Psalmopoeus pulcher, often known by its common name of the Panama Blonde, is an arboreal tarantula from Central America. Growing to around 5-6” in overall legspan as an adult, this is an elegant and beautiful tarantula – at least if spiders are your thing! As the common name would suggest Psalmopoeus pulcher is clothed in …
Tarantulas can be surprisingly good climbers. They are able to easily scale most vertical surfaces so can climb up walls, trees and so on. However just because tarantulas can climb doesn’t necessarily mean that they will. Tarantulas are often divided into those that have evolved to live off the ground, and those that spend most …
Urticating hairs are a defense mechanism used by tarantulas. Urticating hairs are finely barbed and cause irritation when they come into contact with the skin, eyes or nose of potential predators. Tarantulas can kick these hairs off, creating a cloud of irritants if they feel threatened. Not all tarantulas have urticating hairs. Urticating hairs are …
Many invertebrates have a regular annual cycle of mating, laying eggs and then dying before the next generation appears. Tarantulas are typically long-lived spiders, with females of some species able to live for a decade or more. As a result, they typically don’t die after either mating or laying eggs. Instead, female tarantulas invest time …
Tarantulas generally do not make noise. They represent a big, tasty meal for many predators and use stealth to avoid being detected wherever possible. This means that tarantulas spend most of their lives silent. Most but not all… The reality is that tarantulas can make some noises, though these are few and far between. Stridulation …
Tarantulas reproduce by laying and subsequently incubating eggs. The eggs are small, circular and most commonly white or off-white in color. The number of eggs laid can vary significantly between species, with some producing 50-100 eggs, while others may produce over 1,000 at once. When Do Tarantulas Lay Eggs? Tarantulas do not get “pregnant” in …
Many people think that tarantulas lay on their backs to die, but this is not true. Most tarantulas die the right way up, with their legs curled underneath their body. So if tarantulas don’t die on their backs, then why exactly do some tarantulas lay on their backs? The simple answer is that tarantulas lay …
Tarantulas are quite simple to keep as pets and only need a small number of things within their cage. At a bare minimum larger tarantulas should be provided with a suitable substrate, somewhere to create a hide, and water bowl so they can drink at will. They should also be provided with suitable ventilation holes …
I received my first Pterinochilus lugardi in a mystery box a few years ago. At the time it was a species that I’d never kept before, but since then I’ve gone on to collect a number of other specimens with a view to breeding them in the next year or two. So what changed to …
Whilst there are a few exceptions, two tarantulas cannot live together safely. Tarantulas are cannibalistic and are likely to eat each other, particularly in the confines of a small cage. But what are exceptions? In what instances will two or more tarantulas live together? Communal Tarantula Species A small number of tarantula species are considered …
Tarantulas normally lose their hair for one or two reasons: either the hairs have been kicked off as a defensive mechanism, or the hairs have rubbed off naturally during daily life. Let’s look at these two reasons in more detail… Defensive Hair Loss in Tarantulas Many tarantulas from the Americas possess special hairs known as …
Xenesthis immanis completely dispels the myth that all tarantulas are a boring, brown color. While the abdomen is clothed in bright pink-purple hairs, the carapace on Xenesthis immanis is even more impressive, possessing a bright metallic purple starburst pattern. Adult males can be particularly impressive, as they also develop purple femurs at maturity. A fast-growing …