Having a light on at night...

[Hamburglar]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums and I just got my first tarantula today. It's a Chilean rose. I have it in a 5 gallon tank in my room and I was wondering if it would bother my tarantula if I keep my desk lamp on at night. It's just a 30 watt incandescent bulb coming from the other side of the room so it's not like it puts out a ton of light. I know T's like the dark and they need to know when it's daytime and when it's night time so I don't want to screw that up by having my lamp on. Now that it's dark my T has wandered out of it's burrow and seems to be exploring its new home. Do you guys keep your T's in a room that has a light on at night?

 

[spidey noob]

hi & welcome
i work night shift so my Ts are in the dark most nights but when i get in the Ts are out & abought but when i switch the bed room lights on there off back in to there hides !!! the nights im off the Ts wont come out at all as the light in the room is on, so unless there is some need for the lights to be on i would switch them off.

 

[Hamburglar]

hi & welcome
i work night shift so my Ts are in the dark most nights but when i get in the Ts are out & abought but when i switch the bed room lights on there off back in to there hides !!! the nights im off the Ts wont come out at all as the light in the room is on, so unless there is some need for the lights to be on i would switch them off.

Okay thanks. I tried turning the light on for a bit and it just kind of hid behind some fake leaves I have in there. I turned off the light again and now it's back out wandering around again so I think you may be right. I'll just keep the light off at night. Either that or I'll move it to the spare bedroom where it won't be bothered. I just like the thought of being able to look over at my T while I'm at my computer.

 

[Hamburglar]

Another question I'd like to ask is how to know when a tarantula becomes an adult. Right now my T is about 4". I asked the guy at petco how old it was and he said probably about 6 months. I asked him if he'd ever kept a T before and he said no, so I don't know if I really trust his opinion. He also really tried to get me to buy a heat mat. I told him that my room stays a comfortable temperature so I think it'll be fine. He kind of laughed at me and told me that unless I keep my room between 78-80 degrees F at night then I should get a heat mat. I know from researching on this forum and others that a heat mat is unnecessary and possibly even harmful for a T.[/I]

 

[Feriat]

4" is an adult for that species. Its also wild caught since you got it from what sounds like a chain store, which means you'll never know its age. It could easily be 10 years old. Could be 5. But at 4" it is definitely several years old.

 

[Hamburglar]

4" is an adult for that species. Its also wild caught since you got it from a chain store, which means you'll never know its age. It could easily be 10 years old. Could be 5. But at 4" it is definitely several years old.

That's what I figured. I know that G. rosea are relatively slow growing so I thought 6 months for a 4" tarantula seemed a little suspect. Anyway, I just wanted to know if he/she was an adult so I could sex it. Thanks for your help!

 

[Hamburglar]

Would it be a problem if I fed my rosea every 2 weeks instead of once a week? Like, if I gave it two crickets 2 times a month instead of one cricket once a week. I only ask this because I may be offered a job shortly that requires me to be gone for 2 weeks at a time.

 

[Ghost]

Would it be a problem if I fed my rosea every 2 weeks instead of once a week? Like, if I gave it two crickets 2 times a month instead of one cricket once a week. I only ask this because I may be offered a job shortly that requires me to be gone for 2 weeks at a time.

No that wouldn't be a problem however you will have to make sure that you T has fresh water,I go away with my work quite a bit but my son checks on my T's at least twice a week to give them fresh water as I wouldn't leave them that long without water....

 

[Hamburglar]

No that wouldn't be a problem however you will have to make sure that you T has fresh water,I go away with my work quite a bit but my son checks on my T's at least twice a week to give them fresh water as I wouldn't leave them that long without water....

Thank you for your reply. I'm sure my father would be more than willing to check on my T's water. He's an aquarium hobbiest like myself so he has de-chlorinator and everything.

 

[Ghost]

Thank you for your reply. I'm sure my father would be more than willing to check on my T's water. He's an aquarium hobbiest like myself so he has de-chlorinator and everything.

Just a quick note you won't need de-chloninator for your T's water straight form the tap is fine for them

 

[Therasoid]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums and I just got my first tarantula today. It's a Chilean rose. I have it in a 5 gallon tank in my room and I was wondering if it would bother my tarantula if I keep my desk lamp on at night. It's just a 30 watt incandescent bulb coming from the other side of the room so it's not like it puts out a ton of light. I know T's like the dark and they need to know when it's daytime and when it's night time so I don't want to screw that up by having my lamp on. Now that it's dark my T has wandered out of it's burrow and seems to be exploring its new home. Do you guys keep your T's in a room that has a light on at night?

Hello and welcome aboard.
I have a 13 watt (white LED) lamp on a timer in the T room, only on during daytime though. When I feed at night I turn on an overhead "red" fluorescent lamp (13 watt) and it doesn't seem to bother them. I hear and read they can't see the color red.
Just an FYI.

 

[Hamburglar]

Just a quick note you won't need de-chloninator for your T's water straight form the tap is fine for them

Oh, okay. I just assumed T's need de-chlorinated water for some reason.

Hello and welcome aboard.
I have a 13 watt (white LED) lamp on a timer in the T room, only on during daytime though. When I feed at night I turn on an overhead "red" fluorescent lamp (13 watt) and it doesn't seem to bother them. I hear and read they can't see the color red.
Just an FYI.

Yeah I was reading through "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" yesterday and I noticed the author said it is believed that tarantulas can't see red light. I might get a cheap red bulb so I can observe at night. Because otherwise she's just hanging out in her hide during the day.

Thanks.

 

[brianzion]

Just a quick note you won't need de-chloninator for your T's water straight form the tap is fine for them

i beg to differ about the water with tap water you have chlorine treated water and traces of heavy metal if Im not mistaken.

 

[Ghost]

i beg to differ about the water with tap water you have chlorine treated water and traces of heavy metal if Im not mistaken.

You can beg to differ all you want.

However after keeping and breeding many different species of T's over 25+ years in the hobby and having always used tap water for them without any issues, I really don't see the need to use de-chlorinator in their water.

 

[brianzion]

You can beg to differ all you want.

However after keeping and breeding many different species of T's over 25+ years in the hobby and having always used tap water for them without any issues, I really don't see the need to use de-chlorinator in their water.

fair comment with your years of experience im just sharing my opinion

 

[DVirginiana]

I just use treated water for mine since I already have to treat large quantities of water for my amphibians. They'd probably be fine with regular tap water, but I don't think the treated water hurts them at all.