Rehomed T...depressed or ill???

[Anne-Marie Bryant]

Hi guys, fnally got a chillie rose from someone that came into the pet shop i help out in. She/he is aprox 4" incl legs.

Now, the tank she is in is a small plastic tub, substrate was very dry, no hide, uneaten food in rotting away and a tiny water bowl. She appears dull in colour and fragile, slow moving and not interested in the small cricket i dropped in for her! The cricket was climbing on her and she did nothing. She will moved if gently asked (by touching her back legs)

Do you guys think she might be dehydrated or just stressed? I have misted her tank, put in a decent sized bowl with a wet sponge in and stood her ontop on the fish tank where it is warm. She also now has a hide which she is using at present. Im going to move her into a rotastack hamster cage base unit which will give her more room and also clean her out and add some fresh soil (soon to be replaced by vermiculite which is on order from the petshop)

Do you guys think im doing the right thing or should i leave her relocation for a few days?

Thanks in advance!

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Anne-marie

I'll list some pointers and do's and don'ts if i may

The spider will be ok in a "petpal" style tank of about 12 x 8 inch floor area.
Half fill it with substrate and try to include a hide (a half flower pot burrowed under the substrate will be fine, as long as she can squeeze into the space she'll make use of it) and a water bowl (due to the fact you think she may be dehydrated)

G rosea do like it quite dry and spraying may irritate her a little, I always pour water down the side of the tank to up the humidity a little when needed

Take out the sponge, they are a breeding ground for bacteria unfortunately.

If it's possible keep the spider in a warm room or secure a heat mat to the back or side if you have one and it's in a fairly cold area. Spiders dig and burrow to get away from the heat and if you heat the bottom you may end up with a dehydrated spider. A good temp for her will be between 75-80 in the day and you can have a drop to 70 at night without problems.

From what you say she could be either a little dehydrated, in which case a water bowl will cure that when she finds it...or she may be coming up for a moult...this would be why i would leave her alone in the tub she's in for a few weeks and let her settle and give you the chance of seeing if she shows any other moulting behaviour like webbing herself in her hide etc.

You can try her with food occasionally but try to take out the cricket over night as if she does moult then there's the possibility that the cricket may have a nibble on her and cause some serious damage.

Hope all goes well with her, G rosea are nice rewarding little spiders in my opinion.
Keep us updated on her progress and any other questions...please ask ok

Colin

[Phil Rea]

First bit of advice, lose the sponge. They are bacteria magnets. Spiders can drink out of open water bowls without difficulty, and they are easier to keep clean. Some of mine don't even have water bowls, I just wet a corner of the substrate, but for this species a water bowl is advisable

Second bit, I'd advise against using pure vermiculite. It tends to stick to their legs and goes everywhere as it's so light. Use a mixture of either peat or coconut fibre and vermiculite.

If she's in her hide, then she's more than likely just settling in.

Welcome to the forum

Colin beat me to it

[matthew spooner]

i would be tempted to leave her where she is for the time being, simply improving her conditions. if she is dull in colour and off her food, chances are she is in pre moult and i wouldnt advise disturbing her as she gets herself ready to moult, moving her would mean her needing to start prepping the tank again, delaying the moult. keep the hide in there, and remove all dead specimens of food. make sure the humidity is at the right level, i would simply over fill the water dish so it soaks into the substrate. good luck, hope she is ok

[Colin D Wilson]

Ahh...missed the bit about Vermiculite...as good as it is for little spiderlings for humidity..i recomend against it for older spider as Phil has said.

Try to keep it as natural as possible is my motto

[Anne-Marie Bryant]

ok thanks guys! She seems a little more active today...when i turned the light on in the room she scuttled into her hide so i know shes been exploring! Ill keep my eye on her and let you all know if anything progresses!

Oh forgot to add, I dont have a heat mat so where she is is the warmest safest place for her (I have dogs, rats, rabbit, guinea pig and child!) The tank light is only on for 8 hours in the day so the temp is up and donw, but other than that place i dont think the rest of the house will be warm/safe enough. Im worried if i put her in the kitchen the dogs will knock her off the side in thier hunt for food scraps

[James Box]

good to hear she's already improving!
what are the signs of dehydration you are noticing? is her abdomen shrunken and shrivelled? when she walks, does it appear bow-legged?
things are pretty drastic at that point, but even then if the damage isn't done, a good long drink can sort her out. but she probably won't enjoy humidity too much.
as said above she's probably in premoult. i'd base that on the dullness of colour and lack of appetite you describe.
it may still be a while off though...i noticed those signs in my rosea's long before they finally moulted!
the problem with rosea's and indeed many slow growers is they'll sometimes go off food for months! but if they look healthy enough (in shape of the abdomen and activity), they should be ok.

when she does moult though, you are going to be in awe of her
completely and criminally underrated spiders in my opinion

[Anne-Marie Bryant]

Im not misting her anymore than that once, she does have a nice bowl of water in her little box tho! Her abdoman is fine and no she not bow legged, she does curl up when she gets talked to tho! Normal spider behavior i guess....well the ones in the bathroom do it! lol

Just our of interest, how long can she go without food? The guyi got her off said he feeds her once a week, but i found 3 carcusses in the box that looked like they hadnt been touched!

Oh and the size of her box is 4" x 8"....ill relocate her in a week or two to a 8" x 12" tank i have spare! Have cancelled the order for vermiculite and ordered the coconut hust/soil stuff too!

[James Box]

by curling up do you mean over the top of the body, ie huddling and hiding the carapace? that is fairly normal behaviour yes tends to mean they're a bit on edge, i think.
if the legs were curling UNDER the body then you'd possibly have a problem, though they do that post moult (while on their backs), and hopefully you'll see that behaviour for yourself, it's a treat! a stressful treat, but a treat nonetheless.
she sounds ok to me at the moment then.
i'm sure she'll appreciate the space once she settles in her new tank.
i quite like the coconut husk stuff, but be aware you have to soak it initially, so it'll be very wet. i've found drying it to be a tad annoying, may be best to do that before putting the spider in, ie leave some of it on top of a radiator, use a hair blow dryer, etc.
it's good stuff though.

[Anne-Marie Bryant]

Yes, she curling up with her legs on top of her body! Shes definatly more active today! When i came downstairs this morning she was in her hide, made tea and she was somewhere else! Think shes feeling safer with the hide too! When the dogs bark or my kid shouts she hides! I think its a she! I really dont know tho!

Now shes more active i might try her with some crickets again!

[James Box]

well that certainly sounds like she's alert and active!
hopefully she'll get used to all the sights and sounds of your gaff before long.
you'll be able to find out if she's a she for sure when she moults. it'll just be a guess til then really!