Mexican redknee tarantula

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iMexican redknee tarantula

Female Mexican redknee tarantula, Brachypelma smithi

Scientific classification

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

Binomial name

Brachypelma smithi
F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897

The Mexican redknee tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) is a species of terrestrial tarantula native to Mexico, but might be found in small numbers in neighboring countries. They are among the most popular tarantulas available in the pet trade, due to their impressive size and striking coloration.

1 Description
2 Diet
3 Behavior
4 In captivity
5 External links

[edit] Description

The mature Mexican redknee tarantula has a dark-colored body with orange patches on the joints of its legs; the second element of the legs (the trochanter) is orange-red. Following molting, the colors are more pronounced. The dark portion is very black while the orange-red portions will be far more on the reddish side. This is usually the best time to take pictures.

An adult female has a body roughly 4 inches (10cm) long, with a legspan of 6-7 inches, and a weight of approximately 15 to 16 grams.

[edit] Diet

In the wild, they will consume almost any kind of arthropod, small lizard, or small rodent that they can overpower and immobilize with their venom. In captivity, baby spiders have to be fed with small flies like Drosophila. When they are around half a centimeter in size, one can switch to small crickets. Adults like to eat large insects (grasshoppers) or mice, but large meals are often enough to sustain the tarantula for several months before it needs to eat again.

[edit] Behavior

A tarantula sheds it skin when it is too small for it in a process known as moulting. After moulting, it will emerge from its exoskeleton, leaving it behind often fully intact, and almost looks like a second spider. They are also capable of kicking what are called urticating hairs from the rear of their abdomen. These hairs are irritating to the skin, causing itching and sometimes blistering. If they are introduced to the eye, they can cause temporary (and, in some rare cases, permanent) blindness.

[edit] In captivity

The Mexican redknee is a mostly docile species, that, coupled with their beauty makes them a very popular pet species. An enclosure measuring approx. 30cm x 30cm x 30cm is adequate to house them. They can be kept on a substrate of fairly dry peat, sometimes mixed with vermiculite. Being a terrestrial species, the substrate should be fairly deep, though B. smithi is not typically known for its burrowing. It will instead often make use of a provided hide area, like a terracotta flower pot half buried in the substrate. Live plants are typically discouraged from tarantula enclosures, as they can often attract pest insects.

Feeding is easily accomplished with commercially available crickets, 2-3 per week for an adult. If keeping a younger tarantula in captivity, feed them the same insects 3-4 times per week. They will also eat other easily catchable insects, such as mealworms, locusts, or waxworms. Water can be provided in a shallow non-metallic dish.