help needed to identify stray spider.

[mary musgrave]

hi, about a week ago i saw a tarantula in my living room and today i finaly caught it i sent a picture to a poisonous spider "expert" when we first saw it and he said he didn't recognise it as being harmful, and would most likely be stray pet.
i've asked all round my local area and nobody is missing a pet tarantula. so can you help me identify it

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1939012468453.2111846.1036647837&saved#!/photo.php?fbid=1939012708459&set=a.1939012468453.2111846.1036647837&type=1&theater

thank you
mary x x

[mary musgrave]

I've had it identified as a chiliean rose\beauty (somthing about debating two species) and was told a local lad had two of them but let them go on the feild behind our house before christmas, one was found dead and i suppose i have the other now, its been in our house a few weeks at least (we thought we had mice).

i was told this is a good beginners tarantula i had a quick look it seems to fit my photo so any advice for a new tarantula owner. i'll need some housing for him/her and i think i need more floor space than height? heat mat? thermometer? some sort of ground covering? whats best?
i'm rambling now i'm sure these questions have been asked many times before so i'm off to look ound a bit.

Mary x

[James Box]

I've had it identified as a chiliean rose\beauty (somthing about debating two species) and was told a local lad had two of them but let them go on the feild behind our house before christmas, one was found dead and i suppose i have the other now, its been in our house a few weeks at least (we thought we had mice).

i was told this is a good beginners tarantula i had a quick look it seems to fit my photo so any advice for a new tarantula owner. i'll need some housing for him/her and i think i need more floor space than height? heat mat? thermometer? some sort of ground covering? whats best?
i'm rambling now i'm sure these questions have been asked many times before so i'm off to look ound a bit.

Mary x

oh my goodness, that child needs a good smack upside the head, as do his parents! turning something like that loose in the field! how ignorant!
i guess it's lucky for the environment the way things worked out...though sad for the spider that died

ok you're on the right track, though you don't need a huge deal of equipment. i'm afraid i can't see the pic for some reason...can you link to it again?
anyway, if it's what i think it is, the scientific name would be either Grammostola rosea or Grammostola porteri, which if googled should give you some help identifying it. the common name for the latter is Chile rose, and i can't remember for the former, but likely red Chile rose, or similar. they are similar but the former has lovely red hairs, and the latter is more pink and grey.

these come from Chile, and Chile isn't all that warm or wet. i would suggest room temperature, and kept on the dry side. you can provide a shallow waterdish, or you can periodically pour water on the substrate in a corner or so...i do both arbitrarily as i have a lot of spiders

these are excellent pets, and all you'll really need is some crickets from the exotic pet shop. the only nuisance is they sell them in boxes that contain far more than you'd ever need for one spider...so feed the crickets lettuce and fruit and other veg and maybe tropical fish flakes, and give them a bit of water, and they should last longer.

if you can befriend a nearby keeper of anything that eats crickets, maybe you can buy a couple off them at a time. one of my neighbours does this with me i don't mind, i'm pleased he's got a spider at all!

the other frustration with these species is that they will sometimes fast for months on end, so if you've bought crickets they'd go to waste. if the spider looks plump, ie the abdomen isn't a shrivelled little thing, then the spider is likely not going to starve to death any time soon.

one way to solve the surplus crickets problem is to get more spiders, but i appreciate you're new to all this, and even one is a big step!
well done on taking this in, and not just squishing it or something! and well done coming to this forum for advise...i love the BTS! a great bunch of people that truly love these great animals.

i'll throw in a suggestion to join the BTS as well, it's a good way to meet other keepers, plus you get a shiny journal every few months and some discounts!

[mary musgrave]

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1631239574323.2088521.1036647837#!/photo.php?fbid=1938940106644&set=a.1631239574323.2088521.1036647837&type=1&theater

thank you, i really appreciate your reply, she (my children have named her Lilly) is very pretty and as far as i can tell quite fat no idea what shes been living off. At the moment shes in a tupperwear box with holes in hid behind a shelf ready for buying her new home tomorrow.

Mary x

[James Box]

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...type=1&theater

thank you, i really appreciate your reply, she (my children have named her Lilly) is very pretty and as far as i can tell quite fat no idea what shes been living off. At the moment shes in a tupperwear box with holes in hid behind a shelf ready for buying her new home tomorrow.

Mary x

ahh yeah Lilly looks like a Chilean Grammostola, though i can't make out enough detail to be certain which one. Chile rose is probably not the wrong common name, at any rate.
Lilly is a nice name!
she's lucky to have you for an owner! not everyone would be so compassionate!

[Colin D Wilson]

If it is a Grammostola species then James has given you some good starter info for keeping as a pet, and i agree ..... the spider's lucky you found it !!!!

I can't see the photo as i don't have (or want) a my-face or space-book account .... any chance of uploading the picture direct to the forum ??

Any more info that you need ... then please post away ....... oh, and welcome to the forum