Tarantulas of the World

The Cameroon Red Baboon Tarantula also known as the Giant Baboon spider is a large tarantula from Africa (Cameroon/Togo). It has a variation of colors which range from black after a fresh molt and then turns to an orange/red coloration which then changes to more of a brown color as it gets ready to molt again. It will repeat this pattern and therefor make it easy for keepers to check up on it at all times and know what happens to their tarantula. It has very weak and small eyes that can only judge light levels. This species does tend to grow to be about 7 inches in length with males living to be about 4 to 5 years old and females living to be up to 16 years old. They are very fast growers and a typical Giant Baboon spider can easily molt 4 to 6 times its first 2 years. Though having hairy legs they do not come equipped with urticating hairs and as most old world tarantulas they are aggressive.

Habitat:

The Cameroon Red Baboon tarantula is a deep burrower and therefor you should have that in mind while setting up his enclosure. A 10 gallon tank should be fine for a full grown H.gigas, make sure to have more floor space then height. About 5 to 6 inches of substrate should be fine for this tarantula as it will burrow to make its own home. They do not produce much silk and only end up webbing the entrance of their hole and inside their burrow. As spiderlings you can keep them in 4 inch vials with a little over half of it with substrate, as they get slightly bigger you can end up housing them in larger containers such as deli cups until big enough to fit in a 5 gallon tank and so on and so forth. As for the substrate itself we recommend you use some sort of damp coconut fiber or vermiculite/potting soil mix. You are going to want to make sure the substrate is firm enough to where the tarantula can dig a hole without it caving in. You will want to reach a humidity level of about 80 to 85% with temperatures of about 76 to 79 degrees. As always a fresh shallow water dish should always be readily available with clean water.

Feeding:

As most tarantulas this is a very big insectivore. A steady diet of crickets, cockroaches, locusts, super worms and meal worms should keep this spider well fed. Though they can and have been known to eat small mice and lizards we recommend not feeding them to your tarantula. There is much debate as to the amount of calcium buildup these animals can end up accumulating (by eating said lizards and mice) in their exoskeleton which can prevent a successful molt.

Attitude:

They are known to attack anything that moves, having poor eyesight also does not help. We do not recommend handling them as they tend to be aggressive as most Old World tarantulas. They do not come with urticating hairs and therefor do not have many warning signals to fend off attackers. The Cameroon Red Baboon tarantula does not hesitate to put up a defense stance, at times even hissing at its attackers. They can pack a powerful bite due to their very long fangs, a full grown H.gigas can definitely inflict some pain in their bite even though their venom is not potent to be lethal to humans. As always should you have certain animal allergies we recommend you seek medical attention right away should you feel any bad symptoms.

The Cameroon Red Baboon tarantula is a known species in the tarantula community though chances are it will most of the time just be a pet hole. Due to its slightly aggressive nature we recommend this to be more of an intermediate to expert hobbyist pet.

Tell us about your H.gigas, we’d love to hear from you! Comment down below and share your story!

The Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula is a species native to the Socotra Island in the Indian ocean. It is very much loved in the hobby due to its beautiful colors which include a light metallic blue carapace with darker blue legs it also has a beige to dark brown abdomen and femur with its spinnerets being light to dark brown. Females tend to grow bigger then males reaching a size of 5 to 6 inches in length and can reach maturity after just 2 years. Their lifespan are rather short compared to other species of tarantulas.

Habitat:

This tarantula is terrestrial and a great burrower. It is a bountiful webber and will thoroughly web its enclosure. With all of this in mind your enclosure should contain at least 6 inches of substrate and should have more length and width as it would have height. Provide just enough height for your tarantula to flip so that it can molt. This tarantula likes a dry environment and you should let its substrate (we recommend some sort of coconut fiber and vermiculite mix) be dry but moist enough to allow him to create a burrow. Overfilling its water dish with clean water should keep the humidity where it needs to be as this species does not require high levels of it. A steady temperature of 73 to 81 degrees should be kept and should be enough to keep your tarantula happy. We recommend a starter hide or retreat be added to the enclosure until your tarantula created its own burrow. This tarantula has been known to be communal though females tend to cannibalize males. We recommend you keep your tarantula by itself in an enclosure unless you are breeding him/her.

Feeding:

The Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula tarantula is a great eater and a steady diet of crickets, cockroaches, locusts and even meal worms. Though they can eat small rodents such as mice and or lizards we recommend you just keep feeding them insects as there is speculation that an over amount of small rodents can potentially increase a calcium buildup in your tarantula causing them to get a bad molt.

Attitude:

Surprisingly this tarantula is not as aggressive as its other old world counterparts or even its fellow baboon tarantulas. The Blue Baboon is rather shy and sometimes skittish and would rather retreat then try to attack this does not mean that we would recommend you handling them. They are still defensive as they do not come equipped with urticating hairs and chances are will bite should they feel threatened. We recommend extreme caution while handling.

The Socotra Island Blue Baboon Tarantula is most definitely a beautiful species that would be great for the more experienced of hobbyist. It is a great tarantula for any old world collection and would be great as your first Baboon tarantula.

Do you have a Socotra Island Blue Baboon? Tell us about it and comment down below!

The Fringed Ornamental Tarantula is an Old World species native of the Sri Lanka forests. It is a very large arboreal tarantula with full grown adults reaching a length of 10+ inches. It is considered one of the largest of pokies. Poecilotheria comes from the Greek word poikilos which means spotted, therion which means wild beast and ornata which means adorned.

Habitat:

The Fringed Ornamental is an arboreal species that spends most of its time up in trees and plants in the wild. Your enclosure should be about 10 gallons in size and needs to have more height then width. Substrate should be very damp to produce enough humidity for this species. Humidity levels should be anywhere from 75 to 85 percent and temperatures should be about 78 to 83 degrees. A long piece of bark should be added to provide your pokie a hide and something for it to climb on. A clean water dish should also always be available at all times. Due to high humidity levels in the enclosure be sure to keep a close look out for mold or fungus as this can be common in the enclosure. Should you see any, waste no time in providing enough maintenance to clean up the enclosure.

Feeding:

A steady diet of crickets and large b.dubia cockroaches should be fine for this tarantula. They are insectivores and have been known to eat locusts, moths and other types of insects. Feeding should be kept at once a week and should not be an issue as these guys are great eaters.

Attitude:

Pokies are very defensive and from experience this one might just be the most aggressive out of all of them. Your Fringed Ornamental is very defensive and are known to strike fast. They do produce one of the worst venom of all tarantulas with victims experiencing immense pain, muscle cramps, fever like symptoms, vomiting, blurry eyes and even shortness of breath. Even though the toxins in its venom are not lethal it can still easily induce a quick trip to the E.R. We do not recommend the handling of this species at all, not even by the most experienced of hobbyists.

Do not let the Fringed Ornamental Tarantula’s aggressiveness of this species scare you, it is a great tarantula and a must have for any experienced keeper’s collection. Do you have a P. ornata? Tell us your story and comment down below!