Anyone know what this tarantula might be. I found it on the side of a highway and want to know what it is to the best guess so I can take care of it properly it was in this container when I found it.
Ya it was in an abandoned enclosure. So should I add Deeper substrate to be on the safe side. All I know it is pretty tame when I first found it, it allowed me to hold it probably because it was a little chilly and i am a heater and it doesnt strike at me when I put water in its dish..
@ShadowTarantula what you just held has enough venom to probably send you to the hospital or at least put you in extreme agony with absolutely zero warning, please refrain from doing so again. They have no ability to distinguish between predator and protector and WILL lash out eventually.
This is definitely an old world species, it looks very much like Selenocosmia/Chilobrachys species. Just give deep substrate and a decent sized wooden hide and it will be happy
@ShadowTarantula you've definitely done this thing right by rescuing it from the roadside, but i don't think any of us would normally choose a Chilobrachys as a starter tarantula lol. They tend to be a bit tricky toamsge generally. My best advice is to probably just do alot of research, but I think if she's adult size you can just put her in a large permanent tank and never have to worry about rehousing again. For feeding, when she's in her burrow, carefully open the lid and throw in whatever feeder prey you want (I'll let some other members throw in reccomendations here). Hope this helps somewhat
I've been watching YouTube about it and I'll just use the tank I was gonna use for an Arizona blonde I was gonna buy soon. I have some roaches. I couldn't let it be outside I'm to caring for that deffently sence I live in a cold state. I've rescued tons of pets people have ditched even a fox, I knew the fox was a pet because it had a collar with name tag.
You were already looking at getting an A. chalcodes when this T showed up on the side of the highway? What a coincidence...
Like Void said, it does appear in the very least that this is an adult tarantula. You should be okay to just get her set up in a permanent enclosure and unless something goes wrong, not have to ever take her out again. A proper enclosure for this tarantula should be roughly 2x by 3x the length of the T's legspan, and deep enough to fill it with ~6-8" of substrate and still have 5 or 6" to work with from the substrate to the top of the enclosure. Chilobrachys or not, this is very obviously an OW fossorial, so it will want to burrow. The substrate needs to remain at least partially moist; the top layers can dry out, but the lower layers should always be damp. As it begins to dry over time, rehydrate it by pouring water directly into the substrate. Provide it with a hide to act as a starter burrow, give it a water dish, be sure the enclosure is secure and your good to go.
Unless it's Tom Moran, I cannot recommend getting your care info on youtube or care sheets you find on google. A lot of tarantula youtubers have poor care practices or do stupid stunts that go uncorrected due to their massive (and ill informed) fan base and leave the wrong impression on new keepers who don't know any better. Moran is the only currently active T-tuber that I can think of who's videos are actually good for educational purposes. Here's a video on general fossorial care that you may find helpful. Here's another video where he does a rehouse of another Chilobrachys species, including some notes on care - your T will need the same care. I'd like to mention that his specimen is rather shy in this video, but if you've been perusing youtube on tarantula videos you've likely stumbled upon the Exotics Lair and seen how mean his Chilobrachys can get. But yeah, besides Tom, you're best sticking to these boards to get any info on tarantulas. Arachnoboards is quite possibly the single best source of tarantula information, host to many experienced and knowledgeable keepers from around the globe with the most up to date information about Ts and their care. Making an account here was a very good idea.
Invest in a good pair of tongs. Keep your fingers OUT of the enclosure. This is not a T you want to risk getting bit by - even by old world tarantula standards, these guys have some nasty venom. Another species in the genus is believed to possibly have the most toxic venom to humans out of all tarantulas. A bite won't kill you, but it'll put you in a world of hurt. Quite a few people describe being bit by an old world tarantula to be one of if not the most painful thing they've ever experienced. If you have a minute, I'd suggest taking a look at some bite reports for Chilobrachys species.
Now, my HONEST advice to you, as much as you might not like it? Go back to your original plan on picking up an Aphonopelma chalcodes (a FANTASTIC T to start the hobby with) and rehome or sell this T to someone who has more experience. These guys are capable of teleportation-fast movement, quicker than your eye can follow, on top of being pretty skittish and having potential for some very intense defensive behavior. As someone new to keeping tarantulas there's a very wide margin for something to go wrong, since you likely won't have the experience to help you if things go sideways or the reflexes to react accordingly. If the T gets out, it poses a risk to you, anyone you live with, and probably has the ability to kill any other pets (dogs, cats, etc.) you may have. I'm not trying to demonize OW tarantulas, as when they're cared for appropriately they're usually a non-issue, but they're not something to just get on a whim. In fact, if you're saying that you found it on the side of the road, there's a good possibility that its previous owner was someone who also had little experience with keeping tarantulas, got in over their head with this one, and abandoned it. I suspect that'd be the case, because no experienced T keeper would just dump it on the side of the road; most female tarantulas (assuming this is a female as it looks quite large and I'm sure if it were male it would be mature by that size) are worth over $100 dollars and an experienced keeper knowing this would have opted to sell it.
Please do consider that piece of advice - for both yours and the tarantula's sake. If you're going to stick with keeping this T, as much as almost any reputable keeper on this board may tell you to do otherwise, then stick around, peruse the boards for information, ask questions where the search bar doesnt yield relevant results, and best of luck. Don't get bit.
What is the deal with new hobbyists ending up with Asian fossorials? This is the second time I've heard of a free Old World being given/found to/by a brand new hobbyist...
@Arthroverts unfortunate circumstances, but I actually think the tarantula is very lucky. It just shocks me to think there's idiots that leave live animals like that on the roadside
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