Tarantulas of the World

The Peruvian Pinktoe tarantula, also known as the Peru Purple or the Peruvian Giant Pinktoe is a species native to South America and Peru. They are loved due to their purple colors that are of a light sheen purple as juveniles that will slowly turn into a more dark purple as adults. They tend to grow to be about 6 inches in length and are usually bigger then the common Pinktoe Tarantula. Females mature at a much faster rate then males with most females maturing after 1 year to 1.5 years. Males tend to take a bit longer as they can take up to 3 years to fully mature. They are fast growers and can easily molt 6 times in their first year. Males grow to be about 4 years old while females can easily grow to be 12 years old.

Habitat:

This is an arboreal species and spends most of its time above the ground floor on either plants, or trees. For a full grown adult an 8 to 10 gallon enclosure would be best. Make sure your enclosure has more height then it has crawl space. We recommend about 3 inches of substrate which should be a mixture of coconut fiber and vermiculite moss. This should be damp to the touch to produce the needed humidity levels for your tarantula. You should have a steady humidity level of about 80 percent for your tarantula. In addition a shallow water dish should be added with clean water for your tarantula. You can overfill it from time to time to keep humidity levels where they need to be, this will also prevent you from having to spray/mist the enclosure. Your enclosure should either have a plant or bark (placed vertically with the length of at least 8 to 12 inches ) for your tarantula to climb up on. They web the top or inside the bark and use that to live in. A steady temperature of about 80 to 85 degrees should be maintained.

Feeding:

The Peruvian Pinktoe tarantula grows fast and has a good appetite. When smaller you should try feeding it flightless fruit flies and small crickets (never feed your tarantula a prey bigger then its body). As they grow to be bigger you can switch their diet by feeding them medium to large crickets or even b.dubia cockroaches. Feeding should only happen once a week and give your tarantula a good two weeks before you feed it should it have finished a molt. As always never leave prey in its enclosure if it has not been eaten after 24 hours.

Attitude:

The Peruvian Pinktoe tarantula is skittish and just as most Pinktoes will rather jump and run away other then stand and fight. For this reason handling should be done with care as to not startle your tarantula. A jump/fall from your hands can most certainly cause your tarantula severe injuries if not death. They do come with urticating hairs but they rather flick them on your hand then into the air. Avicularias also have a poopcannon that they use as a defense mechanism and as adults have great aim. Last but not least when all else fails and they have no other choice they might bite (though rare). Their venom has low toxicity and would only be a threat to humans in the event of the person having specific pet allergies (such as a bee allergy).

In all this is a great tarantula and recommended for pretty much any hobbyist, though we do not recommend you handling them if you are a beginner keeper. Its a nice display spider due to its great colors and a must have for any collection.

Tell us about your Peruvian Pinktoe tarantula, we’d love to hear from you! Comment down below.

The Trinidad Chevron Tarantula is a New World majestic tarantula from the tropical areas of Trinidad and Tobago. Loved due to their great chevron marking on their abdomens these animals spend most of their time up in trees blending in with their environment. They tend to make silk tubes in trees/leaves to live out in. Average growth for these animals tend to be about 4 to 5 inches with males living to be about 2 to 4 years and females living close to 12 years. As they grow from spiderlings (slings) to adults they tend to change colors looking more colorful as juveniles.

Habitat:

The Trinidad Chevron Tarantula is an arboreal species and it spends most of its time suspended on tree limbs and plants. They are not known for being on the ground and we would recommend an enclosure that has more height then it has length or width. Of course we would recommend it being at least between 12 to 16 inches in height. The floor of your enclosure should have some sort of coconut fiber with at least 2 to 3 inches of very damp substrate. Humidity is key as they require 80% or better humidity with a temperature of about 78 to 85 degrees. Beware of stagnant air as this can certainly end up killing your tarantula so be sure to keep the enclosure well ventilated. You should have enough bark or plants for it to climb and spin its web on. As always a fresh shallow water dish should always be overfilled with clean water. A great tip would be to perhaps glue the water dish to the bark on in the enclosure so that your tarantula does not have to climb down to drink.

Feeding:

The Trinidad Chevron tarantula is a decent eater, as most tarantulas all it really requires would be crickets, cockroaches, locusts or even fruit flies. It is highly unlikely that you can overfeed this species but only feed it once a week a couple of insects at a time.

Attitude:

These are fast and aggressive tarantulas and we do not recommend handling them. Though they can sit on their bark all day not moving they tend to be extremely fast. They do not have urticating hairs and rely in their bite and venom as a primary defense. There are even stories of these tarantulas attacking their own molt.  Caution should be applied when maintaining their enclosure.

This would be a great tarantula for the intermediate/expert hobbyist getting their first old world tarantula. They require rather low maintenance and do not cause much problems. However due to their temperament we do recommend not handling them.

The Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula or as many call it, the Giant Whiteknee Tarantula, is a tarantula of Brazil known for its fast growth, great size and awesome colors. Your typical Acanthoscurria geniculata will grow to be about 8 to 9 inches in length and will reach that big size in only 2 to 3 years. They have great coloration with striped black and white knees/legs. They are rather fast for their size and are semi aggressive.

Habitat:

Your Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula is a terrestrial tarantula though some do burrow most of them will not. Simply having a hide big enough for it to fit under in your enclosure should be fine. As for size of your enclosure will want to have a 10 to 15 gallon tank. The Brazilian Giant is a poor climber due to its large size therefor it is key to have a tank that is more long and wide then it is tall. The height should be just enough to allow your tarantula to easily flip over should it start a molt. This will prevent your tarantula from climbing up the enclosure and prevent any injuries it might undergo should it fall. A full shallow water dish should also be readily available with fresh clean water at all time. Your substrate should be about 3 to 4 inches and should be relatively dry. A nice mix of vermiculite/peat moss and coconut fiber should be just fine. As for temperature you will want something between 75 to 80 degrees with a humidity level of about 70 percent.

Feeding:

Your tarantula will pretty much eat anything from insects to small lizards and mice. We would recommend a steady feeding of only large crickets, cockroaches and locusts. Ideally they should be only fed once a week . As always though they can eat small mice and lizards it is not recommended. The amount of calcium it consumes might end up hardening its exoskeleton which can make it harder for it to molt and in cases can cause a bad or wet molt.

Attitude:

The Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula is semi aggressive and should it get startled will easily assume a defensive position showing fangs. They do come equipped with urticating hairs which can be quite irritating. At full grown size they pack a powerful bite with fangs that can easily be an inch in length which can easily cause severe damage should they pierce human flesh. Their venom is semi potent and a bite can surely cause muscle cramps, pain and swelling. We recommend minimum tampering with its enclosure as they do not like to be bothered much.

Handling should be done if you have been handling it since little so that he/she is accustomed to it. Due to their size we normally would not recommend handling. Due to size it might be hard to properly hold your tarantula which can result in it biting you or worse case scenario falling from your hands which will certainly result in serious injuries or death of your spider. It is a great species that should be respected and set as more of a display tarantula for your collection. It is excellent specimen for an intermediate to expert hobbyist.

Tell us about your Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula, we’d love to hear from you. Do you have questions? Comment down below!