Mexican Fireleg Tarantula (Brachypelma boehmei)

Mexican Fireleg Tarantula Brachypelma boehmei
Name	Mexican Fireleg Tarantula
Name Lat.	Brachypelma boehmei
Family	Tarantulas
Family lat.	Theraphosidae
Order	Spiders
Order lat.	Araneae
Origin	North America
Habitat	Dry savanna
Diet	Live insects
Humidity	40-60 %
Behavior	Nocturnal, semi-aggressive
Keeping	Individual
Care Level	Difficult
Housing	Dry terrarium
Breeding	Moderately difficult
Life Span	5-15 years
Protection	CITES Appendix II; EC Annex B
Metric Units
Size	7 cm
Temperature Day	20-24 °C
Temperature Night	18-20 °C
Housing Size	40 x 30 x 30 cm
US Units
Size	2.8"
Temperature Day	68-75 °F
Temperature Night	64-68 °F
Housing Size	15" x 10" x 10"

Distribution and habitat

The venomous Mexican red-legged bird spiders are crepuscular to nocturnal ground dwellers native to southwestern Mexico in the state of Guerrero, where they live in dry savannas usually hidden under pieces of bark, stones or fallen leaves.

Maintenance

For 1 animal a terrarium with a minimum size of 40 x 30 cm and a minimum height of 30 cm can be recommended as a guideline. The terrarium should be placed in a quiet place without sunlight.

You will need a terrarium structured with cork tubes, roots and stones (hiding places), a solid, 10-15 cm deep substrate of sand-clay-peat mixture, a small, shallow drinking vessel and for decoration artificial or potted plants (e.g. Ficus pumila, Scindapsus aureus). A small part of the substrate, especially the lower layers, should always be kept slightly moist. Once or twice a week the inside of the terrarium should be finely sprayed with water, but not the animals (danger of shock)

Temp. day: 20-24 °C

Temp. night: 18-20 °C

Humidity: 40-60

The lighting duration should be 8-12 hrs. depending on the season. A conventional light source (fluorescent tube, incandescent bulb) is sufficient. Special lamps with high UV content are not necessary.

Diet

The food supply should consist of crickets, cockroaches, house crickets, maggots and grasshoppers and other arachnids. Adult animals can also be offered nest young mice. The prey animal is injected with a digestive juice with the biting tools (chelicerae), which liquefies the protein components and the prey can be sucked out (extracorporeal digestion). Juveniles can be offered food 1-2 times per week, adults only every one to two weeks. Under no circumstances should they be overfed, the basic rule being that the abdomen should be no more than 1½ times the size of the cephalothorax. Unaccepted food must be removed after 1-2 days. Refusal of food may indicate a natural phase of starvation or an impending molt. No food animals should be in the terrarium during molting, they could injure the spider

A varied diet promotes health and prevents deficiency symptoms.

Reproduction and breeding

The smaller males can be recognized by their bulbs folded in towards the body. The female lays up to 700 eggs in her burrow lined with webs 4-5 months after mating. The eggs are spun into a dense cocoon in which the larvae develop and are guarded by the female. After the third molt, the young leave the burrow.

Species protection

Make sure to inform yourself about any regulations on keeping or bans on keeping this animal in your state or home municipality (e.g. public order office).

Protection of species: WA appendix II; EU appendix B. The purchase receipt is the required proof of origin for the animal. Please keep it safe! Your pet store will be happy to provide you with further information.

Important

They are temperamental and sensitive to disturbances. In defense, they hurl irritant hairs with their hind legs against the attacker (bombard). These cause skin irritation and may cause corneal damage in the eyes as well as asthma-like symptoms. Care should also be taken when cleaning the terrarium, as irritant hairs can be stirred up from the substrate (safety goggles). They are peaceful, but very skittish and "bombard" at even minor disturbance. A bite is very painful, and the venom is equivalent to that of a bee or wasp. Crushed or held legs can be shed at a predetermined breaking point and will fully regenerate after 1-2 molts.

Before purchasing, a terrarium should be prepared that meets the species specific needs. Good ventilation without drafts and equipment for measuring temperature and humidity are necessary. The lighting has to correspond to the species-specific day-night rhythm and should be placed in such a way that the animals cannot injure themselves. The terrarium should be locked in such a way that neither unauthorized persons can open it nor the animals can escape. Special attention must be paid to thorough hygiene and impurities must be removed regularly.

Further literature can be found in your pet store.

References

Text: petdata; Image: Franz Lowak 

Source: ENGELMANN & LANGE (2011): Zootierhaltung - Tiere in menschlicher Obhut: Wirbellose, Harri Deutsch Verlag; HENKEL & SCHMIDT (2010): Taschenatlas Wirbellose für das Terrarium, Verlag Ulmer