Cameroon Red Baboon Tarantula (Hysterocrates gigas)
Hysterocrates, Old World 4 Comments »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.
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