Trinidad Olive Tarantula (Neoholothele incei)

The Trinidad Olive Tarantula (Once just Holothele incei) is a small species of tarantula from the rainforests of Trinidad. At full grown size these tarantulas only end up having a leg span of about 3 to 3.5 inches for females and about 1.5 to 3 inches for males. Females can live between 10 to 15 years while males live to be about 3 to 5 years. They grow fairly quickly and have a voracious appetite being able to take down prey their own size. Mating in captivity is fairly easy but is fairly short with males drumming for minutes and doing the deed within 30 minutes. This species is also known for having the ability to lay multiple egg sacs which may range from 30 to 125+ slings. They are known to be communal but we recommend you not chancing any sort of cannibalism. This species in the hobby is known for having an olive color form and a hobby species gold color form due to an unknown mutation.

Gold form female

Olive form female with eggsack

Habitat:

At the most you will ever need for a full grown H.incei would be a 5 gallon tank. This should have a very deep substrate due to the Trinidad Olive being an obligate burrower. We recommend about 5 inches of substrate, preferably a coconut fiber mix, make sure it is damp. In addition it is a very heavy webber and within days that tank will be covered in silk. Temperature wise we would recommend you keep your tank anywhere between 70 to 75 degrees with a humidity level of 65 to 70 percent. A hide is not needed as chances are it will never get used. A shallow water dish can be used but due to their dwarf size we recommend you stick to something as small as a bottle cap to prevent your tarantula from drowning should it need to drink. Misting is optional but can be done lightly to keep humidity levels up.

Feeding:

Do not let the small size of the Trinidad Olive Tarantula fool you. They have a ravenous appetite and will take down insects their own size with ease. A nice healthy diet of crickets, cockroaches, locusts should be just fine. We do not recommend meal worms as these will waste no time digging and hiding in all the substrate in the enclosure. Feeding should happen just about once a week and should be halted as soon as you see your tarantula in pre-molt stages.

 Attitude:

The Trinidad Olive Tarantula are quite docile. They do come equipped with urticating hairs but would rather run and hide then try to defend itself. Their bite is equivalent to a bee sting and venom very mild. Though small they have tremendous speed which is why we do not recommend handling them. The slightest fall can easily cause severe/life threatening injuries to your tarantula. Visit https://www.helpincolorado.com/ to get legal help in any emergency situation.

All in all this is a great hardy tarantula for any collection. Though communal we recommend you to keep your tarantula by itself. We also recommend this to be a tarantula for a more intermediate to expert hobbyist due to their rapid speed and housing environment.

As always, tell us about your Holothele incei. We would love to hear from you. Comment down below!

Photo credit: Jonah Lazich @bellinghamarachnids