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Jess's Pet Fact Files: Chilean Rose Tarantula

  • danebrown
  • Jun 30, 2021
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jul 23


Smiling person in black polo stands in front of orange background with illustrated papers, magnifying glass, and a tarantula. Text reads "Jess' Pet Factfiles: This week we're taking a closer look at Chilean rose tarantulas."


Name: Chilean rose tarantula


Scientific Name: Grammostola rosea


Classification: Arachnid


A tarantula rests on a tilted orange tube, surrounded by soil in a clear container.

Identification: A Chilean rose tarantula's body colour can be dark brown, tan,

blackish or grey; with hairs all over their body that can be copper or pink.


These tarantulas are small, not very strong, have eight legs (four pairs) and eight eyes.


They have four appendages near the mouth called chelicerae and pedipalps. The chelicerae contain the fangs and venom, these fold under the body - tarantulas must strike downwards to impale their prey. The pedipalps are used as feelers and the claws for eating, males also use these when mating.


Body length: 11 – 14cm


Weight: 56g – 85g


Lifespan: Females: 25 years. Males: 5 – 10 years.


Tarantula on a wooden surface in front of a colorful map of South America, highlighting Argentina. The mood is calm and curious.

Distribution: Found in northern Chile and parts of Bolivia and Argentina.


Habitat: Chilean rose tarantulas are primarily desert and scrubland dwellers. They dig

burrows in the ground or inhabit burrows abandoned by rodents. They produce silk to line

their burrows. They do not make webs for catching prey.

Close-up of a hairy tarantula crawling on a rocky surface, holding a small insect in its mouth. The background is blurred and earthy-toned.

Diet: They are carnivores that eat a variety of invertebrates including crickets,

cockroaches, mealworms as well as small vertebrates like mice, frogs and lizards.


Feeding Behaviour: Chilean rose tarantulas are nocturnal predators. They chase their prey - unlike spiders that spin webs to catch their food - injecting venom and enzymes to break prey down into ingestible fluids.


A small tarantula on dark brown soil in a clear container. The setting is simple, focusing on the spider against the earthy background.

Breeding Behaviour: Chilean rose tarantulas are oviparous, laying about 100 eggs at a time in a silken sac-like case. If the eggs are fertilised the female will produce an egg sac a week after mating, these egg sacs can contain in excess of 500 babies.

Conservation status: Least Concern


Predators: Large mammals, reptiles, birds, other tarantulas and Pepsis hunting wasps (they paralyze the tarantula with one sting and then feed them alive to their larvae).


Threats: Pet trade.

A large brown tarantula with outstretched legs clings to a beige wall, casting prominent shadows. The setting is plain and neutral.

Did you know: There are 800 species of tarantulas ranging in size from the size of your fingernail to 30cm (Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula) and none of them are dangerous to humans.







 
 
 

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