Curly-haired Tarantula Brachypelma albopilosum

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(This is Mammoth, my curly-haired. I haven't sexed it yet, but I obviously hope that she is female- they have a longer life span.)

    The curly-haired tarantula is considered a beginner's tarantula, and is known for its gentle nature. They are first world tarantulas, which means that they have the ability to kick urticating hairs from their abdomen when provoked, which get lodged in the skin and irritate it. They are usually aimed at the eyes of the predator (you). Most curly hairs live up to their reputation, and are docile. However, some of them can be quite testy- it mostly depends on the personality of the spider and how often it has been handled... ... and how its handled! I have never been bitten by one, but the venom of the bite is not known to produce particularly adverse effects in humans, unless, of course, you are allergic, which is impossible to find out if you have not been bitten by one. You certainly don't want to learn the hard way, so be careful!     

(This is Mammoth again. It is its third leg, and you can see the hairs quite clearly in this picture.)

   Curly hairs usually grow up to 5 or 5.5 inches in length. They do not stop growing even when they reach maturity, but go on growing, albeit very slowly. The juveniles are usually brown in colour, and grow bluer/blacker as they approach maturity. They have golden-colored hairs all over their bodies, which stand out strikingly against the darker background (above picture).

    You can feed it crickets or pinheads, depending on which s applicable (duh!). About twice a week in fine, unless you want it to grow really big in the shortest amount of time and don't mind shortening it's life span. I feed mine crickets most of the time unless I have another food source. the other day I fed it a gecko (a small one, of course). What was left was a small ball of shriveled-up skin. You can feed it grasshoppers too. I never seem to be able to find the exoskeletons, though, so I cannot remove them. 

     You can keep your tarantula in a normal pet-pal tank, making sure that it is well-ventilated but not draughty. I wouldn't suggest that you let your tarantula burrow, as you will see it only once a week at most, when it comes out to push the cricket exoskeletons out of its burrow. in order not to make your tarantula feel exposed, get a relatively small tank for it. This is to make the tarantula feel that the tank is a burrow. You can out a small, flat dish of water inside the tank, if you make sure that it is hard to tip the dish over and and the water level is not high enough to be spilt easily. You can also put a cork bark hideaway, or a ceramic hideaway-thing inside, just for cover for the tarantula.

    You can use peat moss or sphagnum moss for the substrate. Put about 2-3 inches of it into the tank. One disadvantage of this particular substrate is that it promotes mite infestations, since it retains moisture. Alternatively, you could use vermiculite, which does not promote infestations on it's own. However, some tarantulas feel unsafe on it, as it is not very stable. 

    You can pick your tarantula up several different ways. You can get a piece of cardboard or something (anything firm will do), and use a pair of forceps or a pen to gently ease the tarantula onto the cardboard. This method works when you are picking your tarantula up from its tank, but I do not suggest it for normal use. First of all, your tarantula's legs tend to stick onto whatever it is standing on, thus increasing the risk of it losing a leg if you lose control of your hand (I'm not saying that you are that stupid or have no muscle control, but accidents do happen, and it's always better to be safe then sorry.) Another way is to place your hand directly above it (do this quickly if you have a skittish or just-caught wild specimen), and just pick it up. One advantage of this method is that the tarantula's fangs do not get direct access to your flesh, thereby reducing the chance of you getting bitten.

    They usually molt once a month before they are adults, but if you feed them less, naturally their growth rate slows down as well (I think that they don't molt according to how much time passes, but how much they grow). You can easily tell that it is about to molt if it has bald patches on its abdomen. Just look at the exposed skin there. Is it black? Then it is extremely likely that your tarantula is about to shed. If not, it will be brown. In the event that it IS black, make sure that you hydrate the tank well. If not, there will be more chance of molting complications occurring. 

   Since you are probably a beginner or are just starting out in this hobby, I only have one warning, if you are the sort of person that envisioned a snarling, lunging creature, fangs dripping potent venom, stalking around its cage glaring at the outside world... ... don't get one. They are not really what you'd call active pets, sitting around all day. I would say that they are even less mobile than an ordinary Syrian hamster. They are the ideal for the sort of person that likes a low maintenance pet (not taking into account the start-up cost), and is not really prepared to spend all their time looking after it (not like, for example, a dog or something similar). If you are that kind of person (like moi), then good. You have found the perfect pet! :)

You can email me at cocorion@hotmail.com if you encounter any problems. I will try to help you out to the best of my ability.

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