my chilean rose died?

The Artist

I have a small (5-10 gallon) tank with a couple inches of peat moss, soil,(supplied by my pet shop) and i have been feeding them crickets.
I brought 2 of the chilean roses about a month ago and they were doing very well and this morning i found one curled up,not moving died?
I bought them from the same tank on the day and pet shop owner said they are at least 10 months old.
did i do something wrong here or is it natural?

anniehoo

Alan Ford wrote: »

I brought 2 of the chilean roses ?

Excuse my ignorance but what is a chilean rose?:)

Our man in Havana

Is the spider on its back or the normal way up with legs curled under it??

How was the humidity?

It could be trying to shed its skin but may have trouble & die if the humidity is too low - I just lost my Columbian giant red leg - my fault as I did not have enough substrate & to low humidity.

The Artist

Bond-007 wrote: »

Is the spider on its back or the normal way up with legs curled under it??

How was the humidity?

It could be trying to shed its skin but may have trouble & die if the humidity is too low - I just lost my Columbian giant red leg - my fault as I did not have enough substrate & to low humidity.

i found my spider upside down legs all curled up.
sorry to ask,Bond the humidity can you explain in better terms( i know its heating)?

The Artist

anniehoo wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but what is a chilean rose?:)

its my pet spider.

monty_python

if you do not know about humidity then you should not own a spider.. or any other exotic animal.

tbh

Alan Ford wrote: »

i found my spider upside down legs all curled up.
sorry to ask,Bond the humidity can you explain in better terms( i know its heating)?

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. The term "humidity" is usually taken in daily language to refer to relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the amount of water vapor in a sample of air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at any specific temperature in a form of 0 to 100%. Humidity may also be expressed as absolute humidity and specific humidity. Relative humidity is an important metric used in forecasting weather. Humidity indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. High humidity makes people feel hotter outside in the summer because it reduces the effectiveness of sweating to cool the body by preventing the evaporation of perspiration from the skin. This effect is calculated in a heat index table. Warm water vapor has more thermal energy than cool water vapor and therefore more of it evaporates into warm air than into cold air.

The Artist

monty_python wrote: »

if you do not know about humidity then you should not own a spider.. or any other exotic animal

your wrong im afraid,i did my study on the wiki and the pet shop advice and also on this forum.
i already asked a member here last year and have been Pm for any advice.
Now.
i brought a starter kit from the big pet shop online.
http://www.thebigbigpetshop.ie/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=0&P_ID=11912&strPageHistory=search&numSearchStartRecord=1
And this is the tank.

• Full Glass Terrarium
• Front opening doors
• Removable top screen
• Unique front window ventilation
• Lock to prevent escapes
• Full screen metal top ventilation
• Raised bottom for easy Substrate Heater mounting
• Up to ten closable wire or tube inlets
• Natural Rock background
• Deep (45 cm), enlarged ground surface
• High fixed front window for thick layers of substrate, an aquatic section or Exo Terra's Reptile Den

I went to the pet shop today and the pet shop owner said the same thing what bond-007 said:
It could be trying to shed its skin but may have trouble & die if the humidity is too low
As i know the heating but first to come across humidity which i did not know?
Temperature: 70-85 F (21-30 C)
Humidity: 60-70%
I always check the temp and mine is always 26C but i need now to know the humidity problem.How can rectify this thanks.
So as for monty-python thanks for your help.

tbh

I think montys point was: not knowing about humidity could kill your spider, you didn't know about humidity, your spider died. With respect, saying you found out all about it but didn't know about humidity is like saying you found out all about it but didn't know you had to feed them.

It's probably a good idea to find out more about keeping the humidity right as a matter of urgency, rather than just something it would be good to know about.

The Artist

tbh wrote: »

I think montys point was: not knowing about humidity could kill your spider, you didn't know about humidity, your spider died. With respect, saying you found out all about it but didn't know about humidity is like saying you found out all about it but didn't know you had to feed them.

It's probably a good idea to find out more about keeping the humidity right as a matter of urgency, rather than just something it would be good to know about.

i understand tbh what your saying as monty said i shouldnt own one made me upset and ive had these 2 spiders for about 4 months now.If the humidity was the problem why did one of them die earlier.
As i already asked for more info about the humidity problem i expected help if there was any.
I just wanted to make sure i was doing the right thing but getting "you should not own a spider"is a bit ott.
At least i wanted help from someone to rectify my problem mean i would do it straight away.
thanks tbh.

Our man in Havana

A good way to up the humidity is to mist the cage with water - I use reptisafe in the water - mine get misted every day or 2 - or a bigger bowl of water with some large pebbles in it will help too.

I own a lot of pets & know all about humidity & I still got it wrong! I keep lots of herps but this is the first time I have kept spiders - lets not slag each other off - lets HELP so that the other spider will thrive! Please do not make me lose my temper today & start banning people - advice YES slagging the OP off NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Artist

thanks bond-007
I got one of these today easy to set up.
Digital Hygrometer With Probe

Exo Terra
€18.95
just to be sure as this was not in my package only the thermometer came with it.
i was told to get a small sprayer to spray fine mist of water into tank until the humidity is right.
It was a Hyrometer that i didnt have,so hopefully this will solve the problem.
checked my alive tarantula and seem fine in the Corner Cabana!

monty_python

i find a great way to do this is to place a second water dish under the heat lamp or to use an exo terra fogger.... if you done your research you would know this.. i am not a very experianced reptile keeper but i know how to get a perfect 1 peice shed from my 9ft+ carpet costal python... all it takes is 2 weeks of 100% humidity... and i atke pride in hanging them on my wall


p.s bond??/ why if you are so interested in the well being of animals do you not allow me to make statements like i did. people like this need to be told how it is. my carpet python needs 85% humidity and i allways make sure he has atleast that

The Artist

monty_python wrote: »

i find a great way to do this is to place a second water dish under the heat lamp or to use an exo terra fogger.... if you done your research you would know this.. i am not a very experianced reptile keeper but i know how to get a perfect 1 peice shed from my 9ft+ carpet costal python... all it takes is 2 weeks of 100% humidity... and i atke pride in hanging them on my wall

p.s bond??/ why if you are so interested in the well being of animals do you not allow me to make statements like i did. people like this need to be told how it is. my carpet python needs 85% humidity and i allways make sure he has atleast that

Thanks for the tip on the waterbowl near the lamp and il do that right away.
your a python keeper and like you said i am not a very experianced reptile keeper.
spider keeping is maybe differant to what you do monty.
spiders are classed as Arachnida.
your carpet python(morielia spillota ssp) is classed as Reptila.
So there both differant classes imo.
Look monty let things cool down between us.We all learn at the end of the day dont you agree?

tbh

yes, cool things down, but watch the humidity!

Hellrazer

Alan--What I do with my T`s is to use "vermiculite"(available in Woodies for 2 euros a bag or petshops for 10 euros a bag--same stuff)

Its whats called an expanded volcanic rock but its fluffy like aeroboard WHEN ITS DRY.

What you do is cover the cage with at least 3-5 inches deep but before you put it in the cage add one cupful of water to 2 cups of vermiculite.Squeeze it in your hand so that no water comes out of it and its like damp sand.

This stuff holds moisture really well but it never gets soaking wet.

This usually keeps the moisture levels at the ideal humidity.
It has to be remembered that nearly all Tarantulas live in burrows that are cooler and have high humidity.

The only species that need it really dry are most of the African ones(Baboons etc)

Another trick is to use cling film over the top of the cage mesh,coering and uncovering the mesh to increase or decrease the humidity levels.

Id be surprised if that tarantula was dying.
Tarantulas die "right way up" with their legs curled under them and molt upside down with their legs curled up.

If you moved it,poked it etc you probably killed it-any stress at this time can kill them--it can take up to 18 hours for a full molt and one of mine even took a full 2 days to finish.

When you notice one upside down on its back put in a bowl of water under the heat lamp and leave it alone.

Also never use heat mats with tarantulas--it can and has killed a couple of mine before I knew better.Use a 20-30watt pygmy bulb preferably red in colour as your single heat source.Tarantulas do not need it stiffling hot except for the ones I mentioned above.

HTH

Richie

The Artist

Alan--What I do with my T`s is to use "vermiculite"(available in Woodies for 2 euros a bag or petshops for 10 euros a bag--same stuff)
Its whats called an expanded volcanic rock but its fluffy like aeroboard WHEN ITS DRY.
What you do is cover the cage with at least 3-5 inches deep but before you put it in the cage add one cupful of water to 2 cups of vermiculite.Squeeze it in your hand so that no water comes out of it and its like damp sand.

great il take note of this.

Id be surprised if that tarantula was dying.
Tarantulas die "right way up" with their legs curled under them and molt upside down with their legs curled up.

oh! i found mine upside down, legs curled up.
are ye saying possibly it was still alive(im sorry but i baged him and erm in bin sh#t!) god what shall i do now?

If you moved it,poked it etc you probably killed it-any stress at this time can kill them--it can take up to 18 hours for a full molt and one of mine even took a full 2 days to finish.

i had never poked him or anything nor even handled him yet as im a bit nervous awhile to handle them.

When you notice one upside down on its back put in a bowl of water under the heat lamp and leave it alone.

il remmeber that thanks.

Also never use heat mats with tarantulas--it can and has killed a couple of mine before I knew better.Use a 20-30watt pygmy bulb preferably red in colour as your single heat source.Tarantulas do not need it stiffling hot except for the ones I mentioned above.

id better take out the heat mat as it was supplied with the tank.And i already have that lamp you mentioned.
thanks for everthing here rich i appreciate that.:)

Hellrazer

It could have been still alive alright.In future if you find one on its back legs in the air give it 24-48 hours before you bin it.It can take that long for a molt.

The Artist

Hellrazer wrote: »

It could have been still alive alright.In future if you find one on its back legs in the air give it 24-48 hours before you bin it.It can take that long for a molt.

oh god!i feel terrible about the one i binned:(
i did search and found him but dead alright.Im mad now about it as it was my fault.
forgive me for this disaster it shouldnt happen again:(
i'l just have to watch the one for a while as 2 was not good for me to keep until i know im ready.
thanks for all your help guys.