what kind of enclosure?

[jay76]

Hi! Just another question before I get my first T... (I know, you all thinking 'yeah right last one my ***' heheheh)

Been thinking about the cage. I've got some 10g's kicking around I could use, but also a 15 tall... do rose hairs like climbing? would she appreciate vertical space? Because I was also looking at those plastic critter keepers, the ones from exo-terra/hagen. they're kind of short, but there's other ones (lee?) that are taller, so I could save my tanks for more scaly friends. Recommendations? Is a short enclosure ok?

Thanks!

[nouserpif]

Well, chileans are fine in a normal 10G. They do get up to 5-6 inches at full size, so you'd want a cage at least as big as a 5.5g. A 10g would work fine for your tarantula, and would be even better (although you don't want too big). Give about an inch of substrate, and a hide or two. They aren't too climby, but you want some height to prevent escapes. A 5.5 gallon is fine for them, but a 10G is great. Keep a lid on it! trust me, haha

Good luck, and post some pics!
Dan Conner

[OttawaChris]

If you have a spare 10G that would be fine... making sure to have a good solid lid on it though (tarantulas are as good or better than snakes for escaping)

Watch the height though. Rose hairs are terrestrial spiders and do not climb. The rule of thumb with terrestrial spiders is to limit their climbing height to about 1 to 1.5 times their legspan. A fall from higher than this can end up to be fatal (the abdomens split and rupture) They are clumsy climbers and are almost surely going to fall.

One way to limit height is to add more substrate... with a 10 gallon you are talking a lot of substrate though and it will start to get quite heavy. For a relatively slow and calm species like a rose hair (that doenst burrow anyway) I recommend either a shallow critter keeper OR as an alternative you can get these great see-thru rubbermaid containers with snap on lids from Walmart. Just punch some air holes in them and voila!

I use the flat critter keepers for a lot of my spiders... they are the cat's meow if you ask me!

If you ever need a hand or have any questions dont me shy to drop me an email.