Tank size

[Richard Shah]

Hey People
Hope you are all well and good; to all those who do't know me, I'm Rich (of course), and hello.
As some may know, I'm most likely getting a Chilean Rose, and I need a tank that's relatively decent in size. I have a tank that is 8" in width, and 22" in lentgh, and I thought that was about right, until I realized that a CR (adult) is 8" already. What are your recommendations?
Thanks,
Rich.

[Peter Lacey]

That sounds like a large G. rosea! You might want to check the size again and also the sex. Females live much longer than males and if you receive an adult male of that size he may only have a couple of years left in him.
Generally speaking the size should be about twice the leg span, obviously then the length is fine but the width seems a little restricted. Not sure if that would cause probs so I'll let someone with more experience answer that one.

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Richard,,

Can i ask where you are getting the size of the rosea from,

The largest i've had has been a particularly leggy male (normal colour form) who measured a fraction under 6.5 inches, the norm being 4.5 - 5.5 (ish).

As far as the tank goes, in my opinion it will be ok (more suited to being heated ambiently rather than a heat mat (if you're goig to use one?))

You could give an adult spider 3 -4 inches of substrate and place a hide at either end giving it a choice, water bowl towards the centre....would look rather nice i think.

[Richard Shah]

That sounds like a large G. rosea! You might want to check the size again and also the sex. Females live much longer than males and if you receive an adult male of that size he may only have a couple of years left in him.
Generally speaking the size should be about twice the leg span, obviously then the length is fine but the width seems a little restricted. Not sure if that would cause probs so I'll let someone with more experience answer that one.

"A medium sized tarantula. Mature females will have a body length of up to about 7.5 centimetres (three inches) and a leg span of about fifteen centimetres (six inches). While the males' body is smaller the leg spans remain the same. Because of the numbers being exported from Chile the average size of the individuals currently found in the market is usually smaller. It is presumed that, given time and proper care, these will reach respectable sizes."
Source: http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Eschultz/roses.html

"Full Grown Size 4.5 to 5.5 inches."

Source: http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/G-rosea.html

My bad, my bad. But still, that only leaves around two extra inches of width in the tank, do you think I should get a slightly wider tank? I mean, I need to get a new tank for the crickets anyway; where I'm going to put them will be a pain though, one I'll need to negotiate with my mum ...

[Richard Shah]

Hi Richard,,

As far as the tank goes, in my opinion it will be ok (more suited to being heated ambiently rather than a heat mat (if you're goig to use one?))

You could give an adult spider 3 -4 inches of substrate and place a hide at either end giving it a choice, water bowl towards the centre....would look rather nice i think.

I answered your first Que. just now, sorry my mistake. I don't know, I feel like I'm trapping the little T, and as said, I need a tank for the crickets to go in. About the heating, the first source in my last post says to avoid using artificial heat, and also, my room is usually quite hot anyway. I don't think having a heater is necessary really - I'll leave that to you to decide though; I know very little in the subject.
And sorry what do you mean by 'place a hide'? You mean like a piece of material, e.g. cork that the spider can hind under?

[Colin D Wilson]

Yes mate can be half a flower pot, cork bark anything like that.

If you're rooms fairl warm and constsnt i wouldn't bother with any additional heating

roseas are VERY hardy

[Richard Shah]

Yes mate can be half a flower pot, cork bark anything like that.

If you're rooms fairl warm and constsnt i wouldn't bother with any additional heating

roseas are VERY hardy

That's very good - thank you. It is warm constantly, so no problems there. Thanks for your help, +rep to both posters in this thread.
Rich.

[Peter Lacey]

You might want to consider getting a smaller specimen, a juvenile or sub-adult. Whilst size wise it might be less impressive they make excellent tarantula to observe. Everyone seems to have stories of peculiarities of G. rosea giving them character and intrigue which may change with molts. The younger the tarantula the more chance of molts, which is a fascinating part of keeping "Ts".

The size of the tank would be too big for spiderlings but if you decided to use the tank for the crickets you could start with an inexpensive set-up suitable for a spiderling. Any thing from film pots to tupperware containers, just make sure there's ventilation. You could easily set-up a number of these and still have too many crickets LOL, we know where this leads .

What many people do is place a number of small tubs in a larger tank and heat this to spread the heat amongst the tubs. Of course the tubs would have to be independently secure.

[Richard Shah]

You might want to consider getting a smaller specimen, a juvenile or sub-adult. Whilst size wise it might be less impressive they make excellent tarantula to observe. Everyone seems to have stories of peculiarities of G. rosea giving them character and intrigue which may change with molts. The younger the tarantula the more chance of molts, which is a fascinating part of keeping "Ts".

The size of the tank would be too big for spiderlings but if you decided to use the tank for the crickets you could start with an inexpensive set-up suitable for a spiderling. Any thing from film pots to tupperware containers, just make sure there's ventilation. You could easily set-up a number of these and still have too many crickets LOL, we know where this leads .

What many people do is place a number of small tubs in a larger tank and heat this to spread the heat amongst the tubs. Of course the tubs would have to be independently secure.

In response to your first paragraph, I think I'll go with a spiderling, and yes definitely I'll keep the T.S. - it will certainly be a great keep for long after they malt lol.
Can I ask why that would be too big for the spiderlings? And also, I now know what I'm going to be using, when the tarantula becomes a juvenile, I'll most likely move him/her to the tank, which is 24" in length, 8" in width and just over 8" in height. I can buy a plastic tank for the crickets, which is priced at just less than £9. If you think that the tank is too big, I'll get a plastic container and put the T in that until it grows into a juvenile, but a film pot? No way! Really?
So, as I have said, I think I know what I'll do:
I'll set up a big enough container for my s-ling, with ventilation of course. I'll buy the £9 plastic tank and the 40-or-so crickets they sell at the store, and put them in the tank, with a little dish of water and pieces of lettuce and other vegetables. I'll cut up a criket into four pieces, and feed my little s-ling once or twice a week with chopped cricket. When I think the spider is big enough, I'll set up the tank and move him/her into that. When it grows beyond four inches, I'll probably get a wider tank, in which it'll live in for the rest of its life.
How is that?
Thanks,
Rich

[Louise~Nichols]

Hi again Rich!
You seem to be absorbing advice and info very rapidly...well done!

As for slings and container size...a sling needs to be given easy opportunity to find it's food, and a small pot generally helps make sure it gets its food with ease and establishes a good feeding routine.

My simple rule of thumb...my 1cm slings live in 5cm diameter pots, and when their legspan is half the width, then I move up another container size...so then each time *legspan = half pot/tub width* they move up til they get their adult housing. For me, this seems to eradicate any *stress* that they may encounter by being dropped suddenly into the *wide blue yonder*.

[Richard Shah]

Hi again Rich!
You seem to be absorbing advice and info very rapidly...well done!

As for slings and container size...a sling needs to be given easy opportunity to find it's food, and a small pot generally helps make sure it gets its food with ease and establishes a good feeding routine.

My simple rule of thumb...my 1cm slings live in 5cm diameter pots, and when their legspan is half the width, then I move up another container size...so then each time *legspan = half pot/tub width* they move up til they get their adult housing. For me, this seems to eradicate any *stress* that they may encounter by being dropped suddenly into the *wide blue yonder*.

Hey Louise
Thanks! I will certainly act upon your advice, and remember the equation PS (potsize) = kl (konstance of proportionality*legspan)
Thanks a lot, +rep!

[Peter Lacey]

I... but a film pot? No way! Really?

If you consider most terrestrial spiderlings would spend their young life in a burrow you can understand how a small film pot helps to imitate that. Follow Louise's advice about size and things should be cool. If you were to put the spiderling in the large tank its likely it would stress the T as well as create feeding probs. Putting a number of Ts in tubs in the tank, with your crickets too will cut down on your expense of heating as well as keeping everything contained. If you opened the tub within the tank and your T bolted it wouldn't be hard to coax back into the tub.

Hopefully someone will post a pic of a similar set-up.

[Richard Shah]

If you consider most terrestrial spiderlings would spend their young life in a burrow you can understand how a small film pot helps to imitate that. Follow Louise's advice about size and things should be cool. If you were to put the spiderling in the large tank its likely it would stress the T as well as create feeding probs. Putting a number of Ts in tubs in the tank, with your crickets too will cut down on your expense of heating as well as keeping everything contained. If you opened the tub within the tank and your T bolted it wouldn't be hard to coax back into the tub.

Hopefully someone will post a pic of a similar set-up.

Of course, I more-or-less figured that out about the film pot, so thanks for that confirmation and well-told but short-kept explaination.
I take it by Ts you mean tarantula skins? Or do you mean tarantulas? (<In which case, I'm not getting more than one tarantula).
Of course I do like the last idea you had, about being able to coax the T back into the tub with ease, if I keep the tub in the tank.
I would love it if someone could get a pic of the set-up, although I think I have a clear image of it painted in my mind!
Thanks,
Rich.

[Peter Lacey]

Ts is just an abbreviation of Tarantulas, I tend to use it a lot.

You might find it better to avoid spiderlings that are too small. It's not necessary to purchase multiples at the same time but you may wish to add according to what's locally available. You'll gain plenty of interest and experience to increase your collection to smaller specimens which could also go in the same tank. Its not likely to increase your feeding bills at all.

For variety you might want to consider the Brachypelma's, Aphonopelma's and other Grammostola species.
Here's a good list to give a reasonable selection of common species:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/the.tarantula.store/care-species.htm

You can also find plenty of images of a huge array of Ts within the new BTS site:

http://www.thebts.co.uk/forums/gallery/index.php/cat/511

EDIT: I've edited the above because I noticed you were'nt interested in a number of Ts, sorry. However its worth keeping the info for future reference.

[Roy Patten]

Hi Rich

Roy again, Louise is right about the s/lings they are better in smaller containers. I use plastic food tubs that I buy from wilkinsons very cheap very good, but make sure you burn a few holes in each side for air. I use a needle heated up on the stove it's quick and easy.

Can I ask are you intending just to keep the one T, or would you be getting more, cause what I do and probably a lot more collecters. Get a few s/lings cause if you get one & it turns out to be male you will only have it a couple of years.

Where as if you get a few, and a couple are fem and a one male, you can sell your surplus stock on. Therefore getting a fem for your collection, and helping others become Arachnologists like ourselves.
Roy.