Tarantulas of the World

The Brazilian Black Tarantula is another crowd favorite mostly known for its velvet black coloration once hitting adulthood while spiderlings tend to be brown in color. They are natives of Brazil and tend to not reach full adulthood and growth for about 6 to 7 years with males living out to be between those years. Females tend to live double that amount of time and will reach a length of about 7 to 9 inches. Highly sought after due to its docile and calm nature and long life it is surely a great tarantula for a beginner to intermediate hobbyist.

Habitat:

At maximum growth you are going to need an enclosure between 10 to 15 gallons.These are terrestrial tarantulas but are opportunistic burrowers. Though it might end up being that your g.pulchra might not ever burrow it is still recommended that you add at least 4 to 5 inches of substrate. Their environment in the wild is relatively dry, and you are going to want to have the same setup for your Brazilian Black tarantula. We do recommend that you use coconut fiber just lightly dampened as most grammostola species they dislike wet and if your substrate is too “wet” they will end up crawling up to the side of your tank and not touch the substrate. In addition a hide should also be added should they want to use it. Make sure they do get plenty of ventilation and they only require about a 70% or sometimes even less humidity. They tend to do just fine in room temperature settings but we recommend their enclosure to be anywhere between 75 to 82 degrees. A full shallow water dish should also always be available for your g.pulchra and overfilling it should be enough to supply humidity. Spraying is not necessary.

Feeding:

The Brazilian Black Tarantula are much better eaters then most other grammostola genus’. A steady diet of large crickets, b.dubia cockroaches and locusts should do the trick just fine. At full growth they can easily devour a couple of roaches at a time.

Attitude:

The g. pulchra is considered an extremely docile tarantula and they normally are easy to handle should you start handling yours the minute you get it. They do come with urticating hairs but are one of the least irritating of all urticating hairs. They tend to not get skittish that often and rarely use their hairs and even more, rarely bite. Their venom has a medium toxicity level and is usually not harmful to humans (unless you have certain allergies).

All in all the Brazilian Black tarantula is a great species to have, they are slow growers great to handle and  extremely calm. Their amazing velvet black color makes them a great showcase tarantula. We do recommend being careful when handling full sized adults to prevent dropping them which can injure them severely or worse cause death. They can certainly be a great pet for as females tend to live for a long time.

Do you have a Brazilian Black Tarantula or have questions? Tell us about it! Comment down below! We’d love to hear from you.

The Greenbottle Blue Tarantula also known as the GBB tarantula is a great specimen from Venezuela. These tarantulas are widely known for their unique coloring which includes an orange abdomen blueish green carapace and metallic blue legs. Though they are not necessarily docile they are great for beginner/intermediate hobbyists because of how little maintenance is needed to care for these as pets. In addition they are showcase animals who spend most of their time just sitting out in the open for people to marvel at their vibrant colors. They grow to be about 6 to 8 inches and grow at a speedy rate. Males live to be about 3 to 5 years while females live to be between 10 to 13 years old (though some have lived to be older).

Habitat:

The Greenbottle Blue Tarantula come from a very dry place in Venezuela and spend most of their lives burrowed underground. You are going to want to have a well ventilated enclosure, preferably a terrarium tank with top screen lid. Full grown Greenbottle Blue tarantulas will be fine with just a 10 gallon tank. You are going to want to make sure it has more room to crawl then to climb as they are terrestrial. Make sure you add about 4 to 5 inches of substrate so that they can burrow. Your going to want a lightly damp substrate (more dry then damp) of preferably coconut fiber. A hide should also be added though chances are it will just burrow and not use it at all.  You will see its burrow covered in webbing which it will actually change from time to time. You should also have a shallow water dish with clean water at all times. As for temperature you will be looking at anywhere between 72 to 80 degrees with a humidity level of about 75 percent.

Feeding:

The Greenbottle Blue Tarantula has a fast appetite! it will not give you any eating problems. Its diet should consist of cockroaches, crickets, mealworms and locusts. Juveniles should be feed twice a week while older adults only once a week. You will see that this animal will grow steady.

Attitude:

Though you can easily handle the Greenbottle Blue tarantula it is certainly a very skittish type. It comes with urticating hairs and will easily strike a defense pose should you startle him. Their venom is mildly potent but should not be an issue unless you have certain allergies. Handling should be done with care as they are also very fast spiders.

To conclude it will be a great display animal due to its great colors but we recommend not handling so much. Great for any hobbyist collection.

The Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula who is also known as the Striped-Knee Tarantula is tarantula from Costa Rica and central America. They grow to be about 4 to 5 inches in length with females living to be anywhere between 15 to 20 years and males usually between 6 to 9 years. They are great for intermediate hobbyists who have some experience with tarantulas already. Widely sought after due to their black abdomen and white striped legs (such stripes as zebras), these terrestrial burrowers dig deep into the Costa Rican rainforests. They are most certainly a great addition for any collector.

Habitat:

At full adult size you are only going to be needing an enclosure that is going to be about 10 gallons in size. They are terrestrial but also burrowers and they can burrow a lot. Make sure you have about 3 to 4 inches of substrate which should also be a mix of peat moss and coconut fiber. They do require a high humidity level of over 75 percent at all times and so we do recommend you dampening the substrate accordingly in addition to overfilling its shallow water dish to keep humidity levels up. We do not recommend misting as it does not seem to help as much. Temperature wise you will be looking at anywhere between 75 to 82 degrees. They normally do not require a hide as they spend quite a bit of time simply staying in their burrowed hole.But you can decorate with perhaps a piece of bark or plant or even both.

Feeding:

A steady diet of dubia roaches or large crickets should be just fine. Should you have a smaller spiderling (sling) you can try simple fruit flies and small pinhead crickets. As always you should only feed it about once a week as that should be plenty. Should you notice its prey still in the enclosure after 24 hours feel free to remove it. Do not let it cause harm or stress to your tarantula.

Attitude:

They are not as docile as people might think they are. They tend to be extremely skittish and will easily either strike a defensive pose before retreating to thier hide or kick its urticating hairs. They can bite but rarely actually do. Their Venom is not dangerous to humans (unless you have specific allergies) and contain a low toxicity level.

All in all the Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula is a great spider to have. The reason we do not recommend them as a beginner species is due to their skittishness and houdini like capabilities as they are great escape artists. They are low maintenance and would make the perfect pet.

Tell us about your Costa Rican Zebra tarantula or ask us any questions about yours. We would love to hear from you! Comment down below.