough that she won't be moving it on her own any time soon. She seems content to come out when I take the lid off myself though!

Oh, quick question: why do I itch when and after I hold her? She isn't kicking hairs at me but I still itch.
Hi.
Great to see you start in a hobby that just gets better and your make alot of friends.
I was arachnophobic till march this year when I held a B.vagens and then got my first t a B.smithi .
Since then I got sent to me a B.albopisom and later got my self a E.campestratus ( very lovely ).. and also have a pinktoe t.
I too said I'll only have one lol.. oh was I wrong and the guy that was helping was so right when he said " your have more I bet".
As for handling t's it's ok as long as your willing to take notice if it falls and dies it's your fault .. not the t's and the same if you get a bite.
Me I don't handle .. because they might move slow.. But boy then can move faster than a blink of an eye if they want.
So I play it safe..
And Welcome and enjoy the wonderful world of t's.
 
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