Trinidad Olive Tarantula (Neoholothele incei)

Holothele, Neoholothele, New World 12 Comments »

The Trinidad Olive Tarantula (Once just Holothele incei) is a small species of tarantula from the rainforests of Trinidad. At full grown size these tarantulas only end up having a leg span of about 3 to 3.5 inches for females and about 1.5 to 3 inches for males. Females can live between 10 to 15 years while males live to be about 3 to 5 years. They grow fairly quickly and have a voracious appetite being able to take down prey their own size. Mating in captivity is fairly easy but is fairly short with males drumming for minutes and doing the deed within 30 minutes. This species is also known for having the ability to lay multiple egg sacs which may range from 30 to 125+ slings. They are known to be communal but we recommend you not chancing any sort of cannibalism. This species in the hobby is known for having an olive color form and a hobby species gold color form due to an unknown mutation.

 

Neoholothele incei gold

Gold form female

Neoholothele Incei olive

Olive form female with eggsack

 

Habitat:

At the most you will ever need for a full grown H.incei would be a 5 gallon tank. This should have a very deep substrate due to the Trinidad Olive being an obligate burrower. We recommend about 5 inches of substrate, preferably a coconut fiber mix, make sure it is damp. In addition it is a very heavy webber and within days that tank will be covered in silk. Temperature wise we would recommend you keep your tank anywhere between 70 to 75 degrees with a humidity level of 65 to 70 percent. A hide is not needed as chances are it will never get used. A shallow water dish can be used but due to their dwarf size we recommend you stick to something as small as a bottle cap to prevent your tarantula from drowning should it need to drink. Misting is optional but can be done lightly to keep humidity levels up.

 

Feeding:

Do not let the small size of the Trinidad Olive Tarantula fool you. They have a ravenous appetite and will take down insects their own size with ease. A nice healthy diet of crickets, cockroaches, locusts should be just fine. We do not recommend meal worms as these will waste no time digging and hiding in all the substrate in the enclosure. Feeding should happen just about once a week and should be halted as soon as you see your tarantula in pre-molt stages.

 

 Attitude:

The Trinidad Olive Tarantula are quite docile. They do come equipped with urticating hairs but would rather run and hide then try to defend itself. Their bite is equivalent to a bee sting and venom very mild. Though small they have tremendous speed which is why we do not recommend handling them. The slightest fall can easily cause severe/life threatening injuries to your tarantula. Visit https://www.helpincolorado.com/ to get legal help in any emergency situation.

All in all this is a great hardy tarantula for any collection. Though communal we recommend you to keep your tarantula by itself. We also recommend this to be a tarantula for a more intermediate to expert hobbyist due to their rapid speed and housing environment.

As always, tell us about your Holothele incei. We would love to hear from you. Comment down below!

Photo credit: Jonah Lazich @bellinghamarachnids

Blue Fang Skeleton Tarantula (Ephebopus cyanognathus)

Ephebopus, New World 3 Comments »

The Blue Fang Skeleton Tarantula commonly known as just the Blue Fang is a deep burrowing terrestrial tarantula from French Guiana but also commonly found in Suriname and Guiana. This New World species is loved due to its skeleton like markings on its legs and of course its “blue fangs” which is actually the metallic to neon blue coloring of the chelicerae and not the actual fangs (spoiler alert the fangs are actually just black). In addition they have a nicely colored carapace and abdomen which tends to be a nice coloring of green to yellow. They are hardy and slow growing but live for a very long time.

 

e.cya

 

Habitat:

The Blue Fang is a known pet hole. Your tank should contain a deep substrate for it to burrow in. preferably 4 to 6 inches. As for tank size the most you will need will be about 5 gallons. This species requires very high humidity and a very damp substrate is recommended. Due to the amount of humidity we would recommend a coconut fiber mix as this is acidic and will help in preventing mold in the tank. is You can also set up a hide/retreat though not recommended being that chances are it will never use it. A steady temperature of 77 to 83 degrees should be ideal and a humidity of about 75 to 80 percent. As always a clean over-filled water dish should always be readily available to keep your tarantula properly hydrated.

 

Feeding:

The Blue Fang Skeleton Tarantula is an excellent eater and should be fed once a week. Being an insectivore, a steady diet of nutritious live crickets, cockroaches, locusts, moths and even meal worms should be fine to keep your tarantula well fed and happy.

 

Attitude:

Though new world the blue fang is known for sometimes having a nasty attitude. They are extremely fast and we do not recommend trying to handle them as they can easily have you chasing them around your room/house. They do come equipped with urticating hairs as most New World species do. They rather retreat to their hide but if all else fails might bite. Their venom though not potent to be lethal to humans can still affect you if you have certain allergies.

 

The Blue Fang Skeleton Tarantula is a wonderful species but due to their speed, maintenance due to living environment and attitude we recommend this for a more intermediate to experienced keeper or hobbyist. This will surely be a pet hole but once your Blue Fang come out of its burrow those colors and beauty will be well worth it.

Fringed Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria ornata)

Old World, Poecilotheria No Comments »

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.

P.ornata

 

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!


Verified by ExactMetrics