Newbie G. Rosea help

[Paul Gee]

Hi Guys.

I am new to the BTS and forums, and would like to ask a few questions regarding the care of my recently purchased, 3 year old female G Rosea.

I have issues regarding the state of her enclosure, and I was wondering if it is possible to perform a complete clean out?.
When I collected her from the guy who sold her, I noticed he hadn't bothered to remove her exoskeleton and dried up live food leftovers. The inside of the glass and also around the rim of her drinking bowl appeared that they had not been cleaned for quite some time, possibly never. Therefore, I would like to know if it is ok to give the enclosure a completely new substrate and a new water bowl?
I have just purchased a bag of Irish potting soil which has been cleaned and sieved to remove any impurities.

If it is possible to replace the existing substrate with new substrate, do I need a depth of 2 to 3 inches, or half fill the enclosure (which is a 5.5 Gallon glass tank)? I understand this species rarely burrows in captivity, but I am concerned about her climbing and falling.

Another confusion I seem to be facing is different information about where to correctly place the heat mat!! My mat is currently underneath the tank, but some say it's best to place the mat on the inside wall!!! which is best? I am however, noticing that the temperature will not raise above 72-74F, when I would prefer a temp of at least 75F. I am considering whether to place a thin layer of polystyrene underneath the tank to help hold some of the heat.

Just a couple more questions: I am using bottled water for topping up the drinking bowl instead of tap water, is this ok to use? Finally, Do I mist one end of the tank to keep humidity levels up, or should I just rely on the water bowl? I have read on many websites that some keepers do mist their tanks, and some are highly against misting.

I would very much appreciate any answers/comments, as I am a newbie to keeping such a beautiful creature, and I strongly feel the need to do everything as best as I possibly can to make sure my young spider lives a full and healthy life.

Thanks everyone.

[Craig Mackay]

Hi Paul,

Yes, there is no reason why you couldn't change out the substrate and clean the tank. Although, if the spider is well settled a clean up of any leftover food, pooh etc and a wipe of the glass would be adequate. Either the spider will get over it fairly quickly. Grammostola will do fine on just a few cm's of substrate but if you can it's always good to give them more. Probably the main reason they don't burrow in captivity is because people only give them a couple of cm's of substrate. My old mature male used to have around 6 inches of substrate in his first tank and he made a burrow. Some just won't though. They all do like to have a dig around to move substrate around to their liking though.

If you want to use a heat mat it should be placed on the outside of the tank on the side. A sheet of polystyrene behind it would certainly help if you would like it a little warmer. G. rosea are such adaptable and non-fussy spiders that it will do just fine without additional heat though. It's worth bearing in mind that whilst the day time temperature may be very hot the spider will be sitting, much cooler, inside it's burrow. They come out night for food when it is cooler so high temperatures are not required or desirable. 75F will be fine though.

Bottled water is fine and you would probably find tap water is ok too. I know that some spider keepers from England prefer to use bottled or distilled water as the water quality isn't as good down there in many places and quite hard. I have always used tap water but Scotland has pretty high quality, soft tap water.

Hope that helps and enjoy your spider

[Paul Oldershaw]

Hello there,first of all can i say thank god you are now looking after this T it beats me how people can even think about egleting these fascinating creatures ,right i also have a young rosea and yes i would straight away change the substrate i use cocunut husk but what you have got will be fine yes about 3 inches high, dont worry to much about her falling mine climbs and never looks anything like falling , i would also clean water bowl thoroughly ,bottle water would be fine i personally boil tap water and let it cool you could also put a small hide in the enclosure ,i stopped misting as all this did was annoy the crap out of her and found that clean water in the bowl gave enough humidty if u feel it is to dry run some water down the inside of enclosure and as for heat it used to do my nut in but find now that room temp is ok .Hope this helps and honestly dont worry i think sometimes you can worry to much and forget to enjoy them i just did lots of reading .

[Paul Gee]

Hi Craig and Paul.

Thank you for your replies.

I did sit here for ten minutes earlier replying to you, but unfortunately i was timed out for some reason.

I have taken note of your replies< so I will be performing a complete clean out tomorrow and adding new substrate.

I won't type too much here this time before I am timed out again, so thanks so much for your replies guys.

Much appreciated.

[Peter Roach]

Hi Paul, welcome to the forum.

I guess that i'll have to answer your questions now just so i can beat Craig in having the last word LOL

3 year old female G Rosea.

Can I ask how do you know that she is 3 years old and who sexed her/him ?
At 3 years old I would guess that she is only a few inches maximum leg span.

If there are old moults in the tank then its quite easy to sex her/him by looking at the right 'bits' on the moults.

I noticed he hadn't bothered to remove her exoskeleton and dried up live food leftovers. The inside of the glass and also around the rim of her drinking bowl appeared that they had not been cleaned for quite some time, possibly never. Therefore, I would like to know if it is ok to give the enclosure a completely new substrate and a new water bowl?

Clean her out whenever you like but be aware than many tarantulas do not like being moved and may sulk for a few weeks or months afterwards. She will probably climb the sides of the tank and stay there for a few days or weeks as the seem to just HATE new substrate. I do suggest that you really press it down so that it is really compacted.

I have just purchased a bag of Irish potting soil which has been cleaned and sieved to remove any impurities.

Why ? What impurities ? If there are impurities in the newly bought bag of substrate then I suggest that you buy something else.
I use everything from coir to potting soil to top soil to peat to dirt from the garden or a mixture of any of them. Straight from the bag or garden into the container(s)

If it is possible to replace the existing substrate with new substrate, do I need a depth of 2 to 3 inches, or half fill the enclosure (which is a 5.5 Gallon glass tank)? I understand this species rarely burrows in captivity, but I am concerned about her climbing and falling.

Entirely up to you. I use anything from 1 inch to 4-5 inches, it totally depends on what i have at the time and how much of it.

Another confusion I seem to be facing is different information about where to correctly place the heat mat!! My mat is currently underneath the tank, but some say it's best to place the mat on the inside wall!!! which is best? I am however, noticing that the temperature will not raise above 72-74F, when I would prefer a temp of at least 75F. I am considering whether to place a thin layer of polystyrene underneath the tank to help hold some of the heat.

Unless you have an extremely cold and frigid house, I wouldnt bother with any heating.
The average temperature in Chile over the next few days is 16C with the night time low of 8C >>> LINK <<< . So as you can see, Chile isnt exactly a warm place to live at this time of year.
In fact many parts of Chile are covered in snow for parts of the year and the Tarantula species that live in these areas do not have nice heat mats to warm them up. In the end, its your spider so you do with it as you will. Personally I wouldnt bother with any heating for a Chile rose.

I am using bottled water for topping up the drinking bowl instead of tap water, is this ok to use?

Water is water. I live in London where the water isnt exactly perfect, my collection get it straight from the tap and they havent died yet.

Finally, Do I mist one end of the tank to keep humidity levels up, or should I just rely on the water bowl? I have read on many websites that some keepers do mist their tanks, and some are highly against misting.

Do NOT, repeat DO NOT mist or spray your Chile rose. They come from one of the driest places in the world and do not want nor do they need any water apart from a small water bowl. Some people dont even provide that for some species. I have a several dozen T's that have never seen water nor do I intend giving them any as they get their moisture from their prey.
Humidity ? Forget it. Drop it from your mind. Ignore it. Dont worry about. Get the idea ?
I have a collection of several hundred T's and I have NEVER checked humidity and I bet Craig hasnt either.

One last thing. (well 2 actually)

Chile rose tarantulas are famous for TWO things.

1) The main one is that they can and very frequently do go without eating for long periods. By long I'm talking about anywhere from 12 to 18 MONTHS without feeding. Usually though its only 3-4 months so dont panic, this is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

2) Another name for the Chile rose is 'Pet Rock'. Which means that they may not move for several weeks from a single spot. Sometimes you wonder if it is dead but nope, it just doing what Chile roses do . . . nothing. So no poking or prodding. LOL





.

[Paul Gee]

Hi Peter.

Thanks for your reply and helpful info.

I am taking the sellers word on the age of my Rosie, she is approx 5 to 5/12 inches leg span, and she is definately a female as I have researched sexing a T, she does not have tibial hooks on her front legs, and she is not wearing "Boxing Gloves" on her Peds. Lol

As for cleaning out her enclosure, I understand this could potentially freak her out for a while if she doesn't like her new substrate, but I strongly feel a clean out is needed as the previous owner didn't bother to keep the enclosure clean and let it get into such a mess. I do however feel a little sorry for the spider having to live in these conditions, but i feel the need to be "Cruel to be kind" by giving her a fresh start.

When I said I had to sieve the potting soil to remove any impurities, basically I meant to say removing bits of wood, some small twigs and dead roots. I have sieved the soil to a more softer texture.

When I do place the new substrate into the enclosure, I plan to mix in just a little coir to break up the look and texture of the soil. I understand coir is good for holding moisture which may help keep the humidity level at a reasonable percentage.

The heat mat will have to be used as my house is quite cold at night, temps go as low as approx 60 to 65F at night. Whilst on the subject of heat mats, I am still confused and cannot decide where to place my heat mat! It appears that the previous owner placed it underneath the enclosure (where it is now) because I can tell by the amount of dust which has settled on one edge of the mat. I have read somewhere that a spider could potentially harm itself if it rubbed itself up against a warm mat....is this true? I have found that by placing the mat underneath, the temp is fluctuating between 70 and 74F, depending whether my heating is on or not.

Ok, misting now. I will strongly accept your advice on not misting her enclosure. I have also read on the net on various sites that Rose's are prone to freak out when they are misted. I will stick to the water dish and just make sure it's topped up frequently.

I am aware that Rose's may not eat for months, this I do respect. So far, I have fed her about five medium sized crickets and two meal worms in one week, is this OK? She has eaten them without hesitation. Could I please ask how often she needs to be fed, and how much do I feed her each time? The information I have gathered so far regarding feeding is feed once a week and try the spider with 2 or 3 crickets or whatever food is available, and see what she does. I am keeping a sharp eye on her feeding habits just in case she could be coming into a moult.

Lastly, what would be the best container to temporarily keep her in while I perform a clean out? I have a shallow tray about 4 inches deep which I was thinking about using and placing an inch or two of fresh substrate in the bottom to make her feel comfortable with a natural environment.

Thank you again Peter for your info, I do appreciate it. It's amazing how much you can learn about this hobby when you ask the right people.

Thank you

[Peter Roach]

When I said I had to sieve the potting soil to remove any impurities, basically I meant to say removing bits of wood, some small twigs and dead roots. I have sieved the soil to a more softer texture.

You take these out . . . I add them by the handful.
I will add everything and anything that i have to hand including clumps of moss, small twigs, broken bark, dried leaves and short pieces of branches. After all, how many places in the world have you seen that has totally smooth and soft textured soil ?

You have a spider that is probably anywhere from 7 to 20+ years old and has survived in one of the harshest environments in the world WITHOUT being mollycoddled and fussed over like it was made of breakable cut glass.

. I understand coir is good for holding moisture which may help keep the humidity level at a reasonable percentage.

Paul, you have a Grammostola rosea AKA Chile rose.

Do NOT think of humidity in anyway shape or form.
Banish it from your vocabulary
Just imagine that the word had never ever been invented
Forget it

I cant get much clearer than that can I ?

The heat mat will have to be used as my house is quite cold at night, temps go as low as approx 60 to 65F at night.

I am assuming that you did NOT read my first post concerning the natural temperatures in Chile ?
If you did, could you please tell me which part didnt you understand.

Whilst on the subject of heat mats, I am still confused and cannot decide where to place my heat mat! It appears that the previous owner placed it underneath the enclosure (where it is now) because I can tell by the amount of dust which has settled on one edge of the mat. I have read somewhere that a spider could potentially harm itself if it rubbed itself up against a warm mat....is this true? I have found that by placing the mat underneath, the temp is fluctuating between 70 and 74F, depending whether my heating is on or not.

Again, YOU DO NOT NEED A HEAT MAT

Ok, misting now. I will strongly accept your advice on not misting her enclosure. I have also read on the net on various sites that Rose's are prone to freak out when they are misted. I will stick to the water dish and just make sure it's topped up frequently.

It is not only me, EVERY forum in the world in every language will say the same thing . . .Chile rose's do not NEED misting and doing so will only stress them out.

I am aware that Rose's may not eat for months, this I do respect. So far, I have fed her about five medium sized crickets and two meal worms in one week, is this OK? She has eaten them without hesitation. Could I please ask how often she needs to be fed, and how much do I feed her each time? The information I have gathered so far regarding feeding is feed once a week and try the spider with 2 or 3 crickets or whatever food is available, and see what she does. I am keeping a sharp eye on her feeding habits just in case she could be coming into a moult.

I feed mine a single medium cockroach every 2-4 weeks or when i remember. Your spider will do fine on 1 or 2 crickets every 1-2 weeks.

what would be the best container to temporarily keep her in while I perform a clean out? I have a shallow tray about 4 inches deep which I was thinking about using and placing an inch or two of fresh substrate in the bottom to make her feel comfortable with a natural environment.

You have an extremely hardy spider not a fragile alien species that will perish if it hasnt got the exact environmental conditions.

Do you drink ? If so put the spider on the table and put a pint glass over it. Thats it !! Nothing special.
Stick it in ANYTHING that will hold it. Most people use old cricket containers. I use anything to hand that the spider will fit in, from empty cricket containers to tupperware to empty upside down tea mugs.

You have a really hardy and extremely easy to keep Tarantula . . . . . . DONT over complicate things.


How to keep a Chile rose tarantula.

1) Fill a medium sized container with DRY soil.
2) Add small water bowl and 1/2 flower pot for a hide
3) Add Chile rose
4) Drop in 1 cricket every 1 or 2 weeks

THATS IT, JOB DONE. !!!!!!

There is no secret formula, no hidden knowledge that you need to find.

[Paul Gee]

Thanks Peter, all points taken.

As long as I know I am doing the right thing, that's important to me and the spider.

Thank you

[Paul Gee]

Update on new enclosure.

I have added new substrate to the enclosure (2 inches Potting soil topped up with coco fibre), water dish and the old hideout from the old enclosure.

I placed my spider into the new enclosure last night 03/11/12 after making sure the substrate was completely dry, or at least I think it was dry because it was oven dried for about 10 minutes.

I have noticed today that my spider has not yet roamed her new environment and she is trying to climb the sides of her tank. She spent most of the night sitting on top of the only thing she recognises....her cork bark hide!!

It seems that the new substrate is still too wet, as the insides of the tank have condensation appearing between the glass and the substrate. I know that the G. Rosea does not like substrate that's too wet or damp, so this explains why she is climbing the sides.

I don't want to encourage mould anywhere inside her enclosure, and I most certainly don't wish to cause harm or stress to the spider.

Do I wait for the substrate to dry itself out at room temp of 70 - 75F, or should I remove the spider and place her into a temporary container until her new enclosure has settled?

Thanks.

[Peter Roach]

Just leave her alone for a few weeks. Dont fuss her, dont feed her, dont do anything to her.
Leave her alone to settle in her own time.
Many tarantulas do not like new substrate and will climb the tank walls and stay there for several days/weeks.