Tarantulas eating mice. and other Q's

[truthsdeceit]

How do people who own T's feel about this?

I've been thinking about getting one and I know that crickets and some other 'bugs' should make up most of a T's diet. But I've also heard of people supplementing with pinkies and with larger spiders larger mice. I just watched a vid on youtube of a T eating a hopper.. (but you know what kind of crap ends up on youtube)
I breed mice and hate the smell of crickets so I know I'd prefer they could eat mice all the time ... but it's just wishful thinking. I will always put the animal first so if I get a T I'm gonna be making the trip to my lps for crickets every week or so.

BASICALLY I'm thinking of getting one and would love all the info I can get.
Let's say I'm getting a G. rosea for question purposes.. though I like the idea of pink toes(A. avicularia) too..
How often do T enclosures need cleaned?
Are uricating (sp?) hairs really a big deal?
Best substrate?
What about webbing? Do all T's make lots of web?
Anyone been bitten? Want to share a story.

spiders actually kinda freak me out.. but snakes used to too and now I've got 4.

Please don't just point me to aracnoboards... I've been surfing them but they seem really against people starting new "beginner" threads, they just point to old ones.. and I'm like 'yeah read that! still have Q's'. lol.

[kjhowland]

OK speaking for Rosies specifically:
Coco beddings is usually preferred for Rosies, it has to be extremely dry because Rosies don't like wet substrate, other spiders may be different.

Rosies eat primarily insects. If not crickets, try others like roaches. It has been stated that there is too much fat in pinkies and only to be used on gravid females.

T enclosures can be spot cleaned daily, but doesn't need complete cleaning often. Maybe once a year

Uricating hairs can be a big deal if you're allergic to them

Rosies usually web the ground, but other spiders make burrows or more elaborate webs.

I have not been bit, and I hope to never be.

Besides an adult female rosie, I have 2 OBT slings. The bite report on the OBTs means extra caution with them. Do a search for caresheets on the specific spider you're getting for more info. I haven't been bitten by the bug, but by a more general bug. I have the rosie, 2 OBT slings, 1 h. spadix scorpion, 1 boa, 1 12 year old corn snake, 2 lizards (leopard gecko and skink), 3 paddletail newts, 1 betta, and more recently a black teddybear hamster.

[Boanerges]

Let's say I'm getting a G. Rosea for question purposes.. Though I like the idea of pink toes(A. Avicularia) too..

How often do T enclosures need cleaned?

Spot clean as needed, I do not spot clean mine every day. The biggest thing you have to worry about is making sure nothing is growing mold. Change substrate and do a good cleaning like 1 time a year.

Are uricating (sp?) hairs really a big deal?

If you are allergic then yes it is a BIG deal. If you are not then you will just be itchy. Be careful not to get them in your eyes. Be carefull not to breathe them in (Be very carefull if you have asthma). The worst hairs from what I understand are T blondi hairs. Remember that hairs fall off of the T and are present in the cage, so even if he/she does not kick hairs they are still in his/her cage. So if you go to pick up anything in the cage or stir up substrate there are hairs there too.

Best substrate?

I use coco fiber. But people also use peat, vermiculite or the mixture of the two. The down side to coco fiber is it comes in blocks that you have to add water to and then it takes forever for it to dry and is more expensive then peat. Downside to peat is it is kept outside and subect to any bugs and the weather elements outside (Though I know TONS of people who use it without any problems at all), upside not in block form and cheaper then coco. Vermiculite isn't used often alone but I know people who have good sucess using it by itself. Vermiculite is very light and does not seem very stable to me to use on it's own. But like I said I know people who use this with no problems. Comes down to what works best for you and your T's.

What about webbing? Do all T's make lots of web?

All T's can web. Not all T's web a lot. Out of the two you picked: The Rose hair will usually just lay down a mat of webbing on the floor (kinda like trip wire) and the pink toe will web a lot and will need height as oppose to floor space. Some people have psycho rosies (I do not). The pink toe is a sweet heart and more likely to shoot poo at you then bite. Pink toes are pretty fast compared to a rose hair.

Anyone been bitten? Want to share a story.

No I have never been bit. No stories to share here.

[truthsdeceit]

@kjhowland
Thanks for the response. I figured that they should only eat crickets. Like I said I will always put the animals needs first, I just had the mouse eating thing rolling around in my head and needed to put it out there.

I have been reading caresheets and such but I like to hear what works for other people then put together the pieces the work for me. With a new animal I usually start with the recommended basics and work from there.

OBT, that's orange baboon tarantula right?... yeah I'm gonna stick with nice tame NW stuff.

@Boanerges
Once a year... wow simpler than snakes even. lol.

Thanks for the info on the hairs.. your the first one to mention that the cage will contain them too... it's common sense I guess but I hadn't thought about it.



I'm really leaning towards the RoseHair now. Sounds like a nice simple spider. Especially since they still kinda freak me and I don't want to have to stick my hand in a lot of web for cage maintenance... not yet. I'm sure I'll get over my fears. The Pink toe was on my list cause it's arboreal and sounded like a more interesting set-up, but I've heard they can be jumpy.

More Q's:
What's the minimum floor space for a adult Rosehair? What's too big?
Enclosure suggestions?
Can they really not climb porcelain?
How often do you feed and how much?
Oh, and if I do use coco fiber, how long does the stuff take to dry out after you expand it?

I've seen people plant live plants in T cages. I've got a small herb garden. Would it be okay to plant something maintainable in the cage? Like lemon balm, or mint... or would the scent be too much for the spider?

[kjhowland]

an adult rosie doesn't move a lot. What I like is the kritter keeper breeder cages. With a terrestrial spider, the height should be no more than two and 1 half the length of the spider. This way no harm will occur if it falls from the top.
Usually no bigger than a 5 gallon tank.

Not sure about the porcelain.


I feed once a week one cricket. Size of spider and personal attitude always vary.

Plants and rosies don't mix. Plants want water, rosies don't.

[STORMS]

More Q's:
What's the minimum floor space for a adult Rosehair? What's too big?
Enclosure suggestions?
Can they really not climb porcelain?
How often do you feed and how much?
Oh, and if I do use coco fiber, how long does the stuff take to dry out after you expand it?

I've seen people plant live plants in T cages. I've got a small herb garden. Would it be okay to plant something maintainable in the cage? Like lemon balm, or mint... or would the scent be too much for the spider?

I have my Rosey in a 2.5 Gal with coco fiber & one hide. I think anything over 5 Gal is probably over kill.

I have no clue about the porcelain either. I was surprised that big spider could climb glass!

I feed my girl crickets & roaches 2 times a week. I think she prefers the roaches, she's a more aggressive feeder when I toss roaches in the tank.

As far as the coco fiber, I by the small circular one for the Rosey (instead of the brick) mix it with water per the instructions and then set it under a heat lamp to dry. When I put it under the heat lamp its dry in about 30 minutes - I would imagine the larger brick would take a bit longer.

Also, my Rosey burrows like crazy. She has created some amazing tunnels - so I'm really glad I use the coco fiber, seems to work well for that(if you use it, make sure to give them a good couple inches of it to dig and move around). She also covers the entire floor of the enclosure with webs.

[truthsdeceit]

Thanks everyone who responded! I got myself a cute little rosy yesterday, gave her overnight to settle in and took some pics today.

I decided to go with a breederbox kritter keeper cause they're short (no fall space) and cheap. I'll probably upgrade to a 5.5gal glass tank eventually cause I like the look of glass tanks but they're quite expensive so for now she gets this. It's ample size she's not very big yet.

I got her a small ceramic jar at my local dollar store for a hide, I washed it really well with hot hot water. And I'm using the lid for her water dish. I also got some fake plants just so the cage doesn't just look like a bucket of dirt.

I'm waiting on my uber slow camera right now but I'll post pics, within an hour, as soon as I have them.

[truthsdeceit]

Pictures!!!









I've been calling it a girl. Any experts want to check if I guessed right??? Thanks!




Isn't she cute!!! I don't have a name yet if anyone want to suggest something.

[wendy]

dude..pink toes are underrated. my b. smithi throws hair like crazy and its itchy too. my pokies eat fuzzys. my smithi ate a caddydid over the summer. alot of mine eat roaches too.

[truthsdeceit]

dude..pink toes are underrated. my b. smithi throws hair like crazy and its itchy too. my pokies eat fuzzys. my smithi ate a caddydid over the summer. alot of mine eat roaches too.

I really like the idea of a pink toe! I just wanted something a little less likely to jump or fling poo as my first spider. That's why I went with the G. rosea But now that I've got her I'm totally over my apprehension of them. She's a sweetie.

I'm so happy....but my boyfriend is not I'm gonna have to get him used to this one before I can think about getting a pink toe.

I'm bad, already thinking about getting another one My BF's gonna kill me.