Theraphosa care and info

[Transrights]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD

I've had a little T. Stirmi sling since March and I thought I had given her an appropriately sized enclosure, good for a couple of molts I thought.... Turns She has only molted once and I'll already have to rehouse her after the next one. The size which they put on and the speed at which they do it is indeed scary.

 

[Nightstalker47]

I've had a little T. Stirmi sling since March and I thought I had given her an appropriately sized enclosure, good for a couple of molts I thought.... Turns She has only molted once and I'll already have to rehouse her after the next one. The size which they put on and the speed at which they do it is indeed scary.

Oh yeah for sure, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Theraphosa slings double in size with each molt during the early stages of their lives. Ill also add that you can house these in bigger setups right off the bat, just make sure they have a den or hide available with some burrowing potential.

 

[Marcostaco]

Great thread! The growth rates on them are crazy.

Here's my T blondi's 2 previous molts. It went from 3" DLS to 5"

 

[Nightstalker47]

Great thread! The growth rates on them are crazy.

Here's my T blondi's 2 previous molts. It went from 3" DLS to 5"

Crazy!

 

[Stardust1986]

We have had so many threads lately on Theraphosa, and I find myself repeating the same thing time and time again. This thread will cover most of the common questions, hopefully it should be useful to some of the newer keepers, and may even save a few spiders from neglect. I'll start by going over the basics.

Care and husbandry:
Theraphosa were famously labelled as "swamp dwellers" in the tarantula keepers guide. This is quite misleading, and inadvertently lead to many common husbandry errors, as well as people obsessing over humidity numbers they do not require. They need moist sub, good ventilation and it's that simple. They aren't anymore difficult to keep, so long as you know what your doing.

Once you setup the spider properly your already pretty much in the clear. I prefer using sterilite/rubbermaid tubs for large Theraphosa. When you use glass aquariums, the ventilation ratio is almost always off. You either have too much, or not enough, both of which can be detrimental to your spider long term.

Setup:
For your custom enclosure. Start by drilling plenty of ventilation holes on the sides of the tub. I usually do three rows on each end. Give the spider plenty of substrate depth, and provide a partially buried hide, as they will take to burrowing...especially younger specimens. Larger individuals may abandon their hides/burrows as they grow, but they should still always have the option.

Maintenance:
Since these spiders consume so much food, you will have far more waste to clean up after. Spot cleaning is very important, as well as regularly providing the spider with clean drinking water. My specimens foul their water bowls after almost every meal, so stay on top of it or you will come back to something nasty one day.

Also, you will need to keep the substrate moist as it dries out. Poor water directly into the sub, and avoid misting...ineffective and will just send hairs airborne. Speaking of hairs, theraphosa have the worst urticating setae in the hobby. Hands off, always use tongs and be vigilant when doing maintenance...they tend to be rather voracious and are definitely prone to mistaking you for food.

Growth rates:
These are the fastest growing spiders you can get your hands on if kept right and fed often. I always emphasize on feeding theraphosa more then you would almost any other genus. It all goes towards growth. Obviously slow down on feeding with adults, but young growing spiders need as much as they can get. I had my female T.stirmi go from 1.5" to roughly 8" in less then two years time. My smaller unsexed specimen is too young to gauge as of now.

Size:
Theraphosa are the largest spiders in the hobby, commonly exceeding 9" in legspan. It was said that T.blondi is the largest of the genus, but truth is that T.stirmi get just as large if not larger. T.apophysis have the more slender build, and tend to be more leggy then the aforementioned species. All are stunning in their own right.

Identification:
Let's start with spiderlings.
T.stirmi will have four pink/white tarsi on the four front legs.
T.blondi will have no pink/white tarsi on any legs.
T.apophysis will have pink/white tarsi on all eight legs.

As adults or sub-adults, T.blondi is best distinguished by the heavy presence of setae on the pattella. Whereas it is absent with stirmi. T.apophysis doesn't really look like the other two species, so they are rarely ever confused. They also happen to be the only species within the genus that possess tibial hooks(mature males).

I think I covered most of it. Feel free to contribute to this thread. Pictures of any species within the genus are more then welcome.

I keep a therophosa stirmi, I hear their not as difficult to keep as the blondi. From what I learned, good ventilation +humidity =happy therophosa, also since the enclosure is moist, I recommend spri tails, they eat mold. I learned therophosa also go on hunger strikes for long periods, thos suprised me. Give them more space than they need, it's a special situation, they put on a lot of size quickly

 

[TheDarkAbyss]

Sorry to ping this thread again, but I am in an odd predicament right now.

I've had my T. Apophysis for almost 2 years at this point and I learned from it that it goes into a sort-of molting strike usually in July-August, ending in December. I say this because besides this time of year, she molts consistently every 2-3 months. I live in a high elevation area in the Philippines where it starts getting somewhat cold during November. I've kept her the same way all this time with the moisture probe telling me the lower levels of the soil are always at a 75-80% humidity level. She has however recently done her regular premolt stuff such as line the burrow entrance with urticating hairs but the abdomen hasn't darkened yet. Her last molt this year was at the 9th of June. That makes it as of writing, 211 days AKA 6 months and 28 days and the last strike lasted 4 months and 16 days.

 

[Marcostaco]

Sorry to ping this thread again, but I am in an odd predicament right now.

I've had my T. Apophysis for almost 2 years at this point and I learned from it that it goes into a sort-of molting strike usually in July-August, ending in December. I say this because besides this time of year, she molts consistently every 2-3 months. I live in a high elevation area in the Philippines where it starts getting somewhat cold during November. I've kept her the same way all this time with the moisture probe telling me the lower levels of the soil are always at a 75-80% humidity level. She has however recently done her regular premolt stuff such as line the burrow entrance with urticating hairs but the abdomen hasn't darkened yet. Her last molt this year was at the 9th of June. That makes it as of writing, 211 days AKA 6 months and 28 days and the last strike lasted 4 months and 16 days.

Simple, as they grow molts get less frequent. And tarantulas don't do "molt strikes", there's tons of factors in molting. Their new exoskeleton forming underneath, temperature, etc.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Sorry to ping this thread again, but I am in an odd predicament right now.

I've had my T. Apophysis for almost 2 years at this point and I learned from it that it goes into a sort-of molting strike usually in July-August, ending in December. I say this because besides this time of year, she molts consistently every 2-3 months. I live in a high elevation area in the Philippines where it starts getting somewhat cold during November. I've kept her the same way all this time with the moisture probe telling me the lower levels of the soil are always at a 75-80% humidity level. She has however recently done her regular premolt stuff such as line the burrow entrance with urticating hairs but the abdomen hasn't darkened yet. Her last molt this year was at the 9th of June. That makes it as of writing, 211 days AKA 6 months and 28 days and the last strike lasted 4 months and 16 days.

Interesting observation, IME once they get over the 7" mark molts will slow down by a long shot. Seasons could affect this as well for sure.

Simple, as they grow molts get less frequent. And tarantulas don't do "molt strikes", there's tons of factors in molting. Their new exoskeleton forming underneath, temperature, etc.

Mostly true, many others have observed what he speaks of above. Those who log every molt tend to have the best data.

 

[Marcostaco]

Interesting observation, IME once they get over the 7" mark molts will slow down by a long shot. Seasons could affect this as well for sure.

Mostly true, many others have observed what he speaks of above. Those who log every molt tend to have the best data.

Not much but 50 something tarantulas at home, have data of each and every molt of each specimen

 

[8 legged]

I am free and add my experience / observation.
On the one hand T. stirmi tolerates much more drought than T. blondi, on the other hand my Theraphosas only build egg sacks after mating when their cave is dry. Accordingly, the substrate is always slightly moist with me, I just keep the hiding place dry. If I also keep the burrow damp, no egg sac will be created. At least that's how it is with my animals...

 

[TheDarkAbyss]

Interesting observation, IME once they get over the 7" mark molts will slow down by a long shot. Seasons could affect this as well for sure.

Mostly true, many others have observed what he speaks of above. Those who log every molt tend to have the best data.

Forgot to mention that she is probably at the 7" mark as the last molt was at 6". So I have nothing to worry about?

 

[tarantulas118]

Great thread! The growth rates on them are crazy.

Here's my T blondi's 2 previous molts. It went from 3" DLS to 5"

JESUS!! How did it even fit 2 extra inches in its exoskeleton!?!? It must’ve been hella uncomfortable living like that in pre-molt

 

[friesforestgoblin]

Identification:
Let's start with spiderlings.
T.stirmi will have four pink/white tarsi on the four front legs.
T.blondi will have no pink/white tarsi on any legs.
T.apophysis will have pink/white tarsi on all eight legs.

As adults or sub-adults, T.blondi is best distinguished by the heavy presence of setae on the pattella. Whereas it is absent with stirmi. T.apophysis doesn't really look like the other two species, so they are rarely ever confused. They also happen to be the only species within the genus that possess tibial hooks(mature males).

Thanks so much for this!! My Theraphosa was sold to me as an apophysis butttt my earlier molts that I kept indicate he is indeed a stirmi based on the four pink/white tarsi on the four front legs. I really appreciate this knowledge!!

 

[TalyonUngol]

Good Lord.... I was going to get a T. Sturmi as part of my first spiders to collect... but if that growth rate is serious... I think im going to avoid it until another year or two. I was hoping it'd grow alongside a G. Pulcra that I'd get as a sling but TWO YEARS TO 8 INCHES?!

Kind of intimidating that my first T to adult would be the Goliath... but then again, always wanted one... but good lord.