What is EVERYTHING you need to do to take care of a tarantula?

[DannyH]

Please give the full list, I'm getting my first T and I want to make sure I don't miss out on anything.

 

[ShadowBlade]

Depends on species.. but for the most basic tarantula:

Container
Substrate
Moisture
Food
Air

Put substrate in the container, add the tarantula, and occasionally add moisture. Less occasionally add food. Are you after any particular advice?

-Sean

 

[DannyH]

Im kinda nervous about my new Tarantula. I mean, what kind of things can go wrong? And its going to be a Rose hair.

And im also kinda nervous it will freak girls out, as im in high school, but i've loved bugs since I was a little kid, and it means alot to me. Any advice?

 

[kanito107]

ummm the worst that can go wrong wiht owning a rosea is wetting the substrate, because they love it dry, other than that you cant go wrong,

 

[Stan Schultz]

Im kinda nervous about my new Tarantula. I mean, what kind of things can go wrong? And its going to be a Rose hair.

And im also kinda nervous it will freak girls out, as im in high school, but i've loved bugs since I was a little k.id, and it means alot to me. Any advice?

.

First read http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/stansrant.html. Pay particular attention to reading the four books part. You don't need to buy them. Check them out of your school or neighborhood, public library. They are your key to getting this project right.

Then read http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html.

Lastly, remember that the only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask!

Best of luck.

 

[astraldisaster]

Yeah, ShadowBlade covered it. Just remember -- for a G. rosea, you want very dry substrate. Coconut fiber (i.e. Eco Earth brand) or pesticide-free peat moss are the best readily available choices. Be sure to fill up the tank enough so that there isn't much more than 1.5 x the spider's legspan between the lid of the tank and the top of the substrate. Terrestrial tarantulas (especially larger ones) are very susceptible to injury from falls. Provide a hide and water dish, and offer a few large crickets as food once every week or two, and you should be all set.

Oh yeah, and about the freaking out girls part -- maybe you can use it as a filter of sorts? Any who refuse to date/get to know you because of your pet are probably not worth your time anyway! Just don't stick the spider in their faces.

 

[Bosing]

good luck with your new T! The Chilean Rose are very hardy species and its a good choice for a first Tarantula. :clap:

 

[Moltar]

You need to take a bit of the task on yourself and do some reading. Pikaia suggested some good stuff but maybe the four books are more reading than you want to do right off the bat. Still you should get that stuff on your reading list.

Another quick read that covers most of the basics (and some more advanced stuff too) can be found here: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=145454

Nobody's going to write you a whole book-length post about "everything you need to know" when it's already been done and there is a sticky for it right at the top of the page. Enjoy your Rosie!

 

[DannyH]

I was kinda just looking for links and stuff. Thanks, I can't wait to post pics of her and become a contributing member of arachnoboards!

 

[J Morningstar]

If you haven't been on the internet long, there is a thing called Google. You will have more information then you can believe in about 1.5 seconds, read as much as you can, then ask questions. This goes much better. I also find it helps get better more precise answers.

 

[0siris]

If you want any specifics regarding tarantula care, I suggest you provide us with a bit more information. You say you want a G.rosea..... sling or adult? You live in New Jersey. Hot, Humid summers and Cold, dry winters are a big fluctuations for a desert dwelling spider. Can you keep the conditions relatively constant?

Specifically there are many things you will need.

• 
  Container for the spider, preferably a clear one.

• 
  Substrate

• Spray bottle (to mist the enclosure as necessary)

• Tongs

• Container for feeder crix

• Food to gut load crix (lettuce, carrots, etc, shavings will do) Not an absolute must, but good to have if you want what's best for your spider.

• IMO...a thermometer and hygrometer are absolutely necessary for the room you are going to keep the tarantula in. It is good to have a general idea of what kind of temperatures and humidity your T's are exposed to, ambiently.

It is almost inevitable that you are going to get more T's down the line, so getting used to good temp monitoring habits is handy. :}

 

[Spidershane1]

Theres also alot of other stuff such as food types, feeding schedules, how to adjust care for premolt postmolt & intermolt, reintroduction of food after a molt, temps, preventing falls from climbing, cohabitation, parasites/mites, how to deal with dud sacs, proper rehousing methods, transporting your T, surgical procedures, etc, etc, etc, etc......

Don't expect to read one post on a message board & then know everything about keeping tarantulas. I've dedicated hundreds, if not thousands of hours over the years reading invertebrate literature, scouring forums, and interacting with my animals, and I have barely begun to scratch the surface of understanding these magnificant creatures.

My current copy of The Tarantula Keepers Guide is 376 pages and if you were to read it, you would probably begin to have a very basic understanding of what arachnid keeping is about. I would give that a read, or as someone else suggested, google and alot spare time are the hobbyists best friend.

 

[Formerphobe]

As others have suggested, this site will give you nearly everything you need to know about Grammostola roseas:
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

 

[DamoK21]

Google is always recomended, here is somthing which tends to be alot on google

This is copy and pasted

"All Tarantula bites' is actually not that dangerous; no more worse than a bee sting"

^^ So then when one gets the care wrong, through google, and comes to forums, and sais look at my spider, its an OBT and im holding it... Rightly because the person was recomended by that forum to use google, and they see statements as above, they get slaughterd and then told "Dont belive anything/everything you read via google" ?? makes no sence,,,, Somone new to the hobby wont know any diffrent, so google really aint that good for the new comers ;P

Id suggest looking through loads of posts here mate if im honest, just to start you of until you can be more specific and know what your after, before using google ;P

 

[KoriTamashii]

If you want any specifics regarding tarantula care, I suggest you provide us with a bit more information. You say you want a G.rosea..... sling or adult? You live in New Jersey. Hot, Humid summers and Cold, dry winters are a big fluctuations for a desert dwelling spider. Can you keep the conditions relatively constant?

Specifically there are many things you will need.

• Spray bottle (to mist the enclosure as necessary)

• Food to gut load crix (lettuce, carrots, etc, shavings will do) Not an absolute must, but good to have if you want what's best for your spider.

• IMO...a thermometer and hygrometer are absolutely necessary for the room you are going to keep the tarantula in. It is good to have a general idea of what kind of temperatures and humidity your T's are exposed to, ambiently.

It is almost inevitable that you are going to get more T's down the line, so getting used to good temp monitoring habits is handy. :}

You do not need to mist a G. rosea. A water dish will do fine. If it is a sling, then you can wet a corner of the substrate. Misting does nothing.

There is no real need to gut load crickets, it's a matter of preference. It's not 'what's best'.

It's not absolutely necessary to keep a hygrometer and thermometer for a G. rosea. Or at all, for that matter. Generally, if you're comfortable with the temperature, the spider will be, too. Curiousme, another member here, keeps her T's at about 64 degrees F and they are thriving. As humidity is not a big deal with G. rosea, a hygrometer would be overkill. I have 60~ tarantulas, and have never needed a hygrometer. As long as you pay attention to what that particular species needs, you'll do fine.