New G. Pulchripes owner.

[DoucheBgalo]

I'm a new owner of a female G. Pulchripes. My girlfriend bought me her for my birthday because she's tired of me always catching random spiders around the house and putting them in jars. She's deathly scared of spiders, but she does like tarantulas. I guess it's because they've got fat legs or something. Anyways, I'm new to taking care of this and I don't know what to do. Julia Roberts, my T is currently housed in a 5 gallon kritter keeper with a heating pad and some substrate. Are there any tips that can help me out?

 

[possumburg]

Any possibility of a picture of your setup?

 

[DoucheBgalo]

Yeah, I don't have a camera right now, but during this weekend, I'm gonna borrow my friend's camera and take a picture.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Yeah, take the heating pad off.

 

[DoucheBgalo]

Well, I don't have a space heater and I can't really afford one right now. I can't place Julia Roberts outside of my room cus my roommates will bitch. What can I do to heat her up?

 

[Mattyb]

What temp is the room you keep her in?

 

[DoucheBgalo]

I don't know. Around 70ish I think. It's gonna be a lot colder in the passing weeks cus of winter and my house has crappy insulation.

 

[Mattyb]

I don't know. Around 70ish I think. It's gonna be a lot colder in the passing weeks cus of winter and my house has crappy insulation.

70 is fine. But if your house is going to get below 65 during winter, go to walmart and buy a $30 space heater.

 

[DoucheBgalo]

Here's a picture my girlfriend took of Julia Roberts the other day. She used her camera phone, so the quality's a little grainy and dark.

 

[sja69]

I don't have first-hand experience with Chaco's, but from what I've read up they appear
to be relatively easy to keep and quite hardy.
I have a Pulchra and as far as I'm aware they require a similar upkeep, and I would
imagine they can tolerate temperature fluctuations better than most other species too.
Placing your heat pad on one side of the habitat would allow your spider to choose
between warm and cool spots, and should be ok for the winter.
My house gets very cold in the winter (I live in the UK) and even though I have central
heating my house is very poorly insulated so I'm relying on my heat mats to keep 2
Tarantulas (a baby curly wurly is arriving Tuesday) snug through the winter.

 

[seezilla]

Congrats on an awesome T! I second the removal of the heating pad. I would also recommend 1-3" of substrate (you can search a couple of threads on the subject to find what will work best for you, personally I like the coconut husk as substrate and all my Ts seem to be ok with it), a shallow water dish with a smooth stone or two and an artificial hide. Feeding tongs make feeding time more fun (although I can't get my rosie to feed from them so I'm hoping my juvie Pink Toe and my slings will be more receptive to the idea ).

I'm fairly new to the hobby myself, but I've found this forum to be invaluable to me and my hubby. Most people here are very nice and super helpful!

 

[Terry D]

DoucheB, Welcome aboard! I'm guessing the legginess is what prompted the name chosen for your new friend, which btw, was an excellent choice. :clap:

Although low 70ish will suffice, it would probably feel more at home if kept slightly warmer. It's lifespan would certainly be increased with the former but it won't be nearly as active- not saying that any Grammostola really is aside from fairly frequent bouts of bulldozing noted with pulchra.

The heating pad will be okay as long as you put it on the side but NOT under the enclosure. I hope she/it's with you for a long time to come!

Cheers,

Terry

 

[DoucheBgalo]

Thanks for the helpful tips you guys. I will get a picture of her enclosure probably by tomorrow or something. Yeah, Julia Roberts seems pretty content right now. I've put her heating pad on the side of the Kritter Keeper where I keep her, she seems to just stick to the side now though. My Kritter Keeper's about 11''L x 8''W x 8''H. I think it's a bit too small for Julia Roberts and right now I'm saving for a bigger one with more substrate and a better hiding place rather than a piece of cardboard. (lol i'm poor.) I have a stupid question, umm what's wrong with putting the heating pad under the tank? Or what's wrong with the heating pad at all? And how many times a week do I feed her? I generally feed her two crickets every other day, but she seems to just devour them crazily. I fed her earlier and she just grabbed two of them together. It was pretty cool haha.

PS The pics of her enclosure will come tomorrow or something.

 

[Mack&Cass]

The risk of putting the heatpad under the enclosure is that a lot of Ts will burrow and if they burrow down where the heating pad is, they can cook. A lot of people use heating pads on the side of an enclosure and as long as you keep a close eye on it (they do tend to malfunction) then it shouldn't be a problem.

Just remember though that a space heater may be worth it in the long run, since you will most likely be getting more Ts, and a heat pad for each one can get quite expensive. Especially if you start getting slings, it's a little difficult to stick a heat pad on a deli cup.

Also, in regards to the picture you posted, if you're going to handle her then you should really do it closer to the ground. If she got spooked and bolted it looks like she would fall quite a ways to the ground and that could end badly for her.

Cass

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

And how many times a week do I feed her? I generally feed her two crickets every other day, but she seems to just devour them crazily. I fed her earlier and she just grabbed two of them together. It was pretty cool haha.

Feed it 2-3 crickets a week and you're good.

 

[k2power]

I have yet to hear anyone referring to using the heating pads designed for use with sore/cramped body parts at department stores such as Wal Mart. These are what I use instead of the stick on super hot and expensive pet store kinds. The ones I am referring to have adjustable temps, cloth covers and get cool enough so they are only warm to the touch. I have used them for years with snakes and geckos with no problems. They may need to be replaced after 5-7 years but have the advantage of being very mobile so that you can rearrange setups as new animals are acquired or grow out of enclosures. Anyone ever have problems with these?

 

[DoucheBgalo]

Those Wal-Mart heating pads do sound quite enticing. Anyway, here are the pics.

Top view

Side view

 

[Redneck]

Nice spider..

Remove the sponge in the water dish..
Add more substrate to lower the risk of a fall & injury..
Prepare for the "hide" to rot if it gets wet..

 

[Bazzgazm]

I probably do a no no and keep all my tarantulas at room temp. I've had everything from chilobrachys/avicularia/heteroscodra/brachypelma/theraphosa/ and a few in each of those. Lots of molts and no problem.

room temp for me is 70 in the summer, 75-77 in the winter. With an actual thermometer dipping to the 68 range at night sometimes.

the only tarantula i've lost was a bad molt avicularia *metallica* That was wc and 5+ inches at the time, with a shrunken abdomen, i got a good deal and it was in heavy pre-molt. but never got hydrated enough and the molt got stuck on 2 legs. The T never got out and died.

definitely not something i can really blame temperature on.

also, as stated, spend a few bucks and get a bark hide. all the t's i have love them and i start a little burrow entrance to it and they seem to find it and dig it out the way they want.