How to Care for a Rose Hair Tarantula
Native to Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, rose hair tarantulas, known scientifically as grammostola rosea, are one of the most popular species of tarantula to keep as pets. Larger, hardier and more docile than many types of tarantulas, rose hair tarantulas are named for the tan and pink hairs that cover their body. Though considered an exotic pet, caring for rose hair tarantulas is surprisingly simple. Rose hair tarantulas are available from most pet stores, though they may be referred to as common Chilean, fire or flame tarantulas.
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Things You'll Need
- 5 or 10 gallon glass aquarium
- Vermiculite or peat moss
- Aquarium cave decoration
- Climbing branches
- Hollow cork bark pieces
- Dead leaves
- Watering dish
- Cotton balls
- Spray bottle
- Crickets
- Pinkie mice
Instructions
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1
Select and prepare an appropriate living container for your rose hair tarantula. Cover the bottom of a 5 or 10 gallon glass aquarium with 3 inches of vermiculite or peat moss substrate. Put a cave aquarium decoration in the living container to give your rose hair tarantula a cozy little place to hide. Decorate the rest of the living container with things like plastic climbing branches, dead leaves and hollow pieces of cork bark.
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Choose a watering dish that corresponds to the size of your rose hair tarantula's abdomen. Stuff cotton balls into the dish and fill it with clean, cool water. Position the watering dish in the living container as desired. Your rose hair tarantula will climb on top of the watering dish and suck the water from the cotton. Keep your tarantula's water dish full of clean water at all times.
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Spray the living container substrate with water from a spray bottle every other day to maintain a healthy level of humidity for your rose hair tarantula. The vermiculite or peat moss substrate should be moist, but never wet.
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Feed your rose hair tarantula approximately once a week. Provide your tarantula with two to three large crickets per week, depending on your pet's appetite. Adult rose hair tarantulas also enjoy the occasional pinkie mouse.
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Leave your rose hair tarantula undisturbed if you discover it lying on its back with its legs in the air. Though your tarantula may appear dead, it's actually just molting. This period of inactivity allows your pet to focus its energy on shedding old skin. Your rose hair tarantula's behavior should return to normal soon after the old skin has shed.
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Tips & Warnings
For best results, change the vermiculite or peat moss substrate in your pet's living container every six months.
Handle your rose hair tarantula only when necessary, never for the purpose of playing with your pet. Never handle your tarantula with your bare hands. Usually docile and calm, rose hair tarantulas still contain venom and may bite. Though most people are unaffected by rose hair tarantula venom, it has been known to cause an allergic reaction in some individuals. Seek professional medical help, if necessary.
Do not attempt to feed live pinkie mice to your rose hair tarantula. Live food may have the opportunity to seriously injure your tarantula before being eaten.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit tarantula image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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very informing sigh.
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one of worst caresheets for rose hair.. Seriously cotton balls in water? + They like it try, no misting is realy needed as long as it has water dish and they are not docile, they are very moody, G.Porter is docile (in pick there is g.porter not g.rosea). My rose quite often show me fangs and is quite mean... But most important, if You handle tarantula, always use bare hands, glows has no protection against bite and there's many reason why bare hands are way better.
