The Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Grammostola porteri) is one of the most commonly available tarantulas in the pet trade today and is quite often the first species kept by most enthusiasts. Rose Hairs are most often a grayish brown with a pinkish hue across the top of their head. These tarantulas grow very slowly until they reach about 5” diagonal leg span, sometimes larger. The rose hair has become so popular because of its long life expectancy and incredible hardiness. As with any tarantulas though, keeping more than one together has proven fatal and the largest will cannibalize the others.
When first brought into the pet trade the Chilean Rose Hair was known scientifically as Grammostola rosea and was available in two color forms, red color form and normal color form. After much studying on the taxonomy of this species they were discovered that the true Chilean Rose Hair with the gray or “normal” color form was Grammostola porteri while the red color form Rose Hair was the actual Grammostola rosea. When keeping this species this piece of information is most important to remember if you are planning on breeding your rose hair. A G. rosea and a G. porteri should never be hybridized.
Hybridization in tarantulas is extremely frowned upon and downright discouraged. Most people think of hybridization as simple as their crossbreed dog. The difference between this is that these dogs are the same species, just different variations and mutations of that species. Tarantulas are all different species and should be kept that way to encourage future studying of these animals to broaden the world’s knowledge of them.
Habitat
A Chilean Rose Hair whether it is a G. porteri or a G. rosea can be housed in the same manner. A few simple guidelines to follow are:
1. Substrate: A tarantula can never live on any pine or cedar substrate as these plants have natural insecticides in their sap which will kill your tarantula. The most commonly used substrate for tarantulas is coconut fiber or organic pure peat. The substrate should be deep enough that the tarantula can dig a burrow if desired and also high enough in the enclosure that your rose hair can not climb more than her body length off of the ground. This is extremely important and results in many premature tarantula deaths. If your tarantula should climb and fall she can rupture her abdomen and bleed out. Just one drop of lost blood is enough to seriously threaten a tarantula’s life.
2. Enclosure: Tarantula enclosures should be kept small to avoid stress to your pet. This will also help retain the humidity in the enclosure when your rose hair is molting. The enclosure should be well ventilated to prevent mould and all left over food should be removed.
3. Humidity: For a Chilean Rose Hair a wide shallow water dish filled at all times should be suitable. Keeping a full water dish should keep the humidity around 50%. The enclosure should never be misted as these tarantulas come from the arid deserts of Chile. When your rose hair is molting slightly overflow the water dish to bring the humidity up slightly.
4. Decorations: When decorating your tarantula enclosure it is important to keep in mind the natural habitat of your tarantula. For this desert species a piece of cork bark either a whole round or a half should be suitable for your tarantula to hide when feeling threatened.
5. Temperature: When keeping tarantulas most, if not all, do well at room temperature. If you’re cold, then your tarantula probably is. Since heat lamps and heating mats are stressful to a tarantula it is best advised to keep the room they are in moderately warm, between 72 F and 78 F.
Handling
Tarantula handling should be kept to a minimum to reduce stress and because handling can often be dangerous for the tarantula. When handling any tarantula it is important to remember that they can not see very well and may mistake your hand for a predator or prey. When testing to see if your tarantula wants to be handled it’s best to gently brush one of their legs with a fine brush and judge their reaction. If your tarantula skittishly runs away, turns around and raises her front legs defensively or bites the brush, today isn’t the day to handle her.
Once you’ve seen that your tarantula isn’t aggravated by your presence you can place your hand flat in front of her and coax her onto your hand with the brush. Once walking on your hands it’s best to sit on the floor where she can not fall far and move your hand under your other hand keeping her walking from one of your hands to the other.
Evan Eloe - When learning about what he loves Evan leaves no rock unturned giving his readers a clear and well rounded source of knowledge.
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