Tarantula care sheet
and what you need to know about them
Tarantulas come from all over the world. You may have heard the term Old world and New world species. This simply refers to where the tarantula comes from. Old world species are from Asia and Africa and are typically more aggressive than the New world species which come from North and South America. New world species have urticating hairs which they flick off their abdomens to ward off would be predators. Tarantulas also come from different environments. Some species live in desserts and others live in rainforests. Before you can properly care for your tarantula you need to know where it comes from.
Are tarantulas dangerous?
Although rare, tarantulas like any other animal have the ability to bite humans. New world tarantula’s venom is no more potent than a bee sting. It is used to subdue and digest prey. Old world species have more potent venom and are more prone to biting. It can be very painful and uncomfortable to be bitten by old world species. Localised pain, nausea, headaches and fevers are some of the possible reactions caused by a severe Old world tarantula bite. There is no record of anybody dying from a tarantula bite; even so, caution should still be taken when encountering tarantulas or any other wild animals.
It is widely accepted that an individual can be allergic to tarantula venom like that of a bee sting. Research suggests tarantula venom lacks protein, a necessary ingredient for allergic reactions. It is still an unknown fact whether or not someone can be allergic to a tarantula bite, so do be careful!
Housing
Arboreal: Arboreal are tree dwelling tarantulas, so height is much more important than floor space. The general rule is that the height of the tank should be 3 times the length of the tarantula’s body. Make sure there are plenty things for the tarantula to make its web on such as plants, bark or driftwood. Although it is an arboreal tarantula, a good deal of substrate should still be placed in the enclosure, about 3cm should suffice. The substrate helps keep in moisture and create humidity.
Terrestrial: Terrestrial are ground dwelling tarantulas, so floor space is more important than height. Again, instead of height, the length and width of the tank should be 3 times that of your tarantula’s body. These tarantulas like to burrow so provide them with about 5cm of substrate. Some of your terrestrial tarantulas will make their own burrows and other would appreciate if you provide a hide for them. Flower pots, ceramic caves, driftwood or a hollowed out coconut will do just fine.
Substrate: There are different types of substrate you could use such as peat moss, vermiculite (Not the industrial kind) and potting soil. Make sure when deciding on a substrate that there aren’t any harmful chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides in it. Keep the substrate moist (not wet), this will help keep the humidity up in your tarantulas enclosure.
Make sure your tarantula’s enclosure is ventilated. They are nocturnal so it would be best not to place them in a windowsill or under a lamp. No direct light will be appreciated by your tarantula.
Feeding and diet
A diet of crickets supplemented with other feeder insects is fine for your tarantula. Tarantulas eat surprisingly little, one or two crickets a week is enough, although you can feed it more if you wish to do so but this is not always recommended. Adult tarantulas may fast for extended periods (a month or two is not unusual), especially before a moult (to be discussed later). Mealworms, super worms and roaches can be fed occasionally. Larger tarantulas can be given pinkie mice and small lizards if desired, although it is not necessary. The most important thing is to keep prey smaller than the tarantula’s body and that its prey item cannot harm it. It is always safer to crush the crickets head before putting it in your tarantula’s enclosure; crickets are capable of eating your tarantulas when it is moulting. Remove all uneaten food items after 24 hours if it has not been eaten, leftover food running around can cause stress to your tarantula.
Water Keeping your substrate moist is often enough liquid for your tarantula as they will drink the water trapped in the substrate. Tarantulas also get a lot of water from the food they eat. If you want, you can scatter water gel around the enclosure, the tarantula will chew on this for moisture as well. A shallow water dish for tarantulas that are fully grown is also fine but looking at the anatomy of a tarantula you will notice their book lungs have an opening on the bottom of their abdomen so if your tarantula decides to sit in its water it can drown.
Moulting
In order for tarantulas to grow, they need to shed their old exoskeleton and emerge in a new larger one. Spiderlings moult more frequent than adult tarantulas. Spiderlings can moult 5-10 times in a year depending on its growth rate, where as larger tarantulas will moult once or twice a year. Before your tarantula moults it will go through several changes; firstly feeding will almost certainly stop (in some adults it can be as much as 3 months before the moult); if the tarantula has a bald patch it will turn dark blue/black. The tarantula becomes sluggish and keeps movement to a minimum. Species with urticating hair may spread these hairs around their enclosure and it may drink more water than usual. The area above the jaws will become swollen and one of the final signs is the spinning of a thick silken moulting mat. Once all of these signs have been observed remove all live food as it can injure or kill your tarantula in this vulnerable time. It’s important to keep a high humidity during this time, if the air is too dry your tarantula could get stuck in its old skin and that means certain death. Tarantulas can moult sitting upright but most of the time they will go onto their backs. Once a tarantula is in this position it is important not to disturb it. After the tarantula is done moulting it will remain on its back while resting and turn right side up in its own time. It can take up to two weeks for the new skin to harden and is advisable not to feed or handle the tarantula during this time.
Handling
This is not a must; the tarantula does not benefit from being handled and is quite happy to be left alone. If you do choose to handle your tarantula it is best to do so sitting on the floor. Tarantulas are in fact very fragile creatures and a fall as low as 3 feet can cause a ruptured abdomen and that leads to death. Do not grab the tarantula as you can hurt or break its legs, hold your hand in front of it and gently guide the tarantula where you want it to go. If your tarantula is not in the mood for being handled it will warn you by flicking hairs, if you don’t respect this warning it may rear up in a defensive and quite intimidating pose- the threat stance. If you still insist on trying to handle the tarantula after all these warnings the chances of getting bit is almost indefinite.
Cleaning
Maintaining a clean tarantula enclosure is quite simple. Pick out uneaten food and make sure there is no mould growing in the tank. The substrate can be replaced every 6 months, if you change the substrate too often you can stress out the tarantula. Tarantulas are low maintenance creatures.
Heating
Tarantulas will do perfectly fine in temperatures between 22-30C (room temperature). In winter when the temperature drops, a heating pad/strip can be placed on the one side of its enclosure. Be sure not to put the heat source under the tank as this can cause humidity to spike and also your tarantula won’t be able to move away from the heat if it feels too warm.
Do tarantulas get sick?
Tarantulas are prone to be very healthy little creatures; they do not obtain diseases or illness. They might get simple things like digestive problems which they sort out themselves. Only other problem they may have is malnutrition but that can be prevented by feeding your tarantula every week.
AGE: Female tarantulas can live for 15-20 years; the oldest recorded female tarantula lived to be 28 years old. Male tarantulas unfortunately only live for 5-10 years most averaging 6-8.
Good beginner tarantulas
Grammostola rosea- Chilean Rose
Brachypelma albopilosum - Curly hair
Grammostola pulchra - Brazilin black
Grammostola pulchripes- Chaco golden knee
All other Brachypelma and Grammostola species are suitable- hardy and docile
Tarantulas come from all over the world. You may have heard the term Old world and New world species. This simply refers to where the tarantula comes from. Old world species are from Asia and Africa and are typically more aggressive than the New world species which come from North and South America. New world species have urticating hairs which they flick off their abdomens to ward off would be predators. Tarantulas also come from different environments. Some species live in desserts and others live in rainforests. Before you can properly care for your tarantula you need to know where it comes from.
Are tarantulas dangerous?
Although rare, tarantulas like any other animal have the ability to bite humans. New world tarantula’s venom is no more potent than a bee sting. It is used to subdue and digest prey. Old world species have more potent venom and are more prone to biting. It can be very painful and uncomfortable to be bitten by old world species. Localised pain, nausea, headaches and fevers are some of the possible reactions caused by a severe Old world tarantula bite. There is no record of anybody dying from a tarantula bite; even so, caution should still be taken when encountering tarantulas or any other wild animals.
It is widely accepted that an individual can be allergic to tarantula venom like that of a bee sting. Research suggests tarantula venom lacks protein, a necessary ingredient for allergic reactions. It is still an unknown fact whether or not someone can be allergic to a tarantula bite, so do be careful!
Housing
Arboreal: Arboreal are tree dwelling tarantulas, so height is much more important than floor space. The general rule is that the height of the tank should be 3 times the length of the tarantula’s body. Make sure there are plenty things for the tarantula to make its web on such as plants, bark or driftwood. Although it is an arboreal tarantula, a good deal of substrate should still be placed in the enclosure, about 3cm should suffice. The substrate helps keep in moisture and create humidity.
Terrestrial: Terrestrial are ground dwelling tarantulas, so floor space is more important than height. Again, instead of height, the length and width of the tank should be 3 times that of your tarantula’s body. These tarantulas like to burrow so provide them with about 5cm of substrate. Some of your terrestrial tarantulas will make their own burrows and other would appreciate if you provide a hide for them. Flower pots, ceramic caves, driftwood or a hollowed out coconut will do just fine.
Substrate: There are different types of substrate you could use such as peat moss, vermiculite (Not the industrial kind) and potting soil. Make sure when deciding on a substrate that there aren’t any harmful chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides in it. Keep the substrate moist (not wet), this will help keep the humidity up in your tarantulas enclosure.
Make sure your tarantula’s enclosure is ventilated. They are nocturnal so it would be best not to place them in a windowsill or under a lamp. No direct light will be appreciated by your tarantula.
Feeding and diet
A diet of crickets supplemented with other feeder insects is fine for your tarantula. Tarantulas eat surprisingly little, one or two crickets a week is enough, although you can feed it more if you wish to do so but this is not always recommended. Adult tarantulas may fast for extended periods (a month or two is not unusual), especially before a moult (to be discussed later). Mealworms, super worms and roaches can be fed occasionally. Larger tarantulas can be given pinkie mice and small lizards if desired, although it is not necessary. The most important thing is to keep prey smaller than the tarantula’s body and that its prey item cannot harm it. It is always safer to crush the crickets head before putting it in your tarantula’s enclosure; crickets are capable of eating your tarantulas when it is moulting. Remove all uneaten food items after 24 hours if it has not been eaten, leftover food running around can cause stress to your tarantula.
Water Keeping your substrate moist is often enough liquid for your tarantula as they will drink the water trapped in the substrate. Tarantulas also get a lot of water from the food they eat. If you want, you can scatter water gel around the enclosure, the tarantula will chew on this for moisture as well. A shallow water dish for tarantulas that are fully grown is also fine but looking at the anatomy of a tarantula you will notice their book lungs have an opening on the bottom of their abdomen so if your tarantula decides to sit in its water it can drown.
Moulting
In order for tarantulas to grow, they need to shed their old exoskeleton and emerge in a new larger one. Spiderlings moult more frequent than adult tarantulas. Spiderlings can moult 5-10 times in a year depending on its growth rate, where as larger tarantulas will moult once or twice a year. Before your tarantula moults it will go through several changes; firstly feeding will almost certainly stop (in some adults it can be as much as 3 months before the moult); if the tarantula has a bald patch it will turn dark blue/black. The tarantula becomes sluggish and keeps movement to a minimum. Species with urticating hair may spread these hairs around their enclosure and it may drink more water than usual. The area above the jaws will become swollen and one of the final signs is the spinning of a thick silken moulting mat. Once all of these signs have been observed remove all live food as it can injure or kill your tarantula in this vulnerable time. It’s important to keep a high humidity during this time, if the air is too dry your tarantula could get stuck in its old skin and that means certain death. Tarantulas can moult sitting upright but most of the time they will go onto their backs. Once a tarantula is in this position it is important not to disturb it. After the tarantula is done moulting it will remain on its back while resting and turn right side up in its own time. It can take up to two weeks for the new skin to harden and is advisable not to feed or handle the tarantula during this time.
Handling
This is not a must; the tarantula does not benefit from being handled and is quite happy to be left alone. If you do choose to handle your tarantula it is best to do so sitting on the floor. Tarantulas are in fact very fragile creatures and a fall as low as 3 feet can cause a ruptured abdomen and that leads to death. Do not grab the tarantula as you can hurt or break its legs, hold your hand in front of it and gently guide the tarantula where you want it to go. If your tarantula is not in the mood for being handled it will warn you by flicking hairs, if you don’t respect this warning it may rear up in a defensive and quite intimidating pose- the threat stance. If you still insist on trying to handle the tarantula after all these warnings the chances of getting bit is almost indefinite.
Cleaning
Maintaining a clean tarantula enclosure is quite simple. Pick out uneaten food and make sure there is no mould growing in the tank. The substrate can be replaced every 6 months, if you change the substrate too often you can stress out the tarantula. Tarantulas are low maintenance creatures.
Heating
Tarantulas will do perfectly fine in temperatures between 22-30C (room temperature). In winter when the temperature drops, a heating pad/strip can be placed on the one side of its enclosure. Be sure not to put the heat source under the tank as this can cause humidity to spike and also your tarantula won’t be able to move away from the heat if it feels too warm.
Do tarantulas get sick?
Tarantulas are prone to be very healthy little creatures; they do not obtain diseases or illness. They might get simple things like digestive problems which they sort out themselves. Only other problem they may have is malnutrition but that can be prevented by feeding your tarantula every week.
AGE: Female tarantulas can live for 15-20 years; the oldest recorded female tarantula lived to be 28 years old. Male tarantulas unfortunately only live for 5-10 years most averaging 6-8.
Good beginner tarantulas
Grammostola rosea- Chilean Rose
Brachypelma albopilosum - Curly hair
Grammostola pulchra - Brazilin black
Grammostola pulchripes- Chaco golden knee
All other Brachypelma and Grammostola species are suitable- hardy and docile