Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I've been gifted a Chilean Rose . . . a little unexpected, but now that I have her, I guess I need to make sure I'm doing everything right. Her previous owner had her for about 6 years, and has been keeping her in a 5 gallon tank with a thin (1 inch) layer of dirt and a piece of driftwood . . . from my research, it seems she would need at least 5-6 inches of the potting soil to give the option of burrowing, and it also seems I should replace the driftwood with something she can hide in, like a plant pot, or half log or something . . . she has a shallow drinking cap that I keep filled with fresh water, and has no problems eating . . . so . .. the questions . . .

1) 1/2 the caresheets I read online state to keep the enclosure humid, the other 1/2 say to keep it dry, and the water dish is more than enough for humidity . . . which is correct?

2)Room temperature or UTH?

3) Is the 5 gallon okay, or should I upgrade her to a ten gallon? and Is the 5-6 inches dirt accurate? (I was planning on using organic potting soil from the greenhouse down the road; is this ok?)

Thanks for the help, I'll post a picture when I get one. Any other tips, or links to credible caresheets would be great as well. I'm a big believer in research. Thanks again.

To answer your questions directly:
A 5 gallon is perfect size, no need to upgrade. I would add more dirt. 4-5 inches minimum. That serves 2 purposes. First, as you said, it allows them to burrow (if they want to, it may never do it), and second it raises the floor level and reduces the chance of injury if they should climb the glass and happen to fall. You want the distance from the top of the substrate to the top of the tank to be no greater than the length of the tarantulas legspan to prevent injuries from falls.

G. rosea come from dry climates, but their burrows inside are quite humid (like 50-60%) that is where conflicting guidance comes from. Set it up and keep the substrate dry, every week or so when you refill the waterdish, let it overflow so that the soil around the dish gets wet, then let it dry out completely before doing it again. This gives them adequate humidity. Don't allow more than ¼ of the soil to be wet at a time, or it'll be too moist.

Get a larger waterdish, it should be about 3-4 inches wide. A small dogfood dish works well.

If you want to encourage burrowing, you'll need something different than plain potting soil. Potting soil doesn't hold together well, and may collapse. If you mix some shredded peat moss in it will work better (50/50). Always check you potting soil to ensure it has absolutely no chemicals of any kind in it. Even so called organics, may have "organic" fertilizers in it. Stay clear of anything that has cedar in it.

Another thing you can do is get a 4" clay pot and sink it into the soil, then you start to excavate it out a little to give it a start, then the T will continue to excavate it.

Or I also like to use half a coconut shell for a hide, I just cut a little entrance hole in the side.

Room temperature is just fine for a G. rosea. Even in the winter as long as it doesn't get below 65, then it's fine without a heater. Actually anything between 65 and 90 is fine. You don't need to struggle to maintain a constant temp or humidity level, variation is good.

Now to answer any further questions, reference this caresheet. It is the most accurate one out there.
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

Anyhting else specific, feel free to ask.
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KJ Vezino
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Thanks for clearing some things up, and thanks for the link as well . . . I did find it very helpful. I'll keep you posted on how she's doing!! Pictures will come soon!