Stats

Lifespan: Up to 25 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical dry forest
Range: Western Mexico
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Spines
Status: Near Threatened

About

A docile, slow-moving tarantula from the Pacific scrub forests of western Mexico, named for the bright orange-red bands at its leg joints. Females can live over 25 years, making them one of the longest-lived spiders kept as pets.

Life cycle

1.
egg sac
A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2.
juvenile
A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3.
subadult
A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4.
adult
Fully grown after its final molt.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Brachypelma
Species: Brachypelma smithi