Species library

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

5-7 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~3mo

Gold-form or olive dwarf. Prolific webber and one of the few species regularly kept communally.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

6-8 cm

Moult

Sling ~2w - Adult ~3mo

The Gold form of Neoholothele incei - the beloved Trinidad dwarf in a buttery gold instead of the nominate olive. Everything that made the species a hobby favourite applies: crazy-fast growth (adult in a year), carpets of webbing, deep burrow architecture, one of the few genuinely communal-tolerant tarantulas, and matings that produce enormous sacs. A 7 cm bullet with a beginner-safe temperament - the gateway drug to dwarf and communal keeping. Colour form note: "Gold" is a captive morph, not a taxon.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Brazilian giant - large terrestrial, deep substrate, water dish. 65-75% humidity. Fast-growing and hungry.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

65-75%

Adult DLS

15-19 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Bold red hairs on a white-striped leg pattern. Hardy and big; loves a deep water dish and dry corners.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

65-75%

Adult DLS

17-21 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Long white striped legs with black "socks". Larger and slower than N. chromatus; likes slightly more humidity.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Brazilian giant salmon - large terrestrial; deep substrate, water dish, 65-75% humidity. Hair-kicker.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

70-85%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Malaysian earthtiger - large arboreal. Tall setup with cork tubes, 75-80% humidity, strong cross-ventilation. Males mature green carapace, females tan.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

75-85%

Adult DLS

18-22 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Magnus Earth Tiger - a huge slate-and-cream Sumatran form that hit the UK trade in 2025 and may be (or be close to) Omothymus rafni. Conflicting hobby reports about whether it is more arboreal or fossorial - the safe answer is both: give height AND deep substrate and let the spider choose. Either way you get one of the largest Old World forms in the hobby (up to 22 cm), a monstrous feeding response, defensive speed and no urticating hairs. Rare, expensive (£75+ slings) and firmly for experienced Old World keepers.

Temp

15-24°C

Humidity

65-85%

Adult DLS

14-16 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Ho Chi Minh Earth Tiger - an undescribed Vietnamese ornithoctonine with black femurs and orange knee banding, genus placement unresolved (hence the subfamily label). Vendor disposition rating: colourful. "Feeding response of a viper" and a defensive attitude to match - advanced keepers only. The cool end of its panel (15-24 °C) suggests highland Vietnamese stock; £20 CB slings.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Nhen Dep Earth Tiger - "nhện đẹp" is Vietnamese for "beautiful spider", and this recently discovered fossorial lives up to it. Trade-label footnote: sold under the defunct genus "Haplopelma", which WSC no longer recognises (absorbed into Cyriopagopus and kin), so it is entered here at subfamily level pending formal description. Bitey (4/5), deep-burrowing, cheap slings (£10) with adult females at £85. Standard Vietnamese earth-tiger husbandry and respect.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

75-85%

Adult DLS

11-13 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Vietnam Silver - a recently discovered, still-undescribed ornithoctonine glowing silver-blue with orange setae: one of the calmer Old World forms on any vendor list (vendor rating "shy"). Smallish at 12 cm, fast-growing, warm and humid. £22 CB slings - an approachable piece of the Asian silver-blue collection for intermediate keepers moving up from New Worlds.

Temp

24-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

14-17 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Dark body with striking mustard-yellow stripe on the knees. Old World burrower with potent venom.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

7-9 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Thai Silver Earth Tiger (Ornithoctonus costalis, valid since 1998) - a DWARF earth tiger at just 8 cm, wearing silvery-grey setae over the classic tiger frame. All the Old World attitude in a pocket body: rears up readily, bolts like lightning, but with less margin for error thanks to the size. Often suggested as a "starter earth tiger with respect" for keepers graduating from New Worlds. WC females surface occasionally at £49; CB slings are the better buy.

Temp

24-27°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

12-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Malaysian Blue Femur - a bulky, dark-striped earth tiger with brilliant blue rear legs, sold in the UK for years under the label "Haplopelma robustum". Taxonomy reality check: H. robustum is a nomen dubium from Singapore that matches no trade stock - this animal is an undescribed Ornithoctonus from Malaysia that has not been formally seen in the trade for years until recently. Super-defensive, deep-burrowing, medically significant venom, and a genuinely striking pet hole for advanced keepers.

Temp

26-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

16-18 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Phan Cay Blue - an arboreal Vietnamese ornithoctonine (the name garbles a Vietnamese locality; genus placement open) and one of only two tree-dwellers in this whole final batch: a big 18 cm blue Old World with a 4/5 "bitey" vendor rating. Warm, humid, vertical - a Lampropelma-style setup with an earth-tiger temperament inside. £36 slings; strictly for experienced arboreal Old World keepers.

Temp

26-28°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

16-18 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

Phan Cay Red - the red counterpart of the Phan Cay Blue: same garbled Vietnamese locality name, same arboreal 18 cm "bitey" (4/5) biology, warmer red setae over the dark frame. Presumably one locality complex with its blue sibling - nobody knows until somebody formally describes them. £36 slings for advanced arboreal Old World keepers.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Ranong Earth Tiger - a smaller, bluish undescribed Thai Ornithoctonus from the aureotibialis complex, sold by the vendor with the warning "angry isn't the word, these guys hate everything." Deep moist burrows with silk-matted entrances, teleport speed, and a genuinely committed threat posture. £15 WC slings - cheap to buy, demanding to keep, deeply satisfying for earth-tiger specialists.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

13-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Siam Satu Earth Tiger - an undescribed Asian fossorial whose trade name is geographic nonsense ("Siam" = Thailand, "satu" = Malay for one, vendor origin panel: Vietnam) - typical of pre-formal-description naming. Defensive, deep-burrowing, fast-growing, £35 CB slings. Standard earth-tiger husbandry and respect; the description flags the naming muddle for the record.

Temp

22-26°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

12-15 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~9mo

The Dancing Earth Tiger ("Uthai Thani") - an undescribed Thai Ornithoctonus and the cheapest Old World on the UK market at £8 a sling. The "dancing" is the threat display: rearing, pacing, and an attitude the vendor rates bluntly. All the standard earth-tiger requirements in a starter-priced package - the classic "first aggressive Asian" for keepers who are honest with themselves about readiness.

Temp

22-27°C

Humidity

65-80%

Adult DLS

10-13 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~8mo

The Philippine Tangerine (also sold as Philippine Orange or Neon Orange) is a vivid orange Old World burrower from Negros and Panay. Described by Schmidt in 1999 and moved into Orphnaecus in 2012, a 2025 revision revalidated it as Selenobrachys philippinus - UK shops still label it Orphnaecus, so expect both names on lineage records. Females reach 10-13 cm DLS, live around 12 years and spend most of their time at the burrow mouth under heavy sheet webbing, with the full tangerine glow usually on show in the evening. Fast, reclusive and genuinely defensive with a medically significant bite risk - an advanced display species, not a handling one. UK captive-bred slings appear regularly at around £10.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

22-26 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Bolivian blue black - large terrestrial; deep substrate, water dish, damp corner, 70-75% humidity. Males stunning purple. Defensive hair-kicker.

Temp

20-24°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

17-20 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

The Ecuador Birdeater - big, stocky, dark-bronze Pamphobeteus stock sold in the UK under an "insignis-type" label. Taxonomy footnote: true P. insignis (Pocock, 1903) is a valid Colombian species, but UK stock originates from Ecuador and may match one of the wave of newly described Ecuadorian Pamphobeteus rather than confirmed insignis - hence the "sp." prefix. The same cool-loving constitution as its relatives: genuinely happy at 20-22 °C, feeding relentlessly, and flicking hairs at every opportunity. Cheap slings (around £30) make it an accessible giant.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

22-26 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Colombian black - large terrestrial; deep substrate, generous floor space, water dish. 70-75% humidity.

Temp

20-24°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

20-22 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

The Copperhead Birdeater ("Pamphobeteus sp. Dark") - one of The Spider Shop's newest Ecuadorian Pamphobeteus imports, a big copper-toned giant at up to 22 cm rated "fearless" by the vendor. All the genus virtues: gluttonous feeding, impressive size, cool-tolerant Andean-foothill husbandry, and the usual hair-flicking response to disturbance. £50 for 3 cm slings; undescribed, so the "Dark" label is pure trade nomenclature.

Temp

22-28°C

Humidity

60-75%

Adult DLS

22-26 cm

Moult

Sling ~3w - Adult ~12mo

Machala purple - large terrestrial; deep substrate, water dish, 70-75% humidity. Standard Pamphobeteus care.

Temp

20-24°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

20-22 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

The Ecuador Black Beauty ("Magnanegra") - a near-black Pamphobeteus from humid rainforest around Ecuadorian waterfalls, first captive-bred in 2013 and still genuinely rare. Same cool-kept, gluttonous, hair-flicking genus character on a jet-black 22 cm frame; males develop purple tones at maturity. £28 slings when they appear. One for genus collectors who want the darkest paint job in the drawer.

Temp

10-24°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

18-20 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~10mo

The Mascara Birdeater - a two-toned Ecuadorian Pamphobeteus from drier coastal forest, with the widest temperature tolerance of the genus forms (10-24 °C on the vendor panel - genuinely cool-tolerant). Grows fast for a Pamphobeteus, hatches unusually large slings, and flicks hairs at every opportunity. £22 for 2 cm juveniles - one of the cheaper entry points into the giant South Americans.

Temp

20-24°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

20-22 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

The Nopa Birdeater - a big, fearless Ecuadorian Pamphobeteus from the Santo Domingo mountain range (Ecuador's Santo Domingo de los Colorados, NOT the Caribbean - a common mix-up with its trade-label sibling). Same cool-kept giant formula: 22 cm, gluttonous, hair-flicking, £75 for 5 cm slings. The genus label and locality naming predate any formal description - pure trade nomenclature.

Temp

20-25°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

18-22 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

The Brazilian Pink Bloom - one of the most coveted Pamphobeteus in the hobby: dark frame, pink starburst carapace, and mature males that blaze vivid pink. Taxonomy footnote: there is no valid Pamphobeteus platyomma - the name survives only as Vitalius platyomma (a nomen dubium) - so this is an undescribed Brazilian Pamphobeteus sold on a decades-old trade label. A cool-tolerant giant at up to 22 cm that feeds like a Geniculata and flicks hairs with the same enthusiasm. Juvenile females are pricey; slings appear periodically at around £30-60.

Temp

20-22°C

Humidity

70-80%

Adult DLS

21-25 cm

Moult

Sling ~4w - Adult ~11mo

The Santa Domingo Goliath - the biggest number on any vendor's Pamphobeteus list: a claimed 25 cm, named for Santo Domingo de los Colorados in ECUADOR (not the Dominican Republic, despite the trade spelling). Cool-kept like its siblings but faster-growing and heavier-bodied, with the "Christmas tree" sling patterning retained longer than any other form. £85 for 5 cm slings buys you one of the largest captive-bred tarantulas money can get.