Tarantulas of the World

The Giant Blue Bloom tarantula or Blue Bloom Birdeater is a species found in or around Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and neighboring countries around the South-West coastline of South America. They grow to be about 7 inches in length with females growing slightly bigger then males They grow like weeds and get prettier as they get bigger. As slings (spiderlings) they have an orange abdomen with black patterns resembling a conifer/pine tree. As adults they display sexual dimorphism where not only are males smaller but also end up having superb color patterns ranging anywhere from a purple carapace to purple/blue/black legs while females tend to be more velvet black in color with pink colored hairs and pink markings on their carapace.

Habitat:

The Giant Blue Bloom Tarantula are terrestrials but as slings and juveniles they might burrow. We recommend a 5 to 10 gallon enclosure depending on the size of your tarantula filling at least half with slightly moist substrate. We use coconut fiber for ours and it seems to do the trick just fine. Your humidity should range from 70% to 85% with plenty of ventilation and a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This species we’ve noticed becomes a tad bit nervous if the temperature is a bit too high. As always a fresh water dish should always be readily available and on the opposite side of the hide in the enclosure.

Feeding:

The Blue Bloom are voracious eaters. As slings we feed them flightless fruit flies to small pinhead crickets. Fully grown they can eat up to 3 times a week with ease. Juveniles to Adults should have a steady diet of B.dubia roaches, crickets and locusts. This tarantula jumps sometimes when catching its prey. We do not recommend over feeding your tarantula and you should always keep a close eye on it and its prey. Any prey left in its enclosure uneaten after 48 hours should be removed just in case your tarantula is in pre-molt stages.

Attitude:

The Giant Blue Bloom Tarantula tends to flee when strongly disturbed but can be pretty defensive. It comes equipped with urticating hairs and an unpleasant bite. Their venom though strong is harmless to humans. Handling is possible but we strongly recommend you not to.

All in all it is a very nice looking tarantula that’s almost always visible. We recommend this species for someone who already has some experience with tarantulas.

Your Basic Tarantula Care Sheet! Tarantulas have become the pet to have they are perfect for just about anybody. Most species require low maintenance, are very affordable and best yet do not require too much space for housing (even if you are renting a room or apartment). In addition many people see how great one tarantula is and tend to acquire additional T’s and instantly become hobbyists. Though they are great pets it is key that you do the right homework for your specific tarantula. You should never obtain a tarantula without researching key elements for its survival and or handling of it in your care. We decided to make a general care sheet to help you out and that can be applied to most common tarantulas out there.

Habitat:

There are two ways of setting up a tarantula’s habitat.

You can set up a tarantula’s habitat artificially, which is the easiest and most of the times recommended for the novice tarantula keeper. Here you will try mimicking the tarantula’s habitat in the wild with basic essentials such as  temperature, humidity, substrate, hide and maybe even some bark and fake plants.

You can also set up a tarantula’s habitat Naturally, which is the most difficult and is recommended for the more experienced of tarantula keepers. Here you will try to create your own mini eco-system with live plants, organic decorations and arrangements even complicated designs on feeding, hiding/burrowing etc. Most mini ecological systems are unstable and here you might risk actually killing your tarantula if you are not sure what you are doing.

In this care sheet we are going to go with the artificial habitat for your pet tarantula. We are going to focus on the key elements that will benefit you and the life of your tarantula.

Housing:

First thing is first, the right enclosure for your pet tarantula. You must first check and see what type of tarantula you have, arboreal, terrestrial or burrowing.

• Arboreal tarantulas love to climb and rarely spend their time on the floor of an enclosure. For these tarantulas you will want an enclosure that is bigger in height then it is in length or width.
• Terrestrial tarantulas are the exact opposite and spend most of their time on the enclosure floor and though they might climb most are poor climbers. For these tarantulas you are going to want an enclosure that has more length and width then it would have height. You want to make sure its just high enough to allow your tarantula to flip over in the event it needs to molt.
• Burrowing tarantulas like to dig and make their own hide “underground”. For these tarantulas you will want something similar to what you would have set up for a terrestrial tarantula however making sure you have enough space to add anywhere between 3 to 6 inches of substrate for it to burrow (depending on your tarantula’s size) in addition to giving it enough space to flip over “above ground” should it need to for a molt.

As for your enclosure size it is normally rule of thumb to give your tarantula 2 to 3 times its leg span as floor space to move around on. As for size you should be looking at housing your small to medium tarantulas in 2 to 5 gallon enclosures, medium to large tarantulas in 10 to 20 gallon enclosures and large to extra large tarantulas in 25 to 45 gallon enclosures.

Substrate:

The second thing to look for is substrate. The right substrate is key depending on your tarantula species as it will help out with both humidity and burrowing. There are many different types of substrate (garden soil, peat/green moss, potting soil, coconut fiber) and it ends up being personal preference. We recommend coconut fiber (such as eco earth which can now be purchased through our shop). The reason is simple, you can manipulated the way it works best for you. Whether you want to have it dry, damp or wet. In addition coconut fiber can last months before giving you an odd smell or you needing to change it. It actually breaks down your tarantula’s excrement so you can’t go wrong with that!

Light/Temperature/Humidity:

This is a combination and third thing to look out for. Most tarantulas actually prefer the darkness and you should never place them in direct sunlight as this might stress out your animal. Your tarantula needs minimal lighting and just the daylight in a room should be plenty. As for temperature and humidity they almost go hand in hand. Most tarantulas (depending on their origin) either like a dry warm environment or a damp to wet warm environment. Most tarantulas do well with just room temperature. Of course if you do live in colder climate you should most definitely have some sort of heating source that can be applied once you see temperatures get colder. It is key to have both a temperature and humidity thermometer. As for humidity most tarantulas only need some humidity which can easily be controlled with something as simple as overfilling a water dish in the enclosure. Of course there are some exceptions to this and for the tarantulas needing a lot more humidity you are going to want to wet/dampen enough of the substrate until reaching the required humidity levels.

Water/Food:

More important then food would be water. A tarantula always needs to stay properly hydrated. Make sure it has an adequate water dish that is always fully filled with clean water. Make sure its a shallow water dish to prevent your tarantula from drowning should it try to drink. As for food, tarantulas are insectivores and carnivores most tarantulas end up feasting just fine on insects such as fruit flies, crickets, cockroaches, locusts, moths, mealworms, etc but some tarantulas can also eat small lizards or even pinkie mice. We recommend you feed your tarantula a steady diet of nutrient filled insects. We normally do not recommend (for those of you with tarantula’s that are able to eat lizards and mice) for you to feed your tarantula mice/lizards. The reason simply being that it can cause calcium buildup in its exoskeleton which can become an issue when molting.

These simple steps should ensure you a healthy and happy tarantula. Two things we did not go over which we have care sheets for already are Spiderling (sling) care and Molting.

Do you have any additional questions? Want to add something to this? Your voice will be heard! Comment down below.

Spiderlings or slings are young or baby tarantulas ranging anywhere from .25 inches to 1.5 inches in length depending on how old it might be. The reason why so many people now opt in to buying a spiderling is due to the fact that they are usually a lot cheaper then adults and it is fascinating to watch them grow. As for growth rate, some species are very fast growing while others are extremely slow growing. It is best you chose which species is right for you. If your a beginner tarantula hobbyist we would recommend you start with a 1.5 inches or bigger spiderling. However here are some steps you can take to care for your sling.

Housing:

Depending on your species of tarantula spiderling it is key to know what enclosure and environment to have for your sling. Some common examples are

• Terrestrial Tarantulas (Chilean Rosehair, Mexican Redknee, Brazilian Fire Red, etc): Smallest enclosures possible such as small pill jars of different sizes depending on your sling’s size until you can eventually move it into a deli container and eventually a 5 gallon tank (once a juvenile over 2 inches).
• Arboreal Tarantulas (Pinktoe, Red Slate Ornamental, Pokies, etc): Small enclosure with height such as tall pill jars in different sizes depending on your sling’s size as they do love to climb and be up from the ground. As they get older you can switch them into tall spice jars until big enough to eventually switch to taller terrariums (once a juvenile over 2 inches).

You will find that slings do tend to burrow a lot more then your average tarantula, so be sure to add a extra substrate to the enclosures so they have enough space to do so. It is also important to make sure that each lid of your enclosure have air holes in them to provide your tarantula with adequate air to breathe. Make sure these holes are not big enough to where your sling can escape.

Food:

Feeding can be difficult as these spiderlings require much smaller prey then a full grown tarantula. You can crush a small cricket and leave that in their enclosure so they can eat off of it. As they do start to grow a little you can eventually just add smaller insects such as small juvenile or pinhead crickets as well as fruit flies. Once you see your sling getting closer to 1.5 to 2 inches you can start feeding it slightly bigger prey.

Water:

Spiderlings that are less than 1.5 inches cannot drink from waterbowls, they will surely drown. It is best to just water the substrate slightly (in which we do recommend eco-earth) or even just put some droplets to rest on top of the substrate or you can simply add a small plant leaf with a couple of water droplets on it. Once your tarantula does grow closer to 2 inches you can use a plastic bottle cap as a water dish in its small enclosure before being able to move to a big water dish. This all should provide plenty of water and humidity for your young tarantula.

Heat:

For spiderlings just make sure they are kept in a warm room. Being that they are so small it is not recommended to use a heating source on them as this might end up being too hot for their small enclosures. In addition do not place them under direct sunlight as this tends to stress out your tarantula. A room temperature of about 75-85 degrees should be adequate for them. You do not have to worry about light as most tarantulas actually prefer the darkness over light.

Following these instructions will most definitely help you with your sling. As always we are all here to help so feel free to drop us a comment for any additional help.