Megaphobema sp. White
Giant White Leg - complete care guide
Giant White Leg
Temperature
20-26 °C
Target ambient range
Humidity
70-80 %
Substrate / enclosure RH
Adult DLS
14-17 cm
Average - varies per individual
Moult interval
Sling 4-8w - Juv 2.3-3.8mo
Adult 11-16mo
Adult cycle = mature females; males never moult again after maturity
About
The Giant White Leg - a brand-new, still-undescribed Colombian Megaphobema whose first captive-bred batches reached the UK in 2025-26. A colour-shifting career: white-legged slings, pink juveniles, then dark adults with white-sheened legs and a rose-washed abdomen. Classic Megaphobema temperament underneath - nervous, defensive-posturing, hair-flicking, never truly aggressive. Extremely rare and priced to match, but with the same straightforward cool-and-humid cloud-forest husbandry as its velvetosoma cousins.
Husbandry cheat sheet
- Origin
- Colombia
- Habitat
- Cloud forest floor
- Temperament
- Skittish
- In your collection
- 0
Growth, lifespan & conservation
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Maturity
- ♀ 60mo ♂ 42mo
- Lifespan
- ♀ 16yr ♂ 5yr
- Continent
- South America
- UK availability
- Rare in the hobby
Care Guide
Megaphobema sp. White
Giant White Leg - a complete husbandry sheet. Use as a starting point and adjust to your individual specimen.
What size enclosure does a Giant White Leg Tarantula need?
Adults
35 × 30 cm (14 × 12 in) for a mature adult. Floor space matters more than height.
Slings & Juveniles
House spiderlings in small, appropriately sized deli cups or sling enclosures.
To map exact floor space and substrate safety limits for your setup, use our free interactive tarantula enclosure planner.
What temperature and humidity does a Giant White Leg Tarantula need?
Heating
The Giant White Legs is comfortable at 20-26 °C; most UK homes manage without supplementary heat for much of the year.
Humidity
70-80 %: overflow the water dish weekly and let it dry back.
Ventilation
Cross-ventilation is essential - side-vented enclosures, never stagnant.
What substrate is best for a Giant White Leg Tarantula?
Recommended Mixes
Depth
8-10 cm
Notes
Keep substrate dry to barely moist - never soaking. Pack firm; give 8-10 cm for opportunistic digging.
How do you set up a Giant White Leg Tarantula enclosure?
Décor
The Hide
A cork bark half-log or leaning slab with a starter burrow; Megaphobema adopt scrapes and dig in.
Water
Always provide a large shallow water dish. Keep it full and clean it regularly.
Lighting
No special lighting needed. Ambient room light is enough.
How often should you feed a Giant White Leg Tarantula?
Good Feeders
Long refusal worrying you? Separate premoult fasting from genuine problems with our "Is my T okay?" checker.
Is my Giant White Leg Tarantula dying or moulting?
Pre-moult signs to look for
Refusing food for weeks is normal before a moult - a healthy Giant White Leg Tarantula fasting is almost never an emergency in itself. Watch for slowing down and spending more time in the hide, laying a thick moult mat of web on the floor. New World species like this one often show a bald spot on the abdomen that darkens to near-black as the new skin underneath readies - a darkening bald patch is a reliable countdown, not a disease.
On its back is MOULTING, not dying
A Giant White Leg Tarantula lying upside down or on its side with legs curled inwards is almost certainly mid-moult. Do not touch it, do not right it, do not mist it - just remove any live prey (crickets can kill a defenceless moulter) and leave the room.
How long between moults?
For this species, expect a moult roughly every 28-56 days for spiderlings, every 70-115 days for juveniles, and every 160-250 days for sub-adults, with adult females moulting around every 11 months (up to 15.7 months at the extreme). Males never moult again after their ultimate (mature) moult.
After the moult: fang hardening time
The new exoskeleton stays soft, with fangs that cannot grip, for roughly 8 days in this species. Offer no food and no handling for about 8 days - feeding too early is how fresh moulters get injured. The shed exuvium is also the best sexing tool there is - see our tarantula sexing guide for what to look for.
Genuinely worried about behaviour that is not moulting? Our "Is my T okay?" triage tool walks the danger signs one by one.
What ongoing care does a Giant White Leg Tarantula need?
🪞 Moulting
Signs: refuses food, abdomen darkens and goes glossy, becomes sluggish, often heavy webbing or a moult mat. During the moult: do not disturb, remove any live prey, keep water available. Wait until the fangs are black and hard before feeding again. Adult intervals apply to mature FEMALES - a mature male never moults again.
🧹 Cleaning
Daily: check the water dish. Weekly: remove uneaten prey boluses and spot-clean. Full deep clean only every few months.
✋ Handling
Nervous with a theatrical threat posture and heavy hair-flicking - look, do not hold.
What are the most common mistakes when keeping Giant White Leg Tarantulas?
✓ What They Love
- Fresh water dish at all times
- Cool, stable temperature
- Cross-ventilation
- A proper hide and deep substrate
- Watching the colour change with each moult
✕ Common Mistakes
- Overheating - cloud forest stock
- Soaking-wet substrate
- Free handling - nervous hair-kicker
- Panic at the threat pose - it is a bluff
Keep exploring: related care guides
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