New Tarantula Owner, Grammostola rosea, Pics & Questions

[scrible]

This looks like a great forum. I took an Entomology class here at Oklahoma State University last semester and afterwards decided to pick up a pet tarantula. I found this little G. rosea at Petco about a week ago and it seems like a good spider. It is small, about 2 inch in diameter so I am unsure of it's age. It seems fairly docile as I have touched it several times although I have not attempted to handle it. I gave it a few small crickets several days ago and I believe it ate two of them although I did not see it. I have since removed the others.

Here is my setup. If the tarantula grows significantly I will need a larger terrarium but for now this one is plenty big for it. I used Eco-earth substrate that is completely dry. I placed a small aloe plant in the corner for decoration as they require almost no moisture to keep alive.

I will probably attempt to feed it again in the next week or two. I will get two large crickets next time, as I believe the small ones were too small. Feel free to critique my setup and let me know if I am doing anything wrong.

Does anyone have a guess on its age based on its 2 inch diameter size? How long do you think it will be before I can determine gender? We named the tarantula Peaches, after its orange peach fuzz on its back.

Thanks!

 

[plessey]

Going by the poor quality photo it looks like a mature male Paraphysa scrofa to me. Certainly not a Grammostola rosea with a hairy carapace like that.
The set up looks fine though.

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

I have a p scrofa and it doesn't look like that. In fact my p scrofa looks like a mini rose hair with a prettier abdomen. Plus mines not mature and it's 3.5 DLS.

But I agree that doesn't look like a rose hair. I've seen pictures of Paraphysa Parvula that look similar though. I'd check some databases, just to make sure you get care right, but seems like a nice enclosure. How much substrate do you have in their? Mine likes to climb, and burrow, so a lot substrate is good.

EDIT: The more I check the more I think that's a parvula!

 

[plessey]

P. scrofa male http://thebts.co.uk/forums/gallery/data/634/Paraphysa_scrofa_male.JPG

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

Lol that looks like a lot of the parvula pics I've seen. Could very well be a scrofa i suppose, but mine certainly looks different. What matters is, the care is virtually identical to rose hairs.

 

[scrible]

Here are some better quality photos. I really hope it is a G. rosea, as that was what it was sold as. I hope it gets bigger than this. The carapace is not as hairy as it looks in the first photo.

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

Did you purchase the T from a store or an online dealer?

 

[scrible]

P. scrofa male http://thebts.co.uk/forums/gallery/data/634/Paraphysa_scrofa_male.JPG

That spider does look a bit different. When Googling "young G. rosea" there are many spiders that look very similar to mine.

 

[scrible]

Did you purchase the T from a store or an online dealer?

Petco, the only local place that has them. They are supposed to be captive bred, so I don't understand how a mixup could occur.

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

Petco, the only local place that has them.

Sad to say, I do not trust chain retailers with exotic pets, especially petco, and especially especially with their T's. They're very similar, G roseas and paraphysas, but they're about half the size. There's a very helpful person on this forums, Tomoran, who has kept both of these species, I'm sure he can help you much more than I.

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

Here's a link to his list of husbandry sheets, he has one on both. http://tomsbigspiders.wordpress.com/topic-index/

 

[scrible]

I realized the lack of flash might be screwing the coloring up. Here is a photo taken with flash.

 

[plessey]

Well it's definitely not a G. rosea and it is also not a mature male either. Looks like a P. scrofa in need of a moult.
P. parvula are a lot darker and have more green on them also they have a sort of striped effect around the back end of the abdomen.

 

[scrible]

Well it's definitely not a G. rosea and it is also not a mature male either. Looks like a P. scrofa in need of a moult.
P. parvula are a lot darker and have more green on them also they have a sort of striped effect around the back end of the abdomen.

So your guess is that it is a female P. scrofa? How can you tell that it is female rather than male?

 

[TheJuicyFruit]

So your guess is that it is a female P. scrofa? How can you tell that it is female rather than male?

Can't say for certain either way until a molt, even vent shots aren't %100.

 

[plessey]

So your guess is that it is a female P. scrofa? How can you tell that it is female rather than male?

Where do I say it is a female?

 

[FaaFaa]

P. scrofa is a great little T. They are one of my favorites actually. I know you may be a little bummed it's not the rosie you thought you had, but this is still a good T. I might even wager and say a little less grumpy than a rosie too!

 

[scrible]

Where do I say it is a female?

Well, you said in your previous post that it is not a mature male, so I am just trying to figure out what you are implying it is. Do you think it is an immature male? How can you tell?

 

[scrible]

P. scrofa is a great little T. They are one of my favorites actually. I know you may be a little bummed it's not the rosie you thought you had, but this is still a good T. I might even wager and say a little less grumpy than a rosie too!

Thanks man. I definitely won't return the little dude. I may be a bit bummed but I will be ok lol.

 

[plessey]

Well, you said in your previous post that it is not a mature male, so I am just trying to figure out what you are implying it is.

I see. Sex wise, I'm not implying anything. Originally I thought it was a mature male as the ends of the pedipalps looked short and rounded but from the other pictures you posted I can see this is not the case.
All I know for sure is that due to the hair on the carapace, the barely raised caput and shape of the foveal groove the spider is not a Grammostola rosea (or porteri). The general habitus is, to me anyway, very similar to Paraphysa scrofa. This is a species that is often commonly sold in pet shops as G. rosea which is why it is my best guess (and guess is all anyone can give you from pics).
Anyway it is a cool little spider and it will be quite interesting to see how it looks once it has moulted.