All About Caring For A Rose Hair Tarantula
The Chilean rose hair tarantula is the most popular tarantula species that is found in pet stores because they are easily found in the wild and transported cheaply from Chile. Females of these spectacular creatures have been known to live as long as 20 years or longer.
This tarantula is fairly large, colorful and very docile, appearing in shades of pink to gray to brownish red. The intimidating rose hair tarantula will often offer a leg span of six inches. Native to the scrub and dessert regions of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, they do not burrow like one might think and they are usually active primarily at night.
Diet
The diet of the rose hair tarantula typically consists of grasshoppers, crickets, moths, locusts, meal worms and cockroaches. When feeding crickets to your pet, it is recommended to gut-load them by feeding them high-quality vegetables and greens prior to feeding them to your tarantula. When kept as a pet, they should be fed at least twice a week or more. It is important to note that your tarantula may go weeks or months without eating if it is not hungry. This is completely normal. Any uneaten prey needs to be taken out of your tarantula’s tank within two days or your tank will begin to smell.
Additionally, some feeder insects are known to feed on tarantulas that have freshly molted. They can cause a considerable amount of damage to the exoskeleton of your rose hair tarantula and sometimes even death. Food needs to be fed live since dead prey will usually go unnoticed or may be rejected. Interestingly, while feeding, the posterior portion of your tarantula’s body will increase to be twice its size.
Housing
Theoretically, tarantulas can live in any well-ventilated, secure enclosure that offers enough room for them to move around. Glass enclosures are recommended since they are easier to heat during the colder months.
Tarantulas do not need or want a huge enclosure. They are almost blind and pretty much depend on their sense of touch to interpret their surroundings and navigate around. Therefore, they enjoy enough room to roam freely but do not enjoy feeling overly exposed.
Your rose hair tarantula does not require special lighting, in fact they prefer to not have it. Incandescent, overhead lights will often dry out enclosures which makes it challenging to keep a preferred level of humidity.
These tarantulas enjoy a temperature of 80 degrees, give or take a few degrees. If you find that the room housing your enclosure is cooler than this, a heat pad under the tank can very beneficial. If for some reason, heat lights need to be used, a nocturnal variety in low wattage should be chosen.
Water And Humidity
A shallow water dish must be present in the enclosure at all times. Humidity levels will often vary but you should aim to keep it around 70 percent. If the substrate is moist enough to hold the burrow, it is a good indication of an ideal humidity level. Additionally, every few days, it is recommended to mist the tank to help maintain the humidity levels of the substrate.
Handling
Although the rose hair tarantula is docile, it is important to remember that it is still venomous. Every human will react different from a bite but most only experience localized itching, burning and pain. If your symptoms are worse than this, you need to seek medical care immediately.
It is generally safe to handle your pet tarantula if it is done respectfully, carefully and infrequently. Always be careful to not hold the tarantula in a way this it can fall or be harmed.
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