Not too sure if G.Rosea is happy :/

[Dan93]

Ok, well first off I'd like to say I'm delighted to be a new member of Arachnoboards After obtaining a beautiful Grammostola Rosea, I can now begin to consider myself a wannabe T' keeper

I got Rosie (not very original I know ) 3 days ago, but I'm a little puzzled on how she is behaving, compared to what I have read of many people's experiences of the interweb :?

I am a total noob when it comes to keeping T's, she is my first, but I love her to pieces. I'm trying to follow all advice about temperatures and humidity, feeding and handling (or lack of) to substrate. But that's the only thing causing an issue. I was recommended by the Pet Shop owner to use Komodo Rainforest Substrate, which I didn't think would cause a problem. The substrate can be seen here. Though maybe I am just getting paranoid, but Rosie hasn't put a foot on it since she's been in her enclosure. The only time I have seen her move onto it was when she was drinking from the jar lid I provided, though she then retreated, back up the side of the tank :wall:

Do any of you guys know if this is normal, or am I doing something wrong. My parents take the approach of "She's just a spider, you think she's really that bothered by it", to which any reply I give is met by "Don't you love it when kids answer back" rather sarcastically :wall:

Please let me know when you can, cause I don't want her to be unhappy with her home

Cheers guys


Oh, and sorry if this is in the wrong Thread, still getting my way around this board

 

[Wink]

the substrate might be too moist for her liking, they like it rather dry. she will come down once it dries out a bit and she settles in

---------- Post added at 01:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ----------

oh and if she is climbing, make sure you have plenty of substrate in there just in case she has a fall...this will help against injuries

 

[Dan93]

Wow the speed of that

Thanks for your help, I did consider that actually, though thought it being/looking quite dry would be ok - doh! Humidity dial says about 73%, so i'll let it drop and see where she goes from there. Fingers crossed she can finally settle

 

[Wink]

i use the dry eco earth in bags so i dont have to mess with the compressed blocks and waiting for it to dry after mixing lol. she should come down soon i would think. how big is she? what type of enclosure do you have?

 

[Dan93]

i use the dry eco earth in bags so i dont have to mess with the compressed blocks

Ah, god the mess that stuff made when I was adding water to it Glad no one was home to see that in the bath

how big is she?

Quite small, definitely not an adult but not a sling either. Leg-span I'd say is about 1.5 - 2" max. Just a lil lady

what type of enclosure do you have?

I bought a small aquarium for her, its perfect and not too high for her to fall either, I would be so upset to come home and find her all curled up because she fell, though thankfully that shouldn't happen She's also got a cut-in-half flowerpot for a hide, but like I say, I haven't seen her use it yet, she seems happier in the corner of the tank :?

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

What size is the aquarium? And what is the distance between thetop of thesubstrate and the top of the aquarium?

 

[Wink]

yes its pretty messy, thats why i stopped using it lol...its all in personal preference though really. but yea it seems to me, its probably just a moisture issue. when it starts drying out he/she will come down and settle in. one of my rosie's took weeks to get comfortable in her enclosure. it just takes time. just make sure there is enough substrate incase it did happen to have a fall. other than that, it seems like you are doing good

on a side note, if the enclosure is too big for him/her, it probably wont feel secure and take longer to get comfortable

 

[Dan93]

What size is the aquarium? And what is the distance between thetop of thesubstrate and the top of the aquarium?

I'm not actually sure litre wise, but wide its 35cm, high is 24cm and with the substrate to the top its 19cm. That ok?

---------- Post added at 08:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 PM ----------

yes its pretty messy, thats why i stopped using it lol...its all in personal preference though really. but yea it seems to me, its probably just a moisture issue.

Haha, oh you should have seen our bath

when it starts drying out he/she will come down and settle in. one of my rosie's took weeks to get comfortable in her enclosure. it just takes time. just make sure there is enough substrate incase it did happen to have a fall. other than that, it seems like you are doing good

Ah righto, I really hope so, I want her to be happy in her new home and not spend her life living on the walls Thanks for your help, I'll give her a couple of weeks and see what she does then. Yuh there's quite a bed of substrate down for her, but I totally understand how fragile they are. Thinking about it now, I might consider just adding a little bit more, 19cm might be quite a distance for her

on a side note, if the enclosure is too big for him/her, it probably wont feel secure and take longer to get comfortable

Well I'm not sure what it is in terms of litres, but I guess its not too big, nor too small She can have all the time she needs to settle

 

[Londoner]

Your enclosure far too large to be practical for a two inch spider. I'd suggest getting a smaller container. somewhere around 6-8 inches long x 4-6 inches wide x 4-6 inches high would be far more practical for it at the moment.

Good luck.

Edit: oops, thought your measurements were in inches. It's still a bit big though IMO.

 

[Dan93]

Your enclosure far too large to be practical for a two inch spider. I'd suggest getting a smaller container. somewhere around 6-8 inches long x 4-6 inches wide x 4-6 inches high would be far more practical for it at the moment.

Oh really :8o Damn I thought it was quite a good size :? Ok I guess I'll have to go and find another one over this week then, cheers for the advice.

 

[ladizzlee]

I have a rodie too. I have her in a completely dry subtrate and i made her a byrrow and she loves it. (8

 

[jesters22]

as far as i know you dont even need a humidity guage for a rosie.. mayb a few times a month take a little bit of water and as your filling up the drinking cup spill some onto the substrate.

 

[Dan93]

I have a rodie too. I have her in a completely dry subtrate and i made her a byrrow and she loves it. (8

Ah nice They are lovely T's As for the burrow, little plastic flower pot cut in half is mine, hopefully she'll move onto the flippin substrate soon and find it

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 PM ----------

as far as i know you dont even need a humidity guage for a rosie.. mayb a few times a month take a little bit of water and as your filling up the drinking cup spill some onto the substrate.

Well I like to keep an eye on it anyways, especially for when I catch her molting/premolting :} I would do that with the substrate, but do you think its the moisture that's keeping her off it?

 

[Londoner]

Ah nice Well I like to keep an eye on it anyways, especially for when I catch her molting/premolting :} I would do that with the substrate, but do you think its the moisture that's keeping her off it?

It probably is the damp substrate that's bothering the T. That or it's just settling in to it's new environment. In both cases the T will come down to earth when the sub dries out or it becomes accustomed to the tank. Patience is the key.

Oh, and I agree with whoever said not to get hung up on humidity readings with G. rosea. There's really no need to have a hygrometer in the tank, and if it's the round, plastic dial type, you won't get a reliable reading anyway. The vast majority of people who keep this species (myself included) just provide dry substrate and a waterdish. You don't need to overflow the dish during pre-molt, just make sure it's full. Internal hydration seems to be more important than ambient humidity when it comes to molting.

Good luck.

 

[Dan93]

It probably is the damp substrate that's bothering the T. That or it's just settling in to it's new environment. In both cases the T will come down to earth when the sub dries out or it becomes accustomed to the tank. Patience is the key.

Oh, and I agree with whoever said not to get hung up on humidity readings with G. rosea. There's really no need to have a hygrometer in the tank, and if it's the round, plastic dial type, you won't get a reliable reading anyway. The vast majority of people who keep this species (myself included) just provide dry substrate and a waterdish. You don't need to overflow the dish during pre-molt, just make sure it's full. Internal hydration seems to be more important than ambient humidity when it comes to molting.

Good luck.

Ok. The substrate looks dry enough to me, but I'm no Tarantula I'll give her time, she can have all of it that she wants I literally JUST tried to feed her as well, cricket was rubbing past one of her legs, she just climbed higher up. Premolt perhaps

 

[Wink]

if she/he doesnt feel secure yet, than most likely eating wont happen, but i could be wrong :?

 

[Salt]

if she/he doesnt feel secure yet, than most likely eating wont happen, but i could be wrong :?

Doesn't matter, Grammostola rosea can go a LONG time without food.

 

[Wink]

Doesn't matter, Grammostola rosea can go a LONG time without food.

yea i understand that, i was just referring to the fact he said when he offered food it climbed higher

 

[ArachnidJackson]

Wow the speed of that

Thanks for your help, I did consider that actually, though thought it being/looking quite dry would be ok - doh! Humidity dial says about 73%, so i'll let it drop and see where she goes from there. Fingers crossed she can finally settle

One way to fix this in the future is to have it pre made/mixed for when you need it and you don't need to worry about it either way.
Welcome aboard and we are happy to have you join us