Tarantulas of the World

The Red Slate Ornamental tarantula is a species from India that spends most of its times up in trees or plants of the Indian forests. It is a very rare species to come across due to the rare breeding of it, spiderslings tend to be very delicate and require a lot of maintenance until reaching full adult size. In addition they are scarce in the wild due to their natural habitat being threatened due to cutting of trees and plants and deforestation in India. They are most definitely a species for the more experienced of hobbyists. They tend to grow between 7 to 9 inches in length and get to be anywhere from 4 to 9 years old.

Habitat:

The Red Slate Ornamental Tarantula is an arboreal species who likes to spend its time up in trees in the wild. You will need an  enclosure of about 10 to 15 gallons that is more tall then it has floor space. About 3 inches of substrate should be used. We recommend a coconut fiber and peat moss mixture, make sure it is heavily damp. A nice piece or pieces of bark should be added for your tarantula to climb up on. It will end up webbing its home at the top of your enclosure. A fresh water dish should also be available and always overflowing with clean water. Misting is not needed but you can still do so once or twice a week. Just be sure to not spray directly on top of your tarantula but more towards the panels of the enclosure. You should have a temperature of about 68 to 75 degrees and a humidity level of about 75%.

Feeding:

The Red Slate Ornamental Tarantula is an easy eater and will devour pretty much any insects you can mix up its diet with. You can feed them either crickets, cockroaches, locusts and moths. A feeding of once a week should be just fine. As always should you see that your p. rufilata has not eaten its prey within 24, remove the prey. It could be that it has no appetite or in some cases could be in pre-molt stages. Do not stress out your tarantula by having the prey stay in the enclosure.

Attitude:

These are very skittish animals and can easily get startled. They are quite fast as slings or juveniles and only slow down as they reach adulthood. They do not come with urticating hairs and their primary line of defense is their bite. Though their venom is not lethal it still has a medium toxicity level that can cause moderate pain, muscle cramps and sometimes fever like symptoms. They are not as aggressive as other old world tarantulas but will easily go on the defense should they feel threatened.

We would not recommend this species for a beginner tarantula keeper but for more advanced and experienced hobbyist. It is very rare and great species to have.

The Curlyhair tarantula also known as the Honduran Curlyhair is a type of tarantula from Central America, primarily found in Honduras and Costa Rica. This tarantula is loved due to its dark color and golden/bronze hairs all over its body that is more wavy then it is curly. They grow to be about 5 to 6 inches.They are docile and can last you quite a bit with females growing to be as old as 10 years. They are slow moving and easy to handle.

Habitat:

The Curlyhair tarantula is a terrestrial tarantula but also an opportunistic burrower. A full grown tarantula will require a 10 to 15 gallon tank that is about twice the width of its leg span and should be just tll enough for it to be able to flip over when in premolting stages. Your enclosure should have about 4 inches of substrate, preferably a peat moss/coconut fiber mixture that should be lightly damp. They should do just fine with about 75 to 85 percent humidity and a temperature of about 80 to 85 degrees. a hide should also be present in the enclosure should your tarantula need it. In addition a fresh shallow water dish that is always overfilled should also be readily available. Spraying is not needed however you can still do so from time to time. Do not spray directly onto your tarantula.

Feeding:

A steady diet of crickets and cockroaches should be fine for your tarantula as they are easy eaters. As always do leave prey in its enclosure for more then 24 hours.

Attitude:

They are by far a docile species. Easy to handle but be careful to not startle your tarantula. They do come equipped with urticating hairs which they will use should they feel threatened. This spider will use either its urticating hairs or defensive posture before it would try to bite. Its venom is only mild and in most cases does not give any side effects.

The Curlyhair Tarantula is a great beginner tarantula and great care should be given to keep yours living for a long time. As always, though easy to handle, be careful not to drop your tarantula as it can be fatal.

The Ornamental Baboon Tarantula, also known as the Togo Starburst Tarantula is an old world arboreal species native of West Africa. They are known for their great growth rate (with adults reaching full size within 3 years), excellent speed and great cryptic patterned colors (black, white and grey). They are quite secretive but once out in the open a definite crowd pleaser. They grow to be about 8 to 10 inches in length.  They are not to be messed with as they tend to be very aggressive and carry a potent venom.

Habitat:

In the wild the Ornamental Baboon Tarantula like to be up in trees hidden due to their amazing camouflage-like colors. At full growth you are going to want an enclosure that is anywhere between 10 to 15 gallons in size. Make sure your enclosure has less floor space and more height as this tarantula is arboreal and would rarely use the tank floor to crawl on. As small spiderlings you will notice that they try to burrow but that only lasts for months, as juveniles they will switch it up to be more on higher grounds. Enough bark should be available for them to climb on. Substrate should be about 2 to 4 inches and should be kept damp to supply the right type of humidity for this species. A clean shallow water dish should also be readily available and should be overfilled at all times. Temperature should be between 80 to 85 degrees with a humidity level of about 65 degrees.

Feeding:

This tarantula eats mostly large crickets, cockroaches, moths and locusts. In captivity they will do just fine being fed once a week a few large crickets at a time or 2 b.dubia cockroaches. A close eye should be kept on them, a stop in eating could be a sign that your tarantula is getting ready to molt.

Attitude:

The Ornamental Baboon is known as having one of the most potent venom out of all tarantulas. They are incredibly fast and will not hesitate to bite. They do not come equipped with urticating hairs and therefor have no primary way of protection other then using their fangs. Extreme caution should be used when opening its enclosure and we most certainly not recommend you handling them.

It is a beautiful species for a more advanced hobbyist as we do not recommend them to any beginner or even intermediate tarantula connoisseur.