Grammostola pulchripes questions

[Mbross325]

Hello, my name is Matt and I'm a first-time tarantula keeper and I have several questions. I bought a 1.5" Chaco golden knee tarantula on Tuesday in a 4" by 4" by 4" predrilled enclosure, not sure what gender but I named it Goldzilla (one of parker's wash plant from gold rush).

1. What temperature range is okay for my tarantula? Michigan gets cold winters so I set up a heat pad under a fourth of the current enclosure and that gets up to 90F easily. Obviously I don't want dehydration to happen rapidly, last I checked is 81F on the warm side.

2. What exactly is pre-molt and how will I know when Goldzilla is in one? My concern is that Goldzilla isn't as active as I would like. Goldzilla only moves if I somehow disturbs the cage, which I try not to do.

3. Goldzilla tends to stick to the back left corner (warm side), and hasn't done much digging even after I added more eco earth in addition to what the enclosure had. Is this normal, or could it be pre-molt?

4. First feeding is tomorrow after one of my classes, is a large cricket alright for Goldzilla or will need something smaller? I have a leopard gecko so I always have crickets on hand.

5. Is the current enclosure too small for Goldzilla? I have another predrilled enclosure that's 8" by 4" by 4" as well as the 10 gallon tank that his cage is in as well as the cricket keeper (view is blocked by a fishing guide book).

6. How do I add pictures? I have 12 pictures saved on my computer that I can post but the image function is asking for the image URL. Or is the upload a file function? The tarantula in my profile picture is Goldzilla.

Thanks again, Matt

 

[Mr. P]

Just a little advice about the heat pad. Me personally, I won't use one especially under the tank. Most everything would get thier warmth from the sun which is UP and will usually go DOWN into a hide when it gets too hot so they can cool off. In your case they would get warmer if they go down so hence they may not want to dig.
As far as temps I find that most of the Grammostola's are perfectly happy at room temps around 70-78.
For feeding the general rule is 1/2 the body length so maybe a medium cricket.
For the enclosure my rule is 3x the size of the T when they are small. This is enough room to move around but not so much that they can't find thier food.

These are just my opinions but others who are more experienced may have another opinion.

 

[Mbross325]

I removed the heat pad since my room is usually between 70-75F. The large crickets aren't very large, most aren't larger than 1/2 inches. Does these pictures show up? Full images seems rather large so I'll try thumbnail. Pictures were taken with IPhone SE, so some may be blurry and several have flashes.

 

[Tgotty90]

Nice little chaco you have there. You should be ok at room temperature with that guy. I live in Ohio so not too much different than Michigan as fare as temperatures during the winter. I've been keeping Ts for 6 years and never had a problem with temperatures. As for your enclosure, the size is just right but you could use a little more substrate and a hide. Fill it about half way up with some more eco earth and add a something for it to get away when stressed.

Premolt is when your tarantula is approaching its next molt. When the abdomen gets thicker and shiny that's a good sign its getting ready to molt, also most won't eat for days, weeks sometimes even months while in premolt.

As for feeding, you could try a large with it, if it doesn't attack it within a few minutes just take it out. Id say medium crickets are perfect for that guy but I've had smaller juveniles take down large crickets with ease.

Hopefully my input can help a little bit, other than that, welcome to the hobby and enjoy.

 

[ALD]

All the advice I would have given has been said. No need for repetition. Nice little one you have there. Feel free to ask all the questions. Every one is always happy to help out. Welcome.

 

[Mbross325]

Well, the first feeding was awesome. I literally spent the last half hour watching Goldzilla eating a cricket, and all the while went around in circles spinning silk. I'm currently recording Goldzilla with my iPhone, but I will post fresh pictures later on. I was wondering, could I feed Goldzilla another cricket in a few days or is once a week feeding better? I removed the pop cap full of water crystal and replaced it with a milk cap of water while Goldzilla was munching on the cricket. How long does it take a tarantula to finish a meal? I don't think I've seen a video on YouTube that shows the entire feeding event with one tarantula. Oh and I've already added more eco earth on Thursday so Goldzilla has about 2 inches if it, I think a picture or two from an earlier post shows that.

 

[Mbross325]

The temperature of the enclosure seems to be a bit too low during the day at 68-71F, should I put the heat pad back on the one side outside of my tank? I also would like to see my tarantula in the morning and night without disturbing him, could I use either the Exo terra 50W Heat glo infrared lamp or the Exo terra 50W night glo neodymium moonlight lamp? I think I have both bulbs somewhere, but I can't remember if either got burned out and got tossed out or not. The other problem I have is that the sticky side of the heat pad is gone and I need a way to keep that from falling off the side of the tank.

 

[Tgotty90]

I personally wouldn't use a heat pad or any kind of lighting as a heat source. I use both for my reptiles but never for my Ts, In fact almost killed my first T with a heat pad, luckily I noticed in time or I would of cooked my poor little rose hair. I just keep a space heater close by and run it for about a half hour to bring the temp up in the area from time to time. As fare as a light for viewing you can mount a led bookcase light or something like that, no need for anything special.

 

[Whitelightning777]

50 watts is to powerful. At most use a 25 watt bulb 8 inches or further away.... if you even want to bother with it at all.

You also need a voltage controller, but distance can be used instead. While Ts can survive and be shipped at 60 degree type temperature, I'd avoid temps with a 6 or a 9 in front of it.

70 and 80 something is your best bet.

 

[PanzoN88]

The temperature of the enclosure seems to be a bit too low during the day at 68-71F, should I put the heat pad back on the one side outside of my tank? I also would like to see my tarantula in the morning and night without disturbing him, could I use either the Exo terra 50W Heat glo infrared lamp or the Exo terra 50W night glo neodymium moonlight lamp? I think I have both bulbs somewhere, but I can't remember if either got burned out and got tossed out or not. The other problem I have is that the sticky side of the heat pad is gone and I need a way to keep that from falling off the side of the tank.

A space heater will suffice (that is what I use when the central heating is off). G. pulchripes are quite easy to low 70s are fine. (I don't measure temperature, but it is usually 75-80 in the room where I keep my 23 tarantulas).

 

[Aviculture1]

[/QUOTE] I was wondering, could I feed Goldzilla another cricket in a few days or is once a week feeding better? How long does it take a tarantula to finish a meal? I don't think I've seen a video on YouTube that shows the entire feeding event with one tarantula.[/QUOTE]
I feed my juvenile G. pulchripes once a week but what you are aiming for is for it's abdomen to not be much larger than it's carapace. Depending on the size of what you feed it can take hours for them to finish a meal.

 

[Enn49]

If you really need to use a heat pad you can use double sided tape but please use a thermostat with it to avoid overheating.
Once a T has finished eating it will usually wrap the remains into a ball and throw it away, often in the water bowl.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I like voltage controller switches instead of thermostats because they won't shut off and on all the time.

Take the spider away, set up the heat pad and the temperature you want and then put it back in.

I would also add that if you heat anything, measure what you're doing even if you plan on ignoring it. Measure both temps and humidity with digital, not cheap spring activated, gauges!! That may prove useful later.

Above all else even if you forget or disbelieve me on anything, remember to keep that water dish full and check it twice a day 24\7.

 

[smallbike]

First time feeding my first T (A. Seemanni) was so cool! She pounced like a cat, lightning fast, and I felt like I had my own little nature documentary happening in my room Welcome to tarantula keeping!