Tarantulas of the World

The Flame Rump Tree Spider or Thrixopelma ockerti is a semi-arboreal tarantula from Peru. They are somewhat rare as they are very hard to breed. Adults have a dark blueish grey body color with a reddish colored rump. As spiderlings they tend to be more brown and green in color with a golden red rump. Their abdomen almost have an elongated shape. The Flame Rump Tree Spider grows to be about 5 to 6 inches in length with females outliving males. Not much is known as to how old they grow to be but it is assumed that females will live to be 10 to 15 years old while males tend to live to be 3 to 4 years.

Habitat: This one is a weird one. Because they are semi-arboreal your enclosure needs to be both tall and wide. At full growth your enclosure will need about 18 inches in height and 12 inches in length. This will allow your tarantula to climb and roam the enclosure as s/he seems fit. As spiderlings they have been known to burrow but a vial with enough substrate and small piece of twig or bark should be perfect. For substrate we recommend coconut fiber kept somewhat damp. This tarantula does well with low humidity. Temperature should be kept between 65° to 85° F with a humidity of about 60%. Make sure to always keep a water dish overfilled in the enclosure at all times. Being that this tarantula does not spend all its time climbed up you can keep the water dish on the ground.

Feeding: This tarantula is a very hardy eater. As spiderlings we feed them small pinhead crickets with their heads crushed in to prevent them from harming the slings. As juveniles and all the way into adulthood they can be kept on a great diet of roaches, worms, crickets, locusts and a variety of other insects.

Attitude: The Peruvian Flame Rump Tree Spider is quite docile. It can be extremely skittish and you can expect it to flick a lot of urticating hairs. The Perucian Flame Rump Tree Spider can bite and this can cause some discomfort. The bite is not medically significant and at most can be compared to a bee sting.

This is a collector’s dream tarantula and can be great for any beginner. It is always out and about showing off its amazing looks and is incredibly docile. We of course always recommend not handling the tarantula if you do not need to.

This New World (NW) species comes from Venezuela though recently they have been found all the way in Brazil as well. The Venezuelan Suntiger tarantula is an arboreal species that is a crowd favorite due to its vibrant black coloring with orange chevron marks on its legs and an orange tiger-stripe design on their abdomen. This tarantula experience sexual dimorphism where females are usually bigger and more of a velvet black and sharp orange coloring while males are smaller and are a bit more faded/lighter in color. This is an average size tarantula that at full growth will end up being about 6 inches in size.

Habitat: Because they are tree dwelling spiders your enclosure should be taller with not so much floor space. As spiderlings you can keep them in a small vial with a twig or stick for them to climb up on. At full growth we recommend the most you needing being an 8″ x 8″ wide enclosure that is about 14″ tall. As they like to climb you should also add a decent sized vertical piece of bark with a water dish glued somewhere about 3″ to 4″ from the top. Place the cork bark in about 3″ of substrate. We recommend using coconut fiber such as eco-earth for its high resistance to mold. The Venezuelan Suntiger strives on temperatures of 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit with at least 70% humidity. They tend to web up and create thick tube webs in their enclosure and might even end up living somewhere at the base of their bark.

Feeding:  As slings we recommend small pinhead crickets with their heads crushed off. As most tarantulas the Venezuelan Suntiger can live off of a steady diet of crickets, roaches, locusts, moths and worms. They are great eaters and are fast to pounce on their prey. Be cautious when opening their enclosure to feed them.

Attitude: Though a New World species, this tarantula does not have any urticating hairs. It is extremely defensive and relies solely on its speed and bite when threatened. We do not recommend this tarantula to inexperienced keepers. We also advise you to not handle a Suntiger tarantula because of these reasons.

By far one of the most sought after dwarf species, the Colombian Pumpkin Patch tarantula has most definitely become a hobby favorite. They come to us from the pacific coast of Colombia where there are two morphs of this species named “Groot/Large” and “Small/Klein”. The Groot/Large species will grow to be about 3 to 4 inches while the Small/Klein species will grow to be about 2 to 2.5 inches in length. They love a more tropical climate and are a new world species. The average life span for these also varies with most females living to be about 8 to 10 years while males have been known to mature within 2 to 3 years. The Pumpkin Patch will show their colors as early as 2nd to 3rd instar slings.

Habitat:  There is not much room needed for these little guys. As spiderlings you should be able to easily keep them in small vials and later on in deli cups. As full adults they would only need at most a gallon sized critter keeper. They are known burrowers and an ample amount of damp substrate would suffice. We recommend you use coconut fiber but simple damp soil would do the trick just fine. A piece of bark or wood would make a great initial hide as they try to burrow. This species is known for being a very heavy webber and you can count on it webbing the entire enclosure once it feels at home. Temperatures should be kept at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of about 70%. We recommend you keep one side of the enclosure dry and the other side damp.

Feeding: As slings you can feed them flightless fruit flies as well as small crushed up crickets. As they get older you can keep them on a steady diet of pinhead crickets and any type of roaches. The Pumpkin Patch Tarantula can also eat mealworms and superworms with ease. Make sure that you do remove any sort of prey that does that get eaten within 24 hours. These guys being burrowers you might not be able to tell when they are in pre-molt stages or even molting and would not want to cause harm to them by stressing them out and leaving prey in their enclosures.

Attitude: The Pumpkin Patch Tarantula is a great beginner tarantula it is very calm and they rarely strike a threat pose or flick hairs. They tend to make a quick dash once disturbed instead of being defensive. If bitten their venom tends to be very weak and should not cause much discomfort, if you are allergic however please seek medical treatment. As always, though small, you should always be careful when handling any tarantula!