Mexican redknee tarantula
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 Mexican redknee tarantula
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| Brachypelma smithi F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897 |
The Mexican redknee tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) is a species of burrowing tarantula native to Mexico, but might be found in small numbers in neighboring countries. They are among the most popular tarantulas available in the pet trade, due to their impressive size and striking coloration. A similar terrestrial tarantula is named Mexican Painted Redleg ("Brachypelma emilia").
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[edit] Description
The mature Mexican redknee tarantula has a dark-colored body with orange patches on the joints of its legs; the second element of the legs (the trochanter) is orange-red. Following moulting, the colors are more pronounced. The dark portion is very black while the orange-red portions will be far more on the reddish side. This is usually the best time to take pictures.
An adult female has a body roughly 4 inches (10cm) long, with a legspan of 6–7 inches (15 to 18 cm), and a weight of approximately 15 to 16 grams, and usually contains large amount of poison.
[edit] Diet
In the wild, they will consume almost any kind of arthropod, small lizard, or small rodent that they can overpower and immobilize with their venom. In captivity, baby spiders have to be fed with small flies like Drosophila. When they are around half a centimeter in size, one can switch to small crickets. Adults like to eat large insects (grasshoppers) or mice, but large meals are often enough to sustain the tarantula for several months before it needs to eat again.
[edit] Behavior
A tarantula moults (sheds its skin) when the skin is too small. After moulting, it will emerge from its exoskeleton, leaving the old skin behind, often fully intact, and almost looking like a second spider. They are also capable of kicking what are called urticating hairs from the rear of their abdomen. These hairs are irritating to the skin, causing itching and sometimes blistering. If they are introduced to the eye, they can cause temporary (and, in some rare cases, permanent) blindness[citation needed].
[edit] In captivity
The Mexican redknee is a mostly docile species. That, coupled with its coloration, makes it a very popular pet species. An enclosure measuring approx. 30 cm × 30 cm × 30 cm (11.8 in × 11.8 in × 11.8 in) is adequate to house them. They can be kept on a substrate of fairly dry peat, sometimes mixed with vermiculite. Being a terrestrial species, the substrate should be fairly deep, though B. smithi is not typically known for its burrowing. It will instead often make use of a provided hide area, like a terra cotta flower pot half buried in the substrate. Live plants are typically discouraged from tarantula enclosures, as they can often attract pest insects.
Feeding is easily accomplished with commercially available crickets, 2–3 per week for an adult. If keeping a younger tarantula in captivity, feed them the same insects 3-4 times per week. They will also eat other easily catchable insects, such as mealworms, locusts, or waxworms. Water can be provided in a shallow non-metallic dish.
[edit] External links
- General B. smithii's page by the University of Michigan
- Brachypelma smithi and photos of next 14 Brachypelma sp. in tarantulas gallery.
- So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?
- Brachypelmas.co.uk
- Brachypelma Care Sheet
