Violent, Suicidal G. Rosea

LondonLegs

Arachnopeon
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Mar 28, 2011
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9
After longing for a T since the age of twelve, I finally got my hands on a G. rosea at a pet shop we brought my greyhound to for a meet. Looking back, i may have made a quick and terrible decision.

I asked about what I've deemed a female, though she's relatively small, maybe a year old, and the shopboy leapt into action, practically begging me to take her. She was in the middle of eating, so I did not handle her (looking back, I should have, as I really wish for a handleable T). The moment she was finished it was time to leave, so I grabbed her habitat, which I bought so as not to disrupt her, and headed home. I left her be for the first few days, then gently placed my hand on her substrate, in front of her. She skittered away post-haste, so I didn't push the issue. The next day, I tried again. And again she showed no interest, and firmly planted her legs when I touched her hind toe to try to get her to walk up.

A week and a half after this, I upgraded her from the tiny, cracked, awful carrier she was in to a 5.5 gallon heaped with substrate. In this time I discovered that she could be handled if I a)scooted her first onto a non-flesh item and then to my hand and b)my hands could keep up with her practically jogging across them. The first day or two she seemed fine, but has slowly gotten more and more aggressive.

She refuses to be handled, and has taken up the disturbing habit of climbing up the wall, across her ceiling, and then just letting go, so that she falls either on her side or flat on her back. She has a broken, though not ruptured, leg. Yesterday I found her face down in her water sponge, where she remained for close to five hours. Today, she spent eight hours furiously stretching up the sides of the glass, falling, then stomping to another corner and doing it again. And though with the amount of substrate I put to keep her safe she doesn't have far to go, every time she falls she practically bends in half between her abdomen and cephelothorax. As far as even TOUCHING the inside of the tank, she has turned into a vicious monster.

I've found bits and pieces through every G. rosea article and thread I thought would be relevant...but nothing is matching up. I'm dead sure I got the 1 in 1,000 angry roses, but the self-destructive tendencies are still unexplained.

I'd much appreciate any help.
 

Mojo Jojo

Arachnoking
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First, I'd get rid of the sponge. If you are worried about crickets drowning themselves, put some aquarium rocks in the bottom of the water dish that you put in there, high enough so that the crickets should be able to crawl on them in order to get out of the water dish, but also giving the tarantula enough room to really get their mouth in the dish for some power drinking.

She doesn't seem receptive to being handled? Don't handle her.

What kind of substrate are you using and is it dry or moist?

A picture of the tarantula might be nice.
 
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Shea

Arachnosquire
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Jan 19, 2011
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52
My b smithi did the same thing when it came to climbing the glass and falling. She should stop after a while and will be fine along as u have Plenty of substrait under her. About 1.5-2 times the length of it's legslan
 

LondonLegs

Arachnopeon
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Mar 28, 2011
Messages
9
I wondered about the sponge, out it goes, but it's what she came with, so I didn't bother. I don't leave crickets in with her, so that's not an issue.

Yes, I've pretty much resigned myself to never touching her again.

It's *oh no I tossed the package...* the kind that's vacuum-packed that you have to moisten in a bucket, then re-dry. It is almost completely dry. I don't think it's the substrate, because she has no issue chilling on it when she finally takes a rest, and there's even some, but not copious "I'm trying to hide this awful stuff" webbing.

These are from a few days ago:


 
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KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
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Nov 21, 2009
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From the look of your first picture, I'd say that's a mature male, and it's likely wandering so much because it's looking for a lady.
 

LondonLegs

Arachnopeon
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Mar 28, 2011
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The legginess makes me see male...but the pictures are huge, he's only got a three inch legspan.
 

Mojo Jojo

Arachnoking
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Males are generally smaller than the females. Can you see something that looks like hooks on the undersides of his front left and right legs?
 

LondonLegs

Arachnopeon
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Mar 28, 2011
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As far as I can see, the pedipalps don't have that distinct bluge at the end, they're pretty sleek and pointy. And those feet are way to tiny, fuzzy, and planted on the ground for me to see whther there are hooks.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
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As far as I can see, the pedipalps don't have that distinct bluge at the end, they're pretty sleek and pointy. And those feet are way to tiny, fuzzy, and planted on the ground for me to see whther there are hooks.
Hmm... tricky! It's not necessarily too small to be mature, but it's hard to be sure unless those two things are WAY obvious, which I guess they're not. :?
 

NikiP

Arachnobaron
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Apr 16, 2006
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In the first picture, at that slight angle I almost think I see boxing gloves...

Agree that it looks/sounds like an MM.

And G. roseas are notorious for going mental. Try buying online & go for a G. pulchra or G. pulchripes. People in the hobby have found them to be much more consistent in behavior.

 
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Chris_Skeleton

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It looks and sounds like a mature male to me also.

I'm curious how you deemed it female and a year old? :?
 

RoseT

Arachnosquire
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Sep 20, 2010
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looks mature male to me as well, and that can explain all the roaming..
 

LondonLegs

Arachnopeon
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Mar 28, 2011
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Thanks for the details, guys!

Yep, not seeing those hooks, and the pedipalps look pretty bulge-less to me.

I reckoned it was female because the shopkeep said that's what she thought it was, and because at the time s/he looked very stocky (turns out s/he was just hunched and bunched over while slurping on that cricket, but I never paid attention and revised this thought), and a year old because the palm-width legspan seemed about that size if s/he was indeed a female.

I am so confused. This is not a nice experience. If Vriska turns out to be MM, I am totally volunteering him up to whoever needs one and getting a more reliably chill species.

EDIT: fantastic, I think s/he may be going into premolt. Used to eating once a week, and due to a vacation I recently took, which I just returned from, it's been almost two. I offered the usual live cricket and.... not even a twitch. Poked it a bit to make it gooey and dead, and offered it more directly under him/her... nothing. His/her carapace is looking mighty shabby, too.
 
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LeilaNami

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Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the rosies I usually see at a year old are still slings.
 

LondonLegs

Arachnopeon
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Mar 28, 2011
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Hmmm. I more than suppose my perception of youth Ts could be far off, as all of my experience has been with those that are far beyond mature.
 

fartkowski

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I would say at that size, it's definitely older than a year.
I have a 2 year old rosea that still hasn't shown any color.
I would suggest maybe giving it a hide.
Just give it time to settle in. Sometimes it takes months for them to feel comfortable.
 
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paassatt

Arachnoangel
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Nov 19, 2010
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I've never understood why people are so fond of attaching an age to a spider. Instars and leg span are much more helpful, in my opinion, than something like "almost 2 years old".
 

LondonLegs

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Mar 28, 2011
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Alright, age and gender aside, I've removed the sponge. The substrate is maybe an inch lower than it probably should be, but I reaaally didn't want to rip up all the webbing, upon closer inspection there is quite a bit. S/he is still resolutely climbing, and about ten minutes ago I witnessed something that I don't know whether I should laugh or cry about.

S/he climbed up to the tank lid, and I am QUITE CERTAIN did not lose grip. S/he LET GO. legs straightened out a bit all at once, like opening ones fingers while holding a basketball, and just fell, flat on his/her back. I know by this point that G. rosea are nuts, but this has got to be nuttier than usual. Short of sewing a tiny straightjacket, what can I do to stop this self-destructive behavior?
 
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