How to Care for Your BUGSnSTUFF

Rose Tarantula (Grammastola cala, or rosea)

 

We always appreciate it when folks who own a BUGSnSTUFF BUG-Pet treat it with respect, so here are some guidelines for caring for your new pet:

 

P          Rose tarantulas live in desert regions in Chile and other parts of South America. Make its home a nice place to live! And don’t forget… COVER THE CAGE – it can climb!

 

P          These spiders don’t like being sprayed, but they do need water (see next item). Some Sphagnum Moss in one area of the cage will allow you to control the moisture level – you can spray the moss every so often and it will retain water.

 

P          Tarantulas need water to help their muscular system function properly. You should keep a small water dish with aquarium filter floss (the white cottony stuff in aquarium filters) – it won’t need to be sterilized or changed often. You could also use a sponge or paper towels. Boil the sponge to sterilize it. The sponge or floss will keep it from drowning and will lengthen the time between adding water.

 

P          Give your Rose tarantula regular, filtered sunlight (in a north facing window), or use a Vitalight^®, Repti-Sun^®, or comparable UV source light for 13-15 hour a day. (We use a timer. You can get one at most hardware stores or Walmart for about $5)

 

P          Normal, room temperature is fine for your Rose tarantula. Avoid cold drafts or super hot conditions – direct sunlight for long periods with no shelter might hurt your Rose tarantula.

 

P          If you see your Tarantula laying on its back with its legs in the air, don’t worry! It is preparing to shed its skin or, molt. This takes a while but is amazing to observe. It will push its old skin off which will look like an entire second spider! It you get the old skin while it’s fresh, you can tease its legs out and pose it like a spider – when it dries it will stay like that forever (or until handled a  lot – it’s fragile!)

 

P          Rose tarantulas can be handled safely. This species is very calm and difficult to agitate, but as with any animal with a mouth, they can bite. Because they need their venom to digest their food, spiders are very unlikely to bite humans (we’re too big to eat!) Their bite is comparable in pain and severity to a bee sting. If you are not immediately comfortable handling your new Rose Tarantula, try using thick gardener’s gloves to get used to it. Despite their impressive size, these animals are delicate and should not be dropped, so it is important always to treat them with respect! ALWAYS wash your hands after handling a BUGSnSTUFF BUG-Pet !

 

P          Feed your Rose tarantula crickets and occasional Super Mealworms (both available at BUGSnSTUFF). You might wish to keep the crickets overnight and offer them a variety of foods (apples, potatoes, cat food, etc.) to vary the Tarantula’s diet. Tarantulas binge feed – you should offer them 3-5 crickets once a week. If your Tarantula eats those right away, you can offer it another one or two. Don’t leave a bunch of crickets in the cage that aren’t being eaten! They smell when they die and may nibble on the spider before then!