Tarantulas of the World

The Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula or as many call it, the Giant Whiteknee Tarantula, is a tarantula of Brazil known for its fast growth, great size and awesome colors. Your typical Acanthoscurria geniculata will grow to be about 8 to 9 inches in length and will reach that big size in only 2 to 3 years. They have great coloration with striped black and white knees/legs. They are rather fast for their size and are semi aggressive.

Habitat:

Your Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula is a terrestrial tarantula though some do burrow most of them will not. Simply having a hide big enough for it to fit under in your enclosure should be fine. As for size of your enclosure will want to have a 10 to 15 gallon tank. The Brazilian Giant is a poor climber due to its large size therefor it is key to have a tank that is more long and wide then it is tall. The height should be just enough to allow your tarantula to easily flip over should it start a molt. This will prevent your tarantula from climbing up the enclosure and prevent any injuries it might undergo should it fall. A full shallow water dish should also be readily available with fresh clean water at all time. Your substrate should be about 3 to 4 inches and should be relatively dry. A nice mix of vermiculite/peat moss and coconut fiber should be just fine. As for temperature you will want something between 75 to 80 degrees with a humidity level of about 70 percent.

Feeding:

Your tarantula will pretty much eat anything from insects to small lizards and mice. We would recommend a steady feeding of only large crickets, cockroaches and locusts. Ideally they should be only fed once a week . As always though they can eat small mice and lizards it is not recommended. The amount of calcium it consumes might end up hardening its exoskeleton which can make it harder for it to molt and in cases can cause a bad or wet molt.

Attitude:

The Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula is semi aggressive and should it get startled will easily assume a defensive position showing fangs. They do come equipped with urticating hairs which can be quite irritating. At full grown size they pack a powerful bite with fangs that can easily be an inch in length which can easily cause severe damage should they pierce human flesh. Their venom is semi potent and a bite can surely cause muscle cramps, pain and swelling. We recommend minimum tampering with its enclosure as they do not like to be bothered much.

Handling should be done if you have been handling it since little so that he/she is accustomed to it. Due to their size we normally would not recommend handling. Due to size it might be hard to properly hold your tarantula which can result in it biting you or worse case scenario falling from your hands which will certainly result in serious injuries or death of your spider. It is a great species that should be respected and set as more of a display tarantula for your collection. It is excellent specimen for an intermediate to expert hobbyist.

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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.

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The Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater tarantula is a New World species coming from eastern Brazil. They are velvet black with pink hairs all over their bodies. They are actually the 3rd largest tarantula in the world (getting beaten by T.blondi “Goliath Birdeater” and T.aphophysis “Pinkfoot Goliath”) growing anywhere from 9 to 12 inches. They are fast growers being able to grow to full size within 18 to 24 months. They also get to live to be anywhere between 6 to 12 years. Quick fact is that the female can actually lay an egg sack of 1200 spiderlings (talk about a BIG family). They are relatively passive sitting still for display in their enclosures.

Housing:

This is the type of tarantula that you will need a big enclosure for. At full growth you are looking into needing a 25 to 30 gallon tank. Be sure that this tank is has more width and length then it has height. You are going to want to give them ample space to crawl and just enough height to turn over (in the event they need to molt). They are poor climbers due to their large size and weight. They rarely climb and if they do it can be dangerous for them. A fall can certainly cause injuries (visit https://halelaw.com/south-venice-ammunition-explosion-causes-injuries-and-airlift/ to get lawyers help to file compensation), bleeding and worse even death. We do recommend you give this tarantula at 3 to 5 inches of substrate. Being from Brazil they are used to a very warm and humid environment and we recommend a temperature of about 76 to 84 degrees with a humidity level of 75 percent. They are not known for using a hide though you can always place one in its enclosure, chances are it will not use it. You will also want to add some bark as something for it to climb and stand on. A fresh shallow water dish should be available with clean water at all times.

Feeding:

The Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater Tarantula has a very big appetite. They eat constantly and can easily get overfed. You are going to want to feed them only once a week and a large cockroach or locusts should be fine. You can also feed them crickets, moths and occasionally a small lizard, pinkie mice or even small frogs, (they actually do not mainly eat birds) however we do not recommend a steady feeding of lizards/pinkies or frogs due to the potential calcium buildup it can produce in your tarantula’s exoskeleton which can possibly harden to much and become an issue during molting. However there should be no other issues feeding this specific tarantula.

Attitude:

Your Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater Tarantula is not known for being aggressive at all. They do have one of the worst of urticating hairs which can induce horrid rashes. They are not quick to bite but if provoked will certainly do so. A full grown  Lasiodora parahybana can have fangs up to a full inch in length which can certainly induce some damage should it bite you. In addition they have potent venom which can prompt muscle cramps and pain.

You can most certainly handle your Brazilian Salmon Pink but please be careful in doing so. Not being able to hold them properly (due to their size) can make the tarantula flick urticating hairs and worse case scenario bite. You also do not want to drop such a large tarantula as it can certainly be fatal. All in all a must have and definitely great for an intermediate hobbyist who wants a showcase pet.

Do you have a Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater? Do you have a question or just want to share your experience? Tell us about it! Comment down below!