Tarantulas of the World

The Flame Rump Tree Spider or Thrixopelma ockerti is a semi-arboreal tarantula from Peru. They are somewhat rare as they are very hard to breed. Adults have a dark blueish grey body color with a reddish colored rump. As spiderlings they tend to be more brown and green in color with a golden red rump. Their abdomen almost have an elongated shape. The Flame Rump Tree Spider grows to be about 5 to 6 inches in length with females outliving males. Not much is known as to how old they grow to be but it is assumed that females will live to be 10 to 15 years old while males tend to live to be 3 to 4 years.

Habitat: This one is a weird one. Because they are semi-arboreal your enclosure needs to be both tall and wide. At full growth your enclosure will need about 18 inches in height and 12 inches in length. This will allow your tarantula to climb and roam the enclosure as s/he seems fit. As spiderlings they have been known to burrow but a vial with enough substrate and small piece of twig or bark should be perfect. For substrate we recommend coconut fiber kept somewhat damp. This tarantula does well with low humidity. Temperature should be kept between 65° to 85° F with a humidity of about 60%. Make sure to always keep a water dish overfilled in the enclosure at all times. Being that this tarantula does not spend all its time climbed up you can keep the water dish on the ground.

Feeding: This tarantula is a very hardy eater. As spiderlings we feed them small pinhead crickets with their heads crushed in to prevent them from harming the slings. As juveniles and all the way into adulthood they can be kept on a great diet of roaches, worms, crickets, locusts and a variety of other insects.

Attitude: The Peruvian Flame Rump Tree Spider is quite docile. It can be extremely skittish and you can expect it to flick a lot of urticating hairs. The Perucian Flame Rump Tree Spider can bite and this can cause some discomfort. The bite is not medically significant and at most can be compared to a bee sting.

This is a collector’s dream tarantula and can be great for any beginner. It is always out and about showing off its amazing looks and is incredibly docile. We of course always recommend not handling the tarantula if you do not need to.

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.