Tarantulas of the World

The Giant Blue Bloom tarantula or Blue Bloom Birdeater is a species found in or around Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and neighboring countries around the South-West coastline of South America. They grow to be about 7 inches in length with females growing slightly bigger then males They grow like weeds and get prettier as they get bigger. As slings (spiderlings) they have an orange abdomen with black patterns resembling a conifer/pine tree. As adults they display sexual dimorphism where not only are males smaller but also end up having superb color patterns ranging anywhere from a purple carapace to purple/blue/black legs while females tend to be more velvet black in color with pink colored hairs and pink markings on their carapace.

Habitat:

The Giant Blue Bloom Tarantula are terrestrials but as slings and juveniles they might burrow. We recommend a 5 to 10 gallon enclosure depending on the size of your tarantula filling at least half with slightly moist substrate. We use coconut fiber for ours and it seems to do the trick just fine. Your humidity should range from 70% to 85% with plenty of ventilation and a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This species we’ve noticed becomes a tad bit nervous if the temperature is a bit too high. As always a fresh water dish should always be readily available and on the opposite side of the hide in the enclosure.

Feeding:

The Blue Bloom are voracious eaters. As slings we feed them flightless fruit flies to small pinhead crickets. Fully grown they can eat up to 3 times a week with ease. Juveniles to Adults should have a steady diet of B.dubia roaches, crickets and locusts. This tarantula jumps sometimes when catching its prey. We do not recommend over feeding your tarantula and you should always keep a close eye on it and its prey. Any prey left in its enclosure uneaten after 48 hours should be removed just in case your tarantula is in pre-molt stages.

Attitude:

The Giant Blue Bloom Tarantula tends to flee when strongly disturbed but can be pretty defensive. It comes equipped with urticating hairs and an unpleasant bite. Their venom though strong is harmless to humans. Handling is possible but we strongly recommend you not to.

All in all it is a very nice looking tarantula that’s almost always visible. We recommend this species for someone who already has some experience with tarantulas.

The Colombian Bluebottle tarantula is a rare species from Colombia. They are widely sought after due to their extremely blue abdomen which starts to change color as they go from spiderling to juveniles. These fossorial tarantula are very hardy and live a very long and healthy life with females outliving the males and full grown adults reaching a size of about 5 inches in length. They are relatively slow growers and will take a while to get to that size.

Habitat:

The Colombian Bluebottle Tarantula are fossorials and just love to burrow. As slings (spiderlings) you are going to want to keep them in a vial that is at least 1/2 to 3/4 filled with very damp moist substrate. They do prefer high humidity. As full grown adults you will need at most a 5 gallon tank that has more crawl space then height. We recommend at least 4 to 5 inches of coconut fiber substrate that is fairly damp. A hide should also be added as initial hiding place for your tarantula before it starts to burrow all through the enclosure. Temperatures should stay anywhere between 77 to 83 degrees with a humidity level of about 75 to 80 percent. The Colombian Bluebottle will spend most of its time underground but unlike many burrowers it does surface more often.

Feeding:

The Colombian Bluebottle Tarantula is a great eater and should be fed at most once a week. As spiderlings they should be fed a steady diet of flightless fruit flies and eventually small pinhead crickets. As juveniles to adults you can feed them a steady diet of cockroaches, locusts, crickets and even meal worms. Should you see that the insects are not consumed within 24/48 hours we recommend you remove them from the enclosure. It could be that your fossorial tarantula is in premolt or molting stages underground and needs to be left alone. Having prey in its enclosure at this time might be stressful for your tarantula.

Attitude:

This is a very skittish tarantula and should not be handled. They can be very fast and though they do not have a nasty attitude they can still bite and flick urticating hairs. Their bite is not lethal to humans and is as powerful as a bee sting.

We recommend this tarantula for the beginner keeper who already has some experience with tarantulas and is looking for a nice hardy fossorial.

Do you have a Colombian Bluebottle? Tell us about it or ask any questions. We ‘d love to hear from you. Comment down below!

Your Tarantula First Aid! Tarantulas suffer from very few illnesses and seldom get sick unfortunately there are not many exotic vets that would even take in a sick tarantula let alone help you with them. With this post we would like to share some common things you can do yourself to help your tarantula should something ever happen to it.

Creating an ICU:

The first thing you need to know how to do is creating an ICU (Intensive Care Unit). This is a must know how for any intermediate to expert tarantula hobbyist.

Step 1: Make sure you get a deli cup or plastic dish with matching lid. Make sure this is big enough to easily fit your biggest tarantula. Make sure to also puncture small holes for some air ventilation on the side of the cup/dish and a few on the lid.

Step2: Grab a few pieces of paper towels and lightly mist them with water. You are going to pack them nice and tight  at the bottom of your plastic cup/dish. This will allow your tarantula to feel nice, soft and secure.

Step3: What we also recommend is to add a small water dish filled with fresh clean water to the ICU should your tarantula need it.

Step4 (optional): In the event that you need to keep humidity levels up we do recommend you setting your ICU near a humidifier. This of course being optional is still a great recommended tip.

When to use an ICU:

There are certain scenarios where using an ICU will be your best option for your tarantula.

Dehydration: This can quite often be the easiest thing to overlook. Even desert species tarantulas can get dehydrated. A key sign of a dehydrated tarantula is a mildly shrunken abdomen. In worst cases a severely dehydrated tarantula will also have its legs curled up under him/her and even appear sluggish. Simply place the tarantula in the ICU cup and make sure the water dish is close to its mouth or even place its mouth in the water dish. You should not be alarmed as tarantulas breath from their book lungs situated on the underside of their abdomens and not mouth. Keep their abdomen away from the water source. We recommend you keep the tarantula in your ICU for about 12 hours at most while checking up on it every few hours. Your tarantula should be back to normal and make a full recovery within 24 hours.

Bad/Wet molt or trauma resulting in fluid leak: Arachnids use non muscular moving functions and rely on blood pressure and fluid (“blood”) to move limbs. Bad or wet molts happen to even the healthiest of tarantulas with no scientific explanation as to why. Should your tarantula experience a wet or bad molt immediate induction into an ICU would be your best bet. These same rules apply should your tarantula hurt itself by either a puncture wound or even a fall and starts to lose fluid. Make sure your tarantula drinks plenty of water to replace the fluid lost due to the wet/bad molt.

This will be the start of our Tarantula First Aid series as we give you other helpful tips and tricks for your tarantula in the event of an accident. Do you have questions about your tarantula? Simply ask away. We will be more than happy to help you.