Rose Hair Tarantula Care

Rose Hair Tarantula Care

The Rose-haired Tarantula is a popular first-time pet tarantula due to its docile nature. It will first flee in defense before anything else.

They also happen to be quite low-maintenance and inexpensive, which is why they are one of the most popular tarantulae amongst beginners and expert enthusiasts alike.

If you’re thinking about getting one and are wondering how to properly care for them, here’s all that you will need to know:

Quick Reference Section

• Experience Level: Beginner
• Family: Theraphosidae
• Scientific Name: Grammostola rosea
• Other Names: Chilean Red-haired Tarantula, Chilean fire tarantula, Chilean rose hair tarantula, Rose hair tarantula, chilean rose tarantula
• Adult Size: 3 inches
• Diet: Carnivorous
• Lifespan: Males: 5 years; Females: 15 to 20 years
• Average Price Range: $20 to $100 per spider
• Where to buy:  undergroundreptiles.com, joshsfrogs.com

Bioactive Rose Hair Tarantula Setup Product List

• Enclosure: Exo Terra Glass terrarium kit
• Soil: Zoo Med Reptisoil
• Moss: Zoo Med terrarium moss
• Hide: Zoo Med cork hide
• Leaf Litter: Sungrow leaf litter
• Hygrometer: Zoomed hygrometer
• Cleaners: Springtails & Isopods
• Water Dish: Zoo Med small water dish

Rose Hair Tarantula Facts

Also known as the Chilean red-haired tarantula, They are the most common species of tarantula in the pet trade.

They are also sometimes called Fire Tarantulas due to their color.

Are Rose Hair tarantulas venomous?

Their venom contains a wide range of toxins that can be used to both immobilize and digest their prey as well as deter any predators.

Tarantula bites, particularly this spider has never known to kill a human; they just hurt a lot!

Appearance

Rose Haired Tarantulas are stocky, small spiders with dark brown or grey to black bodies and a pink-hued coat of hair covering them. This pink may also be reddish or copper in color, depending on the spider, and may also have a metallic gleam.

They have a hard-shelled upper body and eight little beady eyes clustered together on their head.

These guys are active predators that use their larger size to restrain their prey. Their size gives them a better advantage over the insects they like to consume.

Natural Habitat

These tarantula species come from the shrubs and deserts of Argentina, Bolivia, and of course, northern Chile. This is where they get their alternative name, the Chilean Red-haired tarantula.

What do Rose Hair tarantulas eat?

In the wild, these tarantulas will hide in their burrow and capture prey that walk by. They are also avid hunters, roaming the terrain at night and ambushing their prey.

They feed on a variety of invertebrates like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, moths, cockroaches, dubia roaches and mealworms, but will also consume some vertebrates such as mice, frogs, lizards, and other tiny mammals.

They use their large size to their advantage to restrain and catch their prey.

How long do rose hair tarantulas live?

These spiders are average-sized with a leg span from 4.5 to 5.5 inches.

Females have a significantly longer lifespan than their male counterparts, being able to live upwards of twenty years whereas males will live anywhere from 2 to 5 years old.

They will molt up to around 4 times per year when they are young, and about once a year throughout adulthood. Male spiders will molt less than females.

You can tell when a male reaches sexual maturity when their physical sexual characteristics come in, which is usually around their final molt when their life is almost over.

Rose Hair Tarantulas reach adulthood when they are around 8 to 10 years old and they mate in the fall months.

Breeding

After a female finds a male suiter once she has reached sexual maturity. She will produce a large protective egg sac of approximately 500 spiderlings.

As mentioned earlier, the mating season is around the fall. When tarantulas mate, it’s more like a dangerous exchange between the male and the female.

What happens is the male tarantula weaves a pre-packaged silk ball with their deposited sperm, saves it in their pedipalps, finds a female mate, and then will attempt to deposit it into the female’s spermathecae, where she will store it.

However, this process may or may not happen if the female does not find the male worthy, to which she will then cannibalize him. If she finds a mate or worthy suiter, she will allow him to deposit his sperm web ball into her spermathecae, and copulation will commence.

If the male is successful, he has a few minutes to run away since female tarantulas will be entranced with chemicals right after fertilization. If he is unable to escape her during that short time, he might be her dinner.

Tarantulas mating is more like an aggressive transaction rather than a sexual experience and it is life or death for the male.

She will then guard her protected clutch of eggs for a span of about 6 to 8 weeks, which is the average incubation period until they hatch.

Check out the mating process of Rose Hair Tarantulas here:

If you are going to attempt to breed your spiders, you need to be fast and ready to remove the male after he fertilizes her.

Legality

In general, tarantulas are legal to keep in most states, although there may be local laws that restrict captivity, breeding, and such. Check out your local laws to find out what is and is not allowed in your state or city.

You can find them at pet stores easily, but we recommend you also try to look for a rescue group or at least make sure you buy from a licensed, reputable breeder.

Care Sheet

Enclosure

Rose Hair Tarantulas will need a tank that is at least 10 gallons in capacity. This is the average recommended size for an adult Rose Hair.

A good rule of thumb to follow when finding the correct size enclosure for your pet tarantula is to get one that is at least three times the length of its leg span. Just make sure that it is a secure and well-ventilated enclosure.

A glass aquarium or plastic container with a secure lid can be used.

Substrate

In the wild, they are burrowers, but they may not show their burrowing habits when in captivity.

You should get an organic substrate and that will hold enough moisture to support and encourage burrowing. It will also help hold some humidity.

A thick layer of peat moss, orchid bark, and sandy soil of about two to three inches deep should do the trick.

They will also require a shallow water bowl which you can also submerge into the substrate with only the rim sticking out above the surface.

Accessories

These terrestrial tarantulas like places to hide and burrow into so anything that supports that can make a great accessory for them.

This can be a coconut shell or a half or whole hollow log, anything that can act as a natural hiding spot.

Temperature

Rose Hair tarantulas like temperatures around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but a little warmer or a bit cooler should be ok too.

If your home or the area you will keep your spider in gets a lot cooler, we suggest placing a heating pad under your tarantula’s tank.

Humidity

While the humidity might vary throughout your tarantula’s enclosure, their burrow should have a humidity of 70%. If your substrate is holding its burrow up due to moisture, it’s probably humid enough.

You do not need to mist the tank for this species but make sure the humidity levels are around 65% in their enclosure.

Lighting

These nocturnal arachnids hunt at night and sleep during the day.

While they do not require lighting since it is not essential to their survival, you can angle a desk lamp down into their enclosure to look at them, but what matters more is the temperatures.

Don’t worry about lighting but do keep track and monitor their tank temperatures and instead use a heating pad under their tank.

Feeding

You can feed your pet tarantula crickets, waxworms, mealworms, and roaches. While they will eat a wide variety of invertebrates, these four species have the nutrients they need for a well-balanced diet.

Spiderlings can eat pinhead crickets as well as other tiny insects. While adults can consume larger, pesticide-free bugs.

Adults can eat 3 to 5 large crickets or other bugs only once or twice weekly. Depending on your spider, they may eat more or less so you should pay attention to their eating habits.

If they are leaving leftovers, you might be feeding them too much. You must remove leftovers out of their tank as soon as you can and not leave them over 24 hours to prevent any disease or illness.

They can easily go up to two years without food without starving to death, and may sometimes fast particularly during winter. They may also be reluctant to eat when their molting periods come around.

Temperament

Rose Hair tarantulas are very docile and will not react by biting first. They may first flee or throw hairs, but biting may only happen at last resort.

They may become stressed out, defensive, or aggressive if their environment is not right for them or if they are handled too frequently.

If your spider is aggravated, do not handle it or cause it even more discomfort.

Remember that they will first flee before anything else in self-defense which can sometimes lead to accidental injury in the case of a fall. If you are handling them, make sure it is within close distance to the ground or a table.

These spiders do have a reputation for remaining calm, though and being submissive so you might not even run into these issues.

Handling

As long as you’re not stressing out your tarantula, you should be able to handle them due to their docile nature. However, they can be a little timid and might get stressed out when overhandled.

Generally, they respond to handlers and will crawl around on your hands, arms, and shoulders. They are fine to take to public demonstrations or to show to your guests, as long as they are not provoked.

There are very rare cases of these guys biting, which can cause a little sting but will not cause serious harm since their venom is very mild. However, it may induce allergic reactions in some cases, so keep that in mind when showing off your tarantula.

They also have urticating hairs that can get stuck in your eyes, so you might want to be aware of that when trying to handle them or when allowing others to handle them. Gloves and eye gear might be helpful in the case of a public demonstration.

Overall, they are great pets since they usually respond well to handling, but taking precautions is always a good idea in case it gets spooked while being handled.

These are just all the things you should know about handling these spiders just in case. They are rare cases and will most likely not happen since they are so docile.

Conclusion

If you are looking for an attractive and good first-time tarantula or are a beginner tarantula keeper wondering how to care for your pet spider properly, we hope you learned something today from this article.

Rose Hair Tarantulas are a beautiful species that are docile and easy to care for, making it a great pet for anyone who loves these crawlers.

Check out Clint’s Reptiles’s video on these gorgeous spiders below.

Enjoy your tarantula and leave a comment down below if you have any questions!