The Indian Ornamental Tarantula is a tarantula that comes from the deep monsoon forests of India. They are an arboreal species that in the wild spends most of its time enduring an almost constant drench of downpour rain. Most full grown p.regalis have a body length of about 3.5 inches with a leg span anywhere between 5 to 7 inches. They are very impressive tarantula. Poecilotheria derives form the Greek “poikilos” which means spotted and “therion” which means wild beast while “regalis” means royal. So in fact the p.regalis stands for royal spotted wild beast. Not surprising due to its beautiful marks on its abdomen and legs. Most males for this species will live to be about 4 to 5 years while females tend to live as old as 9+ years. The Indian Ornamental is considered a popular tarantula for avid hobbyists.

 

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Habitat:

The Indian Ornamental Tarantula starts its life by being terrestrial as spiderlings actually burrowing. As you see your sling grow you should change your enclosure for it gradually. You will also note that it ends up eventually becoming arboreal and you should make sure you have the right enclosure for it which we recommend a 10 gallon tall tank with a width no shorter then a 14-16 inches but most definitely tall between 18 to 24 inches or taller (depending on the size of yours. As stated your p.regalis comes from a very wet place in the wild and spend most of their lives up in trees. Your substrate should be damp enough to give them enough humidity though these species can get accustomed to lower levels of humidity then what they are used to in the wild. Make sure there is some sort of bark or cork for it to climb on and be up in your enclosure. Make sure it has a water source as well such as a water dish thats always topped off. Misting the enclosure should not be needed if your substrate is damp enough but encouraged if you can not keep a humid environment. Once you have the enclosure set to their likings you will most definitely see an increase in webbing throughout.

 

Feeding:

Your Indian Ornamental Tarantula should have a steady diet of high nutrient insects. You can feed them large crickets just fine or you can use some B.dubia roaches as a filling meal as well. They are usually very easy eaters and some are known to eat as much as they are given.

 

Attitude:

The Indian Ornamental Tarantula is not an aggressive tarantula at all. You should never handle your Indian Ornamental Tarantula or any other pokies. The reason we do not recommend it is due to it’s arboreal speed. They can easily jump out of your hands causing great harm to themselves as well as you having to chase after them. In addition as most Old World tarantulas they have a predilection for biting on contact and (due to their big fangs) this can be quite severe.

 

The Indian Ornamental is definitely a great tarantula for your collection. But as a hobbyist we would recommend you to be between the intermediate to expert level of tarantula keeping. We certainly would not recommend this being your first Old World tarantula.

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