When it comes to choosing a pet most people go for a dog or a cat, or for children hamsters, rats or gerbils, if you are looking for a fairly easy pet to look after that will be educational as well as a talking point for your childrens friends at school then get yourself a Chilean Rose Tarantula, I had been wanting a spider for years, I was always the one at school that picked the spider up and put it outside when the teachers wouldn't go near it, or saved the house spider from its death when my brothers went to tred on them, so about 4 years ago my husband bought me one as a birthday present, I was over the moon and called him Cedric, I had already researched on the net about looking after my spider so was all set up, A few months down the line she started to weave her silk across the front of her cave which I presumed meant she was about to molt, as when this is happening they make a bed type structure with their silk for them to lay on for molting, so I left him be and didn't feed him over this time , after about a week and no molt I realised it wasn't a bed she was making , she had a very big egg sac underneath her , this I hadn't research so was straight on the net, i'd say it was about 5-6 weeks later when I went to have a nose at how it was coming on that I noticed the spiderlings all over the tank >.<, then the massive task of catching them all and putting them into plastic cups covered with cut up tights and held round the rim with elastic bands, over the next few weeks it took me ages to feed them all with micro crickets as we had near on to 200 spiderlings, in the end the task was too much for me to keep on top of so we gave them all to a reptile shop and that was that, Since I have had her she has only had one molt but what an incredible thing that is to witness, so anyway enough of my pet, the next section will be about caring for your Chilean Rose.

The Chilean Rose-hair Tarantula is a moderately large tarantula. They reach adult size in about 3 to 4 years with about a 5" (12.5 cm) leg span. This spider is dark brown to black but is covered with a coat of reddish-orange to pink hairs over its entire body. This light rose casting on the hair is where the name comes from.
Mature males have longer legs and are slightly more fuzzy in appearance. The female rstays stocky and bulky throughout her life.

Like many spiders these terantula's are solitary animals except at breeding and should be housed singly. When housed together they may become very territorial and the largest spider may decide to have the others on the menu within the captive environment.

Rose-haired Tarantulas feed well on a variety of insect prey including crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, and others.Gut-loaded ( green vegetables) crickets are better hydrated and provide more nutritional value. On average these pets should be fed two weekly feedings with one to three food items. Uneaten prey should be removed after one day. Food must usually be fed live, as dead prey may be rejected or go unnoticed. The Chilean Rose's feeding schedule is rather erratic, however; the spider can fast for weeks to months at a time. Fasting is sometimes an indication of an upcoming moult

Chilean Roses are relatively docile, low maintenance, and inexpensive, so they are popular as pets. Chilean Roses can be kept in a low-humidity terranium at least twice the spiders' legspan in length, with a retreat for hiding. They are quite happy living at room temperatures of around 20-30c.

Chilean Roses are usually skittish, running away from danger rather than acting defensively, but they may also raise their front legs and present their fangs in preparation to defend themselves. As with all tarantulas they have small spine-like hairs on their abdomen that they will flick off by using a leg to rub on it  when threatened, this is more irritating than anything as mine flicked her hairs at me a little while back , luckily it was just on my hand and never went near my eyes. Although rose hair tarantulas are mellow and calm, a owner should allow the spider to come to them and walk calmly on their hand before lifting them from their tanks. When a spider rears up and shows its fangs, they are warning you that they are not in the mood to be handled. In this state, the spider should not be restrained for they can bite, although typically this is a rare occurrence. Spider can be painful, with localized burning, itching and swelling, often compared to a bee sting.

A variety of substrates work well for rose hair bedding and include: peat moss, potting soil, horticultural vermiculite. Garden soil should never be used! Garden soil may have a large amount of environmental pesticides to control bugs or weeds weeds which may well be very bad for you spiders health. I use bark as my substrate  from a reptile shop and have never had any problems with my spider not liking it. A shallow dish of clean water should always be provided. The dish should be smaller than the spider. If you don't want to use a dish of water you can use soaked cotton wool , but always make sure this is moist .

Tarantulas are at their most vulnerable when they are molting. During the time of molting the spider may not eat for days to weeks. Prey may possibly injure a molting tarantula, especially crickets, and therefore should be removed when the pet does not have the appetite for them. Handling during this period may also cause injury so it is best to leave them alone during the molting process until such time that the cuticle has hardened.

All tarantulas molt their exoskelton, which is actually a process known as ecdysis, as they grow. Essentially ecdysis is a process by which the old stiff cuticleis replaced with a new soft cuticle that allows for growth until it hardens. The first sign of ensuing ecdysis is usually a change to a darker colour than they normally would be. The spider typically becomes motionless while the new cuticle is secreted beneath the old one and part of the old cuticle is resorbed. Ecdysis will actually be facilitated by the formation of a fluid between the old and the new cuticle, which is resorbed just prior to the opening of the cuticle, leaving the space filled with air. The hormone ecdysoneis released and causes the tearing of the seam between the carapace and the sternum. Movements from the spider will actually enlarge this tear which will continue over the (abdomen). Further movement by the spider will eventually free the legs. Once the spider is free, it will stay in its hiding place to blow up itself making the new cuticle as large as possible. The entire process of ecdysis may take one or more hours. Males are unable to molt following maturity while females can continue to undergo the process. Many a beginning keeper has looked in their tanks to find what they thought was a dead tarantula that is actually an old exoskeleton.