rose hair sling, bad choice for beginner?

[GailC]

I'm probably going to get a rose hair and I found a 1" sling that would be nice, that way I know how old it is. Are they hard to raise? can they eat newly born lobster roaches?

 

[Beccas_824]

First off, congrats on deciding to get a T. G. rosea's are a veyr hardy speices and can be fairly easy to raise, but I would suggest getting something bigger for your first T, just for the fact that slings do require more care and time and have a higher mortaility rate. Generally bigger T's are easier to take care of, and i would hold back on getting something that small until you have some experinece.
As for the lobster roches, i don't know how big they are but the rule of thumb is to never fed your T any prey that is bigger than its abdomen.

 

[GailC]

thanks, I didn't really want one that small but I would like a younger one. I'll keep looking around until I find a somewhat bigger one, maybe I can even find a female. Oh, newborn lobsters are bigger then a pinhead crix but not by much and are really soft.

 

[Beccas_824]

Or you could always order form a reputable T breeder instead of buying one form a petstore that takes poor care fo their T's!

 

[GailC]

I've been looking at different sites but most of the Roses are very small. I did find one 3.5" female for $25.00, is that a good price?

 

[girlsfavtoy]

i wouldn't pay for a rosie that is over $12-15 unless i know 100% that it's a female.

 

[cricket54]

A rosehair sling is a good beginner tarantula. They seem to be pretty active and eat more at a younger age. Mine has dug tunnels all over the inside of his critter keeper. The drawback is that Chilean rosehairs grow so slowly. I love getting my tarantulas as slings though. Its fun to watch them grow and change colors with their molts. I have lost only a couple with a molt. Rosehairs don't need much moisture though like some other slings so there really isn't much worries with having enough humidity.

Sharon

 

[GailC]

what about temps for a sling? its cold here and the temp drops down at night. Could I turn an old aquarium into a "mini grrenhouse" by putting a couple inches of damp soil down, using an UTH and just keeping the rearing vials in there? of course I wouldn't use a lid on the tank so the humidity won't go crazy. Also what would be a good rearing container for a 1/2" sling? I was thinking about getting 3-4 so I would have a good chance of survival. I have access to the little cups that betta fish come in, they're about 2" wide X 3 1/2" tall.

 

[Windchaser]

what about temps for a sling? its cold here and the temp drops down at night. Could I turn an old aquarium into a "mini grrenhouse" by putting a couple inches of damp soil down, using an UTH and just keeping the rearing vials in there? of course I wouldn't use a lid on the tank so the humidity won't go crazy. Also what would be a good rearing container for a 1/2" sling? I was thinking about getting 3-4 so I would have a good chance of survival. I have access to the little cups that betta fish come in, they're about 2" wide X 3 1/2" tall.

I have kept all of my slings at room temperature and have not experienced any problems. I had a couple of hundred G. rosea slings last winter and didn't experience any problems with them at room temperature. During the winter, my place is usually in the low 70's during the day and upper 60's at night.

As mentioned, G.roseas do not require much in the way of humidity. I would simply put a little bit of water on the side of your enclosure once a week. WIth respect to the enclosures, the ones you are thinking of using sound fine.

 

[GailC]

it get down to the mid 50's at night, soon I'll start up the heat but not quite yet.

 

[Windchaser]

it get down to the mid 50's at night, soon I'll start up the heat but not quite yet.

Temperatures in the 50's would be a bit cold for tarantulas. However, are you actually saying that your house is in the 50's? Remember, that your house will typically be warmer than the outside temperature, even without the heat on.

 

[GailC]

yes, my house is in the 50's at night, I'm live up north and am a cold blooded woman I have a small electric heater that I'm going to use in my bug room ( I have roaches and millipedes).

 

[jbrd]

Sure the G.rosea is a very hardy speices and can be fairly easy to raise. But in my experience i found that if you do your research on the type of T that you want, you could have anyone of them that you want. The key here is research and preperation.
My first T was a T.blondi, (allegedly labled for an experienced T keeper, i say BS!) Its all in what you want and what your willing to put into it.
Good luck in whatever you decide to get and keep us posted.

 

[GailC]

I got a dwarf rose hair today, but I plan on getting a common rose hair and a pink toe in the future.

 

[Potatoemoe]

congrats on the your first T!!!! My first was a Rose hair as well which is actually getting ready to molt. And for the price I hope you didn't pay more than $15 for it, these are among the cheapest species. I paid $13 for mine at a petstore and it was 3.5" so to be 4" woohoo. but now they have a 4.5" one in there for the same price. You may be able to even find someone willing to give them away as slings.