Species library

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Chilean dwarf orange - small terrestrial; dry substrate, water dish, hide. Calm and undemanding.

Temp

18-23°C

Humidity

40-50%

Adult DLS

7-10 cm

Moult

Sling ~5w - Adult ~13mo

The Chilean Yellow Flame (Chilean Bumblebee) - the hobby's old "Euathlus sp. yellow", formally described in 2018 and revised into Homoeomma in 2024. A sooty dwarf with a golden-yellow abdominal fringe from 2,500 m Andean steppe, where daytime heat and nighttime frost bred a spider that is honestly happier in a British living room than a heated vivarium: keep it cool, dry and patient. Among the most docile tarantulas in existence - curious rather than defensive - with glacial growth and 20-25 year female lifespans. Demand outstrips supply; CB slings command premium prices.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

65-75%

Adult DLS

11-13 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Blue metallic femurs and an orange abdomen - striking but rarely available. Slow-growing and docile.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Goliath baboon - massive African fossorial. 20-25 cm deep damp packed substrate, large floor space. 80% humidity. Aquatic prey items accepted; an incredible digger.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Hercules baboon - like H. gigas: huge fossorial, deep damp substrate, large enclosure, 80% humidity. Rare in the hobby.

Temp

23-28°C

Humidity

60-70%

Adult DLS

10-13 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Blue Foot Baboon - the only African tarantula (with its rare congener) that builds a true TRAPDOOR: a hinged silk-and-soil lid flush with the ground. Metallic-gold carapace, smoky frame, and the famous powder-blue feet that fade after each moult and re-bloom over the following weeks. A South African sand-forest fossorial that grows fast, stays reclusive ("pet hole" par excellence) and can put on a genuinely fast ambush strike when the door opens. Regularly bred in the UK from small sacs, and one of the most rewarding behaviour-watch fossorials in the hobby.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

70-85%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Brazilian red birdeater - a small arboreal. 25x25x40 cm tall, strong ventilation, vertical cork and plants. Higher humidity (75-80%) with airflow; mist one wall.

Temp

23-27°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

5-7 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~5mo

The Dwarf Pink Leg (Kochiana brunnipes) is a true dwarf Brazilian fossorial - adult females top out around 6 cm, glossy black with salmon-pink legs. A nomen dubium lost to science for over 50 years until its 2008 redescription, it is calm but lightning-quick, living almost entirely in its burrow. Its tiny footprint, cheap price and big personality in miniature make it a favourite "desk pet" for keepers who like dwarves.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

70-85%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Singapore blue - large Old World arboreal. Tall 45 cm enclosure, thick vertical cork, 75-80% humidity, strong airflow. Deep substrate for slings which burrow initially.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Endemic to the shrublands of Brazil's Chapada Diamantina, the Brazilian Blue Beauty (Lasiocyano sazimai, formerly Pterinopelma sazimai) shows one of the most electric blues in the hobby - a sheen that intensifies after each moult. A calm, terrestrial New World species reaching around 14 cm, it flicks urticating hairs rather than biting, making it a forgiving intermediate species. Deep dry substrate, a fresh water dish and good cross-ventilation are all it asks for.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

19-23 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Brazilian white striped birdeater - massive terrestrial; huge floor space, deep substrate, XL water dish, 65-75% humidity. Voracious.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

65-75%

Adult DLS

20-24 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

More red-abdomened and contrasting than L. parahybana. Can be flick-happy; provide deep substrate.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

65-75%

Adult DLS

21-25 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Massive salmon-pink bodied species reaching 23 cm. Fast-growing and ravenous. Provide a big footprint.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

15-20 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~10mo

The Adobe Birdeater - coppery-adobe tones with darker femurs and a pink-washed carapace, brand new to the hobby (first UK slings 2026). Identification caveat: sold in the UK as Lasiodora sp. "Adobe", but US trade labels the same stock Lasiodorides sp. "Adobe" - a much smaller Peruvian genus - so treat the giant 20 cm size claim with caution until lineages settle. Either way: nervous, flicky, more bluff than bite, and straightforward big-South-American husbandry. New, cheap-ish (£35 slings) and unproven - an early-adopter species.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

19-23 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Bahia grey birdeater - giant terrestrial like other Lasiodora; deep substrate, big water dish, damp corner. Strong feeding response.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

11-13 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Violet-tinged Indian fossorial. Beautiful but defensive - specialist species for advanced keepers.

Temp

24-27°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

10-13 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~10mo

The Sumatran Stout Leg - the most robust member of its genus, named for Gianni Sposato and described in 2013 from lowland Lampung, Sumatra. Its party piece is in the name: "Lyro-" means sound, and it STRIDULATES - hissing and whistling through bristles on legs and pedipalps when threatened. Add rear legs two-to-three times thicker than the rest, deep silk-lined burrows and a ready threat posture, and you have one of the most characterful Asian fossorials. CB stock has slowly spread since 2019; catching some is worth it for keepers of defensive species.

Temp

15-24°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

15-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~10mo

The Thunder Thighs Earth Tiger (Magnacrus tongmianensis) - type species of a brand-new genus erected in 2025 (ex-Citharognathus), named for its conspicuously powerful hind legs, with the male only described that same year. A cool-tolerant (15-24 °C!) Chinese/Vietnamese fossorial that is perfectly adapted to unheated British rooms - one of the very few Asian earth tigers you can keep beside a window. Defensive, deep-burrowing, genuinely rare at £18 a sling for something this taxonomically interesting.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Colombian giant redleg - huge terrestrial, deep substrate (15 cm), XL water dish. 75-80% humidity. Unusual defensive slap posture - keep hands clear.

Temp

20-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

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.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Velvet redleg - large terrestrial; deep substrate, generous floor space, damp corner. Humid forest species.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Thailand zebra leg - fossorial/terrestrial. Deep (15-20 cm) damp packed substrate with starter burrow, 75-80% humidity. Seals itself in for weeks - normal.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Chinese bird spider - deep damp substrate (20 cm) with starter burrow. 75-80% humidity, warm (25-28 C). Defensive Old World - display only.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

12-14 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Stunning metallic cobalt blue legs. Obligate burrower - you rarely see them. Fast, defensive, potent venom.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Long-legged earthtiger - Asian fossorial, deep damp substrate, starter burrow against glass. Warm, humid, well-packed substrate essential.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Velvety black Old World tarantula. Defensive, fast, and reclusive - fossorial in deep substrate.

Temp

20-26°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

15-18 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~10mo

The Bach Ma Earth Tiger - a khaki-and-gold tiger-striped fossorial from the cloud forest of Bạch Mã National Park, central Vietnam, allied to C. schmidti and still formally undescribed (some 2026 nomenclature work shuffles these into a restored Melopoeus - contested, so Cyriopagopus is retained here). One of the most wanted Asian terrestrials: gorgeous colour, serious webbing, defensive speed and medically significant venom. Montane heritage means it runs COOLER than lowland earth tigers - 20-26 °C, not baking. CB females command £95 when they surface.

Temp

18-24°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~10mo

The Lam Dong Earth Tiger - a near-black (mature females trend indigo) Vietnamese fossorial from the 1,500 m Lam Dong Plateau cloud forest, sold under an old "Haplopelma sp. Lam Dong" label. A deep-cooling specialist: 18-24 °C with no heating in most UK homes, and overheating is the main killer. Chunky fast-growing slings, clear threat postures, deep burrows with heavy web collars. Cheap (£15 slings) for such a striking highlander - a Cobalt Blue for keepers whose houses run cold.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

50-65%

Adult DLS

12-14 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Gorgeous blue-legged baboon with an orange carapace. One of the few communal species; tolerate dry conditions.

Temp

22-27°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

7-8 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~13mo

Colombian dwarf with gold and blue banded legs, red abdominal accents and a grey carapace - a sunburst in miniature at 7-8 cm. Formally described in 2023 from the Pacific Chocó rainforest (the trade name began on undescribed "sp. Panama" stock). A docile opportunist that burrows as a sling and ends up on display as an adult: small enclosure, damp substrate, and a feeding response far bigger than the spider.