Tarantulas of the World

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.

The Arizona Blond Tarantula is a species common in the deserts of Arizona and Southern North America. It is very well liked in the amateur community due to it being extremely docile. For the most part these are medium sized tarantulas with mature females having a body length between 2 to 3 inches and leg spans of about 4 to 5 inches. Some can be significantly smaller then this all together.  Females live to be 12+ years while males usually live to be about 8 to 10 years.

Habitat:

These species of tarantulas spend most of their life in the wild in the dry hot dessert. In captivity they are rather easy to handle with not needing more then a 5 to 10 gallon tank (depending on the size of your tarantula). Make sure you have a very dry substrate with a water dish. You can decorate it as much as you want with shrubs but make sure you also have a hide for your tarantula. Preferably a nice piece of bark.

Feeding:

The Arizona Blond tarantula is also an easy one to feed. Feeding them 1 to 2 times a week should be enough. Their diet should consist of crickets and roaches. And they do tend to not eat before a molt is to occur.

Attitude:

These animals are extremely slow and as stated before are extremely docile. It takes a bit to provoke them, however that does not mean they will never feel threatened. They do come with urticating hairs that they release as a defense mechanism. They might bite but only as a last resort and should not feel any worse then a bee sting. The venom though potent to insects is very harmless to humans (unless yo might have specific allergies).

The Arizona Blond Tarantula is great as a first tarantula due to its docile nature. They are easy to handle and require low maintenance. They also are very cheap in comparison to other tarantulas and an Arizona Blond could cost you around $20. We would highly recommend this as your first or even second tarantula to have if you are still a novice to the hobby.

Have a A.Chalcodes? Tell us about it. Show us your pictures! Even ask us some quetions. Comment always welcomed.