New T keeper with a few questions.

AHMR

Arachnosquire
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Oct 3, 2016
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Hello :)
After years of waiting I finally got my first T. She's an adult g.rosea. Approx 5".
I've done research before and after I got her last Sunday(not the one that just passed). Upon receiving her after paying I was informed she had molted only 3 days beforehand. I bought her off a local buy and sell site.
So I brought her home,put her in her new enclosure and have kind of left her be. To ease the stress on her.
So now my questions.
I was thinking of offering food(crickets) this coming Friday(2 wks after her molt) would that be safe for her?(as I know their skin needs time to harden as well as her fangs).
I offered super worms on Saturday but she had no interest. I figured it was a safer option for her. But I'm not sure if she just didn't want it or doesn't know what they are. Last owner fed her crickets and roaches only I'm assuming(I'm going off the dead bugs I found in her previous enclosure). His ad also stated she ate 3 crickets a week.
Which leads into my next question.
Do I keep that feed schedule of 3 crickets a week or go by the more recommended feed every 2-4wks? I don't want to over feed her,nor starve her.
I know her fangs are black and seen to be back up to par(she blessed me with a view while climbing the glass lol)

Another question is it seems she only has one spinneret. Second is no where in site from what I can see. Does this effect anything Health wise for her? Anything I can do for her? Or is it just how it is and she'll be fine as is?

Also any tips to make her happy in her enclosure?
She tends to like to lay out in the open and hasn't gone near her hides at all.(even when I had the cork bark half round in her tank from her previous enclosure. Took it out as I noticed it's starting to rot.). So she lays wherever she is and pretty much never moves lol we've averaging an inch a day of moving to new spots lol
Just any tips in general would be appreciated.
I've done tons of research but so much is contradicted from one site to another it gets confusing.
So any tips would be great! :)
Thanks.

Pic one is of her habitat as I'm sure that'll be asked to see lol it's the equivalent close to a 10 gallon aquarium I'd say.(12 X 18 X 12 ish. I've never actually measured.)
It has 2 hides. One is where the leaves are on the "hill". It's submerged into the hill with the leaves covering it 75%. The other is under the rock. The big rock is propped on top of 2 smaller rocks and dug out for a hide. The bigger plant in the corner is plastic(Altho I hope to switch to live some day soon).
Yes I realize the substrate is possibly a little to moist to her liking,on the rock side. But I needed extra substrate after building up the left side(where plant is) and only had the brick substrate available that hadn't dried out yet(it was expanded 5 days prior). It was added on Saturday and seems to be drying up efficiently.(original substrate on the left side I cooked for like 3 or so hrs to dry out).
Pic 2 is if her on Saturday. Where you can kinda see her lonely spinneret. On the rock she likes to hang out on lol
Pic 3&4 is her today...the most I've seen her move all week.lol(she moved from the rock,up the glass,across the tank and then down to the ground.)
 

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Venom1080

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Grammostola like very dry conditions. dont pour water into the substrate, just keep the dish full. Tarantulas, especially G rosea, can go a extremely long time without food. they commonly go on fasts for no reason for months. for someone with one tarantula, superworms are the way to go. they live very long and are a big meal. you only need to feed a couple times a month with a T that size. crickets smell and chirp and die alot for no reason. 2 weeks is a perfect time to wait. nice job on the research. :) the loss of one spinneret is not a big deal, it really wont impede her at all. im assuming you have a screen lid. you will want to replace that with acrylic, Ts can get their tarsal claws stuck in the screen and lose legs. they can also chew through it if its cheap and not metal. this species really doesnt care to hide much, so dont worry if shes in the open all the time.
all in all great job with the set up, very little should be changed.:)
 

Vanessa

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I have noticed that I am feeding a lot less super worms than I was crickets. They are more filling. If you stick to crickets, I would usually feed an adult maybe four medium-large a week... if that. I would put one in and, if they take it, I would add another. I would do that twice a week.
Mine took a bit of time before taking to the super worms. Some of mine will still wait hours to take them, while some will grab them up immediately. Don't be discouraged immediately if they do not show interest in them, because often they will come around. The best thing I did was to change my group over to super worms because I couldn't stand maintaining crickets and having 50+ around.
Having only one tarantula, especially one who fasts, can be very frustrating with feeding. The best thing to do is get yourself a Brachypelma albopilosum to eat whatever your G. porteri refuses. I kid you not. They are very frequently found on places like Kijiji and are very inexpensive.
Once the substrate dries out, your little girl should calm down a bit and stop climbing. They really can't stand moist substrate. The setup looks good overall.
 

AHMR

Arachnosquire
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Oct 3, 2016
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I know they like dry conditions. Only reason it's a tad moist in there is because the local pet store was out of the dry bags of Eco earth so I had to purchase the bricks. When I first did her habitat I cooked the Eco earth I was using for about 3 hrs ish(then cooled it for another couple hrs)to dry it out. But when she gets startled,her first reaction is either to go up the glass or into the plant. So my worry was the substrate at the time wasn't high enough(even tho it was still like 4 or so inches deep even then) in case of a fall. So I decided ro raise it. But the substrate that I had expanded 5 days prior was still slightly damp.
So right now half her habitat is completely dry,other side is slightly damp(Altho getting drier every day).
Ya it's a hinged screen lid. How would one swap it out for acrylic?(I'll attach pic of the top of the tank. It's from before I set it up.). As I don't want her getting stuck.

Ok I may try her again on the super worms. To see if I can get her eating those.
If not,my idea is to buy 2-4 crickets at a time every couple weeks. Cuz the idea of those in my house kinda bugs me.(as they do stink and never shut up lol). But if that's all that she'll eat then that's part of what I gotta put up with having my dream pet. So I'm ok with it.
 

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Vanessa

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If it is any help, my adult G. porteri was the most difficult with the super worms. She still waits, at least, a couple of hours before taking them... but she does eat them in the end.
You have to crush the super worm heads before putting them in so they don't burrow. They should still be moving, though. I think that is the most difficult part for me. At least you don't have to do that with crickets.
 

Venom1080

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@AHMR you would have to completely remove the current lid for starters. you can buy acylic from Lowes and i think they can cut it for you to the exact measurements of your tank. drill a few holes, add a couple hinges and a simple lock and youre good to go. i think it costs about 15 bucks or so for a sheet, and cutting i think is free.
 

sdsnybny

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FYI your new beautiful T is G. porteri not G. rosea :) (both are called rose hairs)
Just a well ventilated piece of acrylic and a set of the tank top clips will do the trick if you don't want to add the hinges.
 

AHMR

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I actually may be able to attached the acrylic to the actual top already on it. As the screen is in a "pop in" area attached by screws. So I just have to see what the depth of the indent for the "pop in" area is and if acrylic would fit or if it would be to thick.
Pic to show what I mean....the screen is held in by screws and a frame. The screen isn't the whole lid.

So she's a g.porteri? Hmmmm...my bad. The guy advertised her as a rosea. Either way I love her so no biggy lol
 

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Ghost56

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I actually may be able to attached the acrylic to the actual top already on it. As the screen is in a "pop in" area attached by screws. So I just have to see what the depth of the indent for the "pop in" area is and if acrylic would fit or if it would be to thick.
Pic to show what I mean....the screen is held in by screws and a frame. The screen isn't the whole lid.

So she's a g.porteri? Hmmmm...my bad. The guy advertised her as a rosea. Either way I love her so no biggy lol
If I'm understanding the way the screen is installed right now correctly, and the acrylic does end up being too thick. You could cut the acrylic to the same size as the plastic piece that's currently screwed on, then drill holes through the acrylic in the same pattern as the plastic piece. Then just screw the acrylic directly to the lid, and do away with the screen and other piece.
 

AHMR

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If I'm understanding the way the screen is installed right now correctly, and the acrylic does end up being too thick. You could cut the acrylic to the same size as the plastic piece that's currently screwed on, then drill holes through the acrylic in the same pattern as the plastic piece. Then just screw the acrylic directly to the lid, and do away with the screen and other piece.
Ya I could do it that way to. I never thought of that.
I just know I'd prefer to keep the locking lid as it ensures her safety from my cat(who is generally not allowed in my room with her but sneaks in occasionally) and keeps my preschooler out of the tank. As she's temperamental,so if he got his hands in there,she could(and probably would)bite him. As he wouldn't understand the warnings to back off.
So on payday I'm going to go check about acrylic and see the thickness and go from there.
 

Ghost56

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Ya I could do it that way to. I never thought of that.
I just know I'd prefer to keep the locking lid as it ensures her safety from my cat(who is generally not allowed in my room with her but sneaks in occasionally) and keeps my preschooler out of the tank. As she's temperamental,so if he got his hands in there,she could(and probably would)bite him. As he wouldn't understand the warnings to back off.
So on payday I'm going to go check about acrylic and see the thickness and go from there.
Ya something about a preschooler and a tarantula just doesn't sound like a good mix lol, you shouldn't have a problem at all keeping the lid the way it's made judging by the pics.
 

Ghost56

Arachnobaron
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Ya I could do it that way to. I never thought of that.
I just know I'd prefer to keep the locking lid as it ensures her safety from my cat(who is generally not allowed in my room with her but sneaks in occasionally) and keeps my preschooler out of the tank. As she's temperamental,so if he got his hands in there,she could(and probably would)bite him. As he wouldn't understand the warnings to back off.
So on payday I'm going to go check about acrylic and see the thickness and go from there.
After looking at the picture again, I'm pretty sure I just basically said exactly what you were originally going to do lol. Not sure though tbh, I think I'm confusing myself at this point haha. I was referring to the frame that's holding the screen in as the "plastic piece" btw.
 
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