Theraphosa Page

Welcome to my page dedicated to Theraphosa tarantulas, a family of spiders that make up the biggest tarantulas in the world. The most famous is the Theraphosa Blondi. The heaviest (and perhaps biggest) spider recorded to date. (Please note the images on this page show T. stirmi and T. apophysis not T. blondi).

T. blondi - Common name The Goliath Bird eater.

This hefty monster can grow to sizes of up to 12 inches in leg span and weigh 2.5 ounces. It is a wonderful coffee coloured beast with a huge carapace and thick set legs. Though the colour can vary between almost black to almost orange.

In nature they are found in very humid climates and they are a deep burrowing species. Humidity is vital to their health but so is good ventilation as stagnant air in captivity will cause the spider to become sick.

These big beauties are a challenge to keep. They are an immense creature that requires a large enclosure that has deep mosit (but not wet) substrate and though they can dig their own burrow they do seem to appreciate the addition of a large hide such as half a flower pot or piece of cork bark. Many spiders will adapt this hide into a burrow entrace providing the substrate is deep enough. A large but shallow water dish should be available to them at all times.

Temperament wise these spiders certainly are not docile. Though not as aggressive as you might think they will bite if provoked. They are quite skittish as well and very quick to make use of the urticating hairs on their abdomen which they will flick at you. These hairs are very irritating if they get on your skin and are said to be the most irritating of all tarantula hair. They also have the ability to show annoyance with sound and when disturbed they stridulate by rubbing together the bristles on their legs producing a hissing sound.

Due to their size and bulk this spider is delicate and extra care should be taken if you are going to move or ship it. The best packaging I have seen for these monsters is a kitchen towel lined plastic container that is sealed and taped with the spider nestled snug inside and then placed inside a polysterene box that is filled with packing peanuts. This is then placed inside a cardboard box with a heatpack.

Under no cercumstances should you attempt to handle these monsters, not so much for your own safety but theirs. If these delicate creatures fall they will easily burst open and die a sad death by bleeding to death. This simply should not be risked.

The venom is not that bad, however the fangs are 1.5-2cm and they alone can inflict a painful wound.

T. apophysis and T. stirmi

There is some speculation as to how many species of theraphosa there are. To date three have been identified the T. blondi (True Goliath) the T. apophysis (Pink Foot Goliath) and the T. stirmi (Burgundy Goliath). The three species are very similar.

The T. apophysis has very pink little feet as a spiderling - click here - this colouration fades as the spider moults. It is a very large spider and is a very close relative to the T. blondi. It is argued where as T. blondi is the heavier, T. apophysis can achieve a greater leg span. Like the T. blondi humidity is important and the spider is given to burrow. in the wild it has been known to burrow down as far as 24 inches.
Click here (juvenile T. apophysis).

The T. stirmi is very similar to the T. blondi and for a long time was considered a colour variation, but is now described as a separate species. It can be identified by the very slight differences between it and the T. blondi. T. blondi has long hairs on the patella where as the T. stirmi does not. Also T. stirmi spiderlings have pink feet much like the T. apophysis. Click here (spiderling T. stirmi).The T. stirmi also has a subtle 'burgundy' tinge to its colouration as an adult - hence the common name. It attains the same size and bulk as T. blondi and is known to be slightly easier to breed than T. blondi.

T. blondi is known to be very hard to successfully breed in captivity. The actual pairing between male and female tends to go well, however the female will only make her egg sac if she feels very safe and secure. It is believed allowing her to be established in a nice deep burrow is one of the keys to success. Even if she does make her egg sac, if she is stressed the eggs could be infertile or she may eat the egg sac.

All three Theraphosa tarantula species have huge appetites and will eat and eat given the change to do so - they can get quite fat so care should be taken not to over feed them. Feeding them is quite easy - they will take large crickets and locusts and roaches and super meal worms. they can also be fed dead pickie mice from time to time, although this food is quite fatty for them.

In conclusion the theraphosa species are very higly desired and popular in the hobby. Adult females can fetch prices of over £100.00. It is sad that so many of the available specimens are wild caught, however captive breeding attempts are on going with the number of captive bred individuals increasing.

These giants of the tarantula world are certainly a set of spiders you will find you want to keep at some stage or another of your exploration of the tarantula keeping hobby.