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.

This new world tarantula is both native to Costa Rica and Guatemala. These spiders are known for their beautiful colors and stripes. These are very active tarantulas and spend most of their time spinning webs and or burrowing. The Costa Rican Tiger Rump is a fast grower but usually will not grow larger then 4 inches in size. They are great display spiders due to their heavy webbing. Males live to be about 5 to 6 years while females live a lot longer and well over 10 years.

Habitat:

We would recommend an enclosure with e temperature between 70 to 80 degrees and humidity level of 75 to 85 percent. These animals burrow a lot so make sure your substrate has a depth of at lest 3 to 4 inches. We would recommend something such as eco-earth with maybe some additional peat moss. Your enclosure size should be between 5 to 15 gallons in size depending on the size of your tarantula. For slings we do recommend you mist/spray your enclosure once a week. Having a small plant leaf with a few droplets of water on it also works well. As for full adults make sure to have a water dish full at all times in addition to spraying/misting the enclosure a few times a week.

Feeding:

Full grown adults are known to eat quite a bit. A steady diet of crickets and roaches should do the trick just fine for your adult costa rican tiger rump. As for slings (spider-lings) we recommend you try feeding them small pinhead crickets. They are also known for being scavengers and you can feed your sling a pre-killed crickets to feast on.

Attitude:

Though you can handle them we would not recommend it. They are very skittish and are defensive animals who do not hesitate to kick back some urticating hairs. Handle with utmost care.

All in all the Costa Rican Tiger Rump is a beautiful pet to have and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Just be careful if you are to handle him.

The Pinktoe Tarantula also known as the South American Pinktoe is also a very common spider across the US. Originally from South America these tarantulas love climbing. In the wild they live high up in trees and spin a lot of webbing. As with the Chilean Rosehair Tarantula, the pinktoe is also a very common arachnid to find in pet stores. It is very docile and a crowd favorite due to its magnificent pink toes (hence the name). This would be ideal for the intermediate tarantula lover. The reason we would say this wouldn’t be best for a beginner is due to its speed. Pinktoes are very quick and are known as jumpers and you might drop one if not handled appropriately. Other than their speed they are quit docile and can be the perfect pet. They usually live between 4 to 8 years with females growing to about 5 inches in length and males slightly shorter about 3.5 inches.

Habitat:

We would recommend a tall enclosure for these guys. Though fully grown they are smaller in size than most species of tarantulas these guys love climbing and having a birds eye view. I personally like the tall exo-terra terrariums as I feel its perfect for these guys. They are small so you would not need anything bigger then maybe a square foot in surface area and a foot and a half in height. Make sure you have plenty of plants for it to climb on as well as round cork bark. These animals are very active at times and you might see the enclosure covered in extensive web tubes within days. These tarantulas can also be kept in groups (communally) though we do not recommend it. You can indeed have multiple at a time in your enclosure but please note they do tend to cannibalize each other should they feel overcrowded. The pinktoe tarantula loves damp and breezy environments, they come from the wet and windy forests of Costa Rica, Venezuela and Brazil so make sure your terrarium has a humidity level between 78% to 85%. Normal room temperature should be enough for these guys but do not let it drop lower then 75 degrees. A water dish should always be available.

Feeding:

In the wild the Pinktoe tarantula typically eat insects and other arthropods but in captivity crickets do the trick just fine. They are not picky eaters but their feeding approach is quite different. They remain in a frozen state not moving for hours at a time until their food of choice comes up towards them in which they will strike in the blink of an eye. Your pinktoe does not have a limit as too how much it eats. Mine ate a cricket a day for three whole weeks once. The more you feed it the faster and bigger it grows.

Attitude:

This species is not known to being aggressive at all. When threatened most pinktoes will either jump and run away not wanting to fight at all. On occasion they will launch a stream of excrement (poo) when they feel threatened. Adults have great aim and have a range of up to 4 feet away. This can surely ruin that nice shirt you decided to wear. Their bite though venomous to insects is nothing more then a bee sting to humans.  They rarely get provoked to attack in such manner but always test and see if your tarantula is in the mood to be handled before taking it out.

All in all the Pinktoe Tarantula is a great tarantula to have as a pet. They are not aggressive what so ever and are very active. Though you should handle with care due to its speed and leaps. This is more of a tarantula for someone that has already had a tarantula before.