Tliltocatl albopilosus
Curly Hair Tarantula - complete care guide
Often searched as: Tiltocatl albopilosus.
Curly Hair Tarantula
🛃 Legality & paperwork - CITES Appendix II
Tliltocatl albopilosus is listed in CITES Appendix II. Covered by the historic Brachypelma spp. CITES listing (the genus was split out of Brachypelma in 2020). Species described after 1994 are not explicitly named in the Appendices - check with your national authority before exporting. International sales or exports need CITES export permits - domestic UK sales between private keepers do not. No UK licence (including the Dangerous Wild Animals Act) is required to keep any tarantula species.
Temperature
24-28 °C
Target ambient range
Humidity
70-80 %
Substrate / enclosure RH
Adult DLS
13-15 cm
Average - varies per individual
Moult interval
Sling 3-6w - Juv 2-3mo
Adult 9-12mo
Adult cycle = mature females; males never moult again after maturity
About
Fluffy brown curls and a docile disposition. Likes it slightly more humid than the Brachypelma species.
Husbandry cheat sheet
- Origin
- Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua (Atlantic lowlands)
- Habitat
- Tropical rainforest
- Temperament
- Docile
- In your collection
- 0
Growth, lifespan & conservation
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Maturity
- ♀ 24mo ♂ 18mo
- Lifespan
- ♀ 15yr ♂ 3yr
- Continent
- North/Central America
- CITES
- CITES Appendix II
- UK availability
- Commonly available
📸 Community Gallery Photos from keepers with public specimens
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Care Guide
Tliltocatl albopilosus
Curly Hair Tarantula - a complete husbandry sheet. Use as a starting point and adjust to your individual specimen.
What size enclosure does a Curly Hair Tarantula need?
Adults
40 × 30 cm (16 × 12 in) for a mature adult. This is a large species. Floor space matters more than height.
Slings & Juveniles
House spiderlings in small, appropriately sized deli cups or sling enclosures - oversized enclosures make prey capture difficult. Upgrade roughly every 2-3 moults.
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 Curly Hair Tarantula need?
Heating
Curly Hair This tarantula is comfortable at 24-28 °C. Most UK homes sit in or near this range for most of the year; heat the room rather than the enclosure if winter drops below it.
Humidity
Curly Hair Tarantula come from Mexican and Central American dry forest - keep it dry. 55-65 % is plenty: bone-dry substrate, a full water dish, and one slightly damp corner at most. These are the classic 'water dish and forget it' species.
Ventilation
Cross-ventilation is essential - side-vented enclosures, never stagnant. Poor airflow plus humidity kills faster than dryness ever will.
What substrate is best for a Curly Hair Tarantula?
Recommended Mixes
Depth
6-8 cm
Notes
Keep substrate dry to barely moist - never soaking. Pack it firm enough to support décor.
How do you set up a Curly Hair Tarantula enclosure?
Décor
The Hide
A cork bark half-log, leaning slab, or cork tube placed on the substrate.
Water
Always provide a shallow fresh water dish. Keep it full and clean it regularly. No sponges.
Lighting
No special lighting needed. Ambient room light is enough; avoid heat lamps and bright spotlights.
How often should you feed a Curly Hair Tarantula?
Good Feeders
Long refusal worrying you? Separate premoult fasting from genuine problems with our "Is my T okay?" checker.
Is my Curly Hair Tarantula dying or moulting?
Pre-moult signs to look for
Refusing food for weeks is normal before a moult - a healthy Curly Hair 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 Curly Hair 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 21-42 days for spiderlings, every 60-90 days for juveniles, and every 165-234 days for sub-adults, with adult females moulting around every 9.2 months (up to 11.9 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 6 days in this species. Offer no food and no handling for about 7 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 Curly Hair 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 (several days for adults, 1-2 for slings) before feeding again. Adult intervals apply to mature FEMALES - a mature male never moults again (his ultimate moult is his last), and female cycles stretch or shrink with feeding and temperature.
🧹 Cleaning
Daily: check the water dish. Weekly: remove uneaten prey boluses and spot-clean. Full deep clean only every few months, and only when necessary.
✋ Handling
Calm by tarantula standards and a classic beginner genus, but they flick urticating hairs readily - expect an itchy wrist if you startle one. Floor-level handling only; falls are the real danger.
What are the most common mistakes when keeping Curly Hair Tarantulas?
✓ What They Love
- Fresh water dish at all times
- Cross-ventilation
- Stable room temperature
- A proper hide and a few anchor points
✕ Common Mistakes
- Soaking-wet substrate
- Daily misting
- Heat mat underneath the enclosure
- Tall enclosures with hard décor (fall risk for terrestrials)
- Misting - dryness with a water dish is correct for this genus
- Worrying about long fasts - adults of this genus routinely refuse food for months, especially in winter
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