Newbie to caring for a Chilean Rose.

[Nerris]

So, I have a baby Chilean Rose only about 1.5" in length called Nerris and I was given her by a guy that has a lot exotic animals. He gave her to me in a little tank, plenty of room I think for her at the moment. With about 2 inches of peat and a plastic plant pot on its side. He said I needed to feed her medium locust 2/3 times a week and spray her tank with water once a week...now with her being from Chile, does she need spraying or would it be better to wet one side of the tank and keep a bowl of water on the dry side like I have read on some sites? She has been adventurous today for the first time since I got her and she has walked up the walls of the tank 3 times! She is a bit jittery when I open the lid, I do try so hard not to make a noise as I know it does scare her. I haven't held her either, I have held her before but when the guy I got her from looked after her. But not since I got her. Didn't want to add to any stress. If anyone has any advice, input or suggestions you could offer, I would appreciate any help to make her life as good as she deserves.

 

[Nada]

Hi, and welcome aboard.
Let me answer your questions, withs ome questions of my own.
1) is it 1.5" legspan, or body length?
2) is it on a glass tank, or plastic, and what kind of top does it have.
3) By locusts do you mean crickets?
4) if it's a sling(spiderling) the drink from a mist , if it's a juvie a mist literally does nothing.

 

[Nerris]

Thank you! She is 1.5" leg span. It is a plastic tank with a black lid with lots of vents, got a clear plastic window that you can open in the middle with two little handles. No I do mean locust, yellow and black ones, it says locust on the container too. I was told she could be anything from 5 months to a year old. Again, I don't know how true this is. She happily drinks from a small bowl of water that is in the middle of the tank. I've never seen a tarantula drink before! All this is so new! I do know she doesn't like being sprayed with water because of when I saw the previous owner do it, so I tend to wait till she is sitting in her little plant pot and spray then and away from the pot too.

 

[Nada]

Are the locusts captive bred and distributed? you don't want to feed your spider anything wild caught.
If she's drinking from a bowl, you don't need to mist. Just over flow the water bowl once a week. Provide a lot of substarate(slings like to burrow), and feed one prey item at a time, and remove if un-eaten after 24 hours. Room temp in most cases is fine (75*F or 24*C) , give or take.
good luck, and enjoy.

 

[Nerris]

They are captive, I get them from a big chain pet store called Jollies. Ooooh ok cool, I was worried if I didn't mist I was neglecting her haha. Substarate? Is that the peat ground? I would like to transfer her into a deeper tank when I can so that she can burrow. Maybe that is why she likes the plant pot so much. I do only feed her one locust at a time, i do it twice a week. Not had one left yet, she must like them. Thank you so much for all your help! Do you have a Chilean Rose too? Also, to over flow the bowl you mean literally rather than change the water?

 

[Nada]

Substrate is any bedding.
By over flowing the water, I doi mean it literally, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't change the water. Over-flow just creates humidity.
I don't have a rose, but I have 100 + others

 

[harleyqueen]

They are captive, I get them from a big chain pet store called Jollies. Ooooh ok cool, I was worried if I didn't mist I was neglecting her haha. Substarate? Is that the peat ground? I would like to transfer her into a deeper tank when I can so that she can burrow. Maybe that is why she likes the plant pot so much. I do only feed her one locust at a time, i do it twice a week. Not had one left yet, she must like them. Thank you so much for all your help! Do you have a Chilean Rose too? Also, to over flow the bowl you mean literally rather than change the water?

Good luck with nerris! I love chile roses and have six of them at the moment they are lovely t's.

 

[Nerris]

Kenny - so i could change the water and just pour a bit more in like overflow. Thanks for the advice.

Harleyqueen - oh my days, 6 chile roses! So you're ideal for advice. With what I have written, do you think I'm doing ok? I haven't held her since I got her, how do you do it as not to stress her. She's only small.

 

[Nada]

Yeas, just overflow it.
Do Not hold slings. They're unpredictible, and easily spooked. wait until she's larger.

 

[harleyqueen]

Kenny - so i could change the water and just pour a bit more in like overflow. Thanks for the advice.

Harleyqueen - oh my days, 6 chile roses! So you're ideal for advice. With what I have written, do you think I'm doing ok? I haven't held her since I got her, how do you do it as not to stress her. She's only small.

You sound like a thoughtful caring owner. Chile roses are gorgeous and imo pretty smart. As you have already discovered they appreciate a quiet life but if you want to handle her make sure it is somewhere safe where she cant fall if she does panic and scarper. Many people frown upon handling as t's are fragile but my oldest rose (delilah) enjoys sitting on my lap and makes it clear she does not want to go back in her enclosure at bed time. She is so sweet and lovely i think she should be allowed to have her own way most of the time at her age as long as she is safe. With haning i always let the spider come to me if they are scared or aggressive i leave it. A lot of the rose hairs i have owned have been bold and quite nosey! Mine are called delilah ramases tsunami money spider rapunzel and coppellia

 

[john m shires]

I too have a Chilean Rose Tarantula “Boris” he does not like his feet getting wet or being sprayed. What I do is with a turkey baster I poor water along the far side of his enclosure that way the water drains down into the coconut substrate and keeps the humidity ok. At first I sprayed / misted and he would sit on his hide until the substrate dried out enough for him to walk on. I also feed locust as they don’t burrow to hide away.

 

[harleyqueen]

Kenny - so i could change the water and just pour a bit more in like overflow. Thanks for the advice.

Harleyqueen - oh my days, 6 chile roses! So you're ideal for advice. With what I have written, do you think I'm doing ok? I haven't held her since I got her, how do you do it as not to stress her. She's only small.

Btw delilah is around 25 years old and exceptionally talanted at getting her own way she has the nicest nature you could imagine and has cured lots of arachnophobes! Ramases is around 3 years old i suspect he was wild caught sadly, delilah probably was too. My others are all tiny the biggest, tsunami would just cover my smallest finger nail if she stretched out. I just adore them and much as i love all t's my first was a rose called pink floyd and my loyalty lies with them.

 

[Nerris]

Hi, sorry I have been off the grid for a while. I have a new conundrum! Tonight, as I went to change Nerris' water, there was some of the peat that she sometimes knocks into it and when I lifted the bowl out, the water had completely turned into gel! Has this happened to anyone else? Was it the soil or Nerris that did it. I change the water every night so it is recent since last night.

 

[Nada]

what do you mean by "gel" ? I'm assuming that it wasn't just mud. Could be a bolus in the water bowl, they do that kind of often.

 

[Bast]

I know I have found poop floating around in Karina's dish, but have never had my water seem 'gel' like.