Question about my G. Rosea

[Mustadio]

I got my first spider, A G. Rosea, about 2 weeks ago.

He seems to be eating very well, 2 or 3 crickets every 3 days or so. I know they are weird spiders but I have a couple of questions.

He's pretty small. Like 3 inches.. I figure I either have a male or a juvenile. The petstore I saved him from wasn't too helpful. Right now he's in a large Critter Keeper. He's on some bed-a-beast right now, but I intend to change that to something else next time I clean the tank.

What has me worried is he likes to stay on the sides of the tank at all times. he only comes down to eat, then crawls right back up. I know they don't like ground that's too wet, but I haven't misted it or anything since I got him. Will he ever come down?

 

[Grael]

mayb the ground is too warm for him make sure u dont put the heat matt all under his tank leave it half and half so if he wants to cool down he can go 1 side and if he wants to warm up he can go the other only thing i can think of im sure the experts might know

 

[Godzilla2000]

Originally posted by Mustadio
I got my first spider, A G. Rosea, about 2 weeks ago.

He seems to be eating very well, 2 or 3 crickets every 3 days or so. I know they are weird spiders but I have a couple of questions.

He's pretty small. Like 3 inches.. I figure I either have a male or a juvenile. The petstore I saved him from wasn't too helpful. Right now he's in a large Critter Keeper. He's on some bed-a-beast right now, but I intend to change that to something else next time I clean the tank.

What has me worried is he likes to stay on the sides of the tank at all times. he only comes down to eat, then crawls right back up. I know they don't like ground that's too wet, but I haven't misted it or anything since I got him. Will he ever come down?

When you say it's bed-a-beast are you talking about using standard pine wood chips for the bottom of rodent cages for the bottom of the cage? I use Cyprus Mulch for my G. Rosea and she seems to like that kind of bedding alot. She clung to the side of her tank until the mulch dried out. I think you've already guessed that Rosehairs prefer things on the dry side.

 

[Mustadio]

It's the coconut coir type stuff and I dont have a heat mat. My room stays nice and warm

 

[Grael]

Originally posted by Mustadio
It's the coconut coir type stuff and I dont have a heat mat. My room stays nice and warm

not sure not in the US so dont know what it is lol but have u tried anything else as a substrate?

 

[Mustadio]

I was going to try that next, I just wanted to make sure before I redid the enclosure

 

[Lycanthrope]

ive heard of other peoples t's doing this on that exact substrate. maybe they dont like coconut:? . bedabeast is also mite heaven and grows mold like you wouldnt believe, but with a rosehair and dry conditions that wouldnt be a big problem. some of my t's do some wall climbing for the first few days of a new home. maybe thats it.

 

[Grael]

Originally posted by Lycanthrope
ive heard of other peoples t's doing this on that exact substrate. maybe they dont like coconut:? . bedabeast is also mite heaven and grows mold like you wouldnt believe, but with a rosehair and dry conditions that wouldnt be a big problem. some of my t's do some wall climbing for the first few days of a new home. maybe thats it.

yea mine did...she wouldnt stop >_< but hes had her 2 weeks so....just try to change the substrate all i can think of or ur T has a aboreal streak in her

 

[Buspirone]

I just went through the same thing with my Tarantula. I'm using a mix of coir and vermiculite. My T was hanging up in the corners only to come down and eat or tip-toe quickly to another corner and hang. She wouldn't come down until I increased the ventilation and the first half inch depth of substrate was dry. Now she's on the ground and mostly in pet rock mode(I don't think she's moved in about 8 hours now) with an occaisional trip to the water dish for a drink. Let the enclosure dry out. Coir is pretty fluffy and the particles are smaller than most grades of vermiculite. Its a good idea to press the coir down tight in the enclosure while its moist to create a more firm substrate surface when it dries out. The pet shop bedding that is made of coir is OK but is really expensive when you get get alot more for the same price in a compressed brick at a well stocked garden center. I'm still learning about tarantulas too and everyone here is great about answering newbie questions. Good luck and let us know how things work out.

 

[Godzilla2000]

Originally posted by Mustadio
It's the coconut coir type stuff and I dont have a heat mat. My room stays nice and warm

Listen to everyone here my friend. If you change her substrate you might see a ranked difference in her behavior. Usually when a Chilean Rosehair climbs the side of the tank it means she doesn't like something on the ground. I advise you to use either Peat Moss or Cypress Mulch. Some of the othe users in this board may be able to suggest other forms of substrate for your Tarantula as well.

 

[Godzilla2000]

Originally posted by Buspirone
I just went through the same thing with my Tarantula. I'm using a mix of coir and vermiculite. My T was hanging up in the corners only to come down and eat or tip-toe quickly to another corner and hang. She wouldn't come down until I increased the ventilation and the first half inch depth of substrate was dry. Now she's on the ground and mostly in pet rock mode(I don't think she's moved in about 8 hours now) with an occaisional trip to the water dish for a drink. Let the enclosure dry out. Coir is pretty fluffy and the particles are smaller than most grades of vermiculite. Its a good idea to press the coir down tight in the enclosure while its moist to create a more firm substrate surface when it dries out. The pet shop bedding that is made of coir is OK but is really expensive when you get get alot more for the same price in a compressed brick at a well stocked garden center. I'm still learning about tarantulas too and everyone here is great about answering newbie questions. Good luck and let us know how things work out.

I'm finding that my Tarantulas do the "Pet Rock" impressions especially when my lights are on. It's only at night thatthey get really active. This morning when I went to check on water dish status I found Fuzzy's dish lying upside down on the other side of the tank. I'm leaning towards the conclusion that she drank the water I gave her before going to bed and was playing with it after drinking all the water from it.

 

[Grael]

Originally posted by Godzilla2000
I'm finding that my Tarantulas do the "Pet Rock" impressions especially when my lights are on. It's only at night thatthey get really active. This morning when I went to check on water dish status I found Fuzzy's dish lying upside down on the other side of the tank. I'm leaning towards the conclusion that she drank the water I gave her before going to bed and was playing with it after drinking all the water from it.

lol i woke up 1 morning to find she had piled half her substrate into 1 corner has taken her about 3 days now to make a little burrow pit thing for herself which she hasnt moved from since she completed it

 

[Frost]

I have 2 G. Roseas on coconut fiber with some branches and clay pots for dens. Do you have any den or hide a way for him/her? How big is the enclosure exactly? They do need some space. Also, if the specimen is large enough, you can easily tell if it's a female or male by the legs and abdomen. A female will have a very large abdomen compared to the male, and the male will have his four front legs a lot longer and skinnier than a female. Hope this helps! Let me know if that specimen has a den and enough space as well though. That alone does a lot!

 

[pnshmntMMA]

I have 2 G. Roseas on coconut fiber with some branches and clay pots for dens. Do you have any den or hide a way for him/her? How big is the enclosure exactly? They do need some space. Also, if the specimen is large enough, you can easily tell if it's a female or male by the legs and abdomen. A female will have a very large abdomen compared to the male, and the male will have his four front legs a lot longer and skinnier than a female. Hope this helps! Let me know if that specimen has a den and enough space as well though. That alone does a lot!

Look at the date of the OP... I hope he's figured it out by now lol. I've done this before too!

 

[deathkorps]

lol i was about to post a reply to this until i read your post and scrolled back up to the top to look at the date.