Welcome visitor. You can login or create an account.

Grammostola porteri (Pink Rose Hair) Care Sheet

Grammostola porteri is also known as the Chilean Rose Hair or Pink Rose Hair. Sometimes older hobby material might refer to them as "Typical Color Form / TCF Rose-hair", "G. rosea pink" or "G. rosea TCF"

Known for it's metallic pink coloring, longevity, hardiness, sometimes docile nature and strange eating habits the Rose Hair is also remarkably slow-growing.

A decade ago an adult female of this hardy and beautiful species could be easily obtained for a fraction of what captive-bred slings sell for now. One of the hobby original tarantulas, they rose to such unprecedented popularity as a result of adult and sub-adult wild-caught specimens being imported from Chile to the USA in extremely large numbers. To help protect native flora, fauna and their habitats Chile no longer allows the export of wild-caught tarantulas for the pet trade.

The last few years all G. porteri sold by Jamie's Tarantulas have been proudly captive-bred. We have this species requested often and do our best to have captive-bred spiderlings available but this is not always the case. We are interested in mature males for our breeding program so if anyone ever has any available please let us know!

Spiderlings are slow to obtain their adult colors, but in my opinion experiencing the transformation is part of the fun of raising a tarantula. It will take a while, typically a few years, but around 3/4-1 1/4" leg-span spiderlings will typically start showing the first signs of adult coloring. After 1 1/2-2" or so the specimens adult coloring is usually more prominent. Keep in mind these are estimates and it does vary from specimens to specimen. What a joy it is to witness the transformation of an unassuming brown spiderling into a large, colorful tarantula!



Origin: New World. G. porteri is native to Chile

Difficulty: Beginner

Type: Terrestrial

Adult Size: 4.5-6"

Growth speed: Slow

Longevity: Males 6+ years, females 20-40 years

Temperament: Docile yet skittish. If agitated they may flee and/or flick urticating hairs. Bites from this species are rare.

Bite potency:  Mild

Urticating hairs: Yes

Ideal Temperature:  70 to 75°

Humidity: Medium

Interesting Fact: G. porteri can potentially live a year or more without food.

Enclosure: Good ventilation is a must and safety should be a top priority when choosing and designing your tarantulas enclosure. The enclosure should not be too tall as to give the spider an opportunity to fall and injure itself. For spiderlings under about 1-1 1/4" we recommend the Terrestrial Spiderling Enclosure Kit. For specimens over 1" to about 2" we recommend the Terrestrial Juvenile Enclosure Kit. Specimens over 2" and under about 4.5 or 5" can go into a 7x7x11" complete terrestrial enclosure. If you have a larger specimen or would like to be sure the final enclosure is definitely large enough we recommend the 8x8x14" Adult Complete Terrestrial for 2-2.5" and over specimens. Click HERE to find out how to you measure a tarantula.

Substrate: While most adults will adopt a hide, slings often prefer to burrow. Cocofiber, vermiculite, peat moss and/or potting soil (or a mix) are all excellent substrate choices. Please make sure the substrate you choose is organic and chemical/fertilizer free. Do not use sand, pebbles, rocks or wood chips or anything else that could potentially cut or injure the tarantula.

In many cases a larger specimen would rather adopt or retrofit an existing hide than create it's own from deep substrate. Cork tubes half buried in substrate are what we use for our adult females. The specimen will excavate one side of the cork tube to it's liking. I like to think this makes the tarantula feel “at home” while minimizing the time and effort for the spider to settle in.

Spiderlings will often desire to create their own home by excavating a burrow. A tarantula with this talent and preference for tunneling is referred to as an obligate burrower. To encourage this natural behavior we recommend semi-moist substrate at least twice, and ideally three times as deep as the tarantulas DLS. Both the  Terrestrial Spiderling and Terrestrial Juvenile Enclosure Kit can be set up to encourage burrowing.

Water: Larger spiders 2” and over should be provided with a shallow water dish in order to drink. The water bowl should be rinsed our every time it is refilled. Being a scrubland species they will not require as frequent misting as an arboreal species however, I recommend keeping one corner of the enclosure lightly misted, especially if there is no water bowl.

Feeding: Adults will eat every 6-14 days depending on the size of the spider and it's prey. Spiderlings should eat more often, every 5-10 days. Adults may be fed crickets, mealworms or roaches. Spiderlings under .75” can only eat food small enough for it to overpower. This includes pinhead crickets, flightless fruit flies & freshly hatched "pinhead" rusty red roaches. It is not advised to feed your tarantula wild-caught food. It could contain parasites or pesticides that could be fatal to your pet. Keep your tarantulas enclosure clean. food waste left in the enclosure will invite mold, mildew, mites, flies and other pests. It is advised to remove uneaten prey items after 3-12 hours. If using a feeder who will not “bother” a tarantula such as dubia roaches it is alright to leave them in the enclosure as long as they are not causing stress to the specimen. A more detailed feeding, misting & troubleshooting guide can be found here: https://jamiestarantulas.com/guides/

Leave a Comment - Reply to

Your email address will not be published.
Required fields are marked.
Insert name
Insert a correct email
The message must have more than 100 characters
Validation errors occurred, check form field Post Comment
FOLLOW US
©2024 Jamie's Tarantulas
All Rights Reserved