Purple Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia purpurea)
| Purple Pinktoe Tarantula Avicularia purpurea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Purple Pinktoe Tarantula |
| Name Lat. | Avicularia purpurea |
| Family | Tarantulas |
| Family lat. | Theraphosidae |
| Order | Spiders |
| Order lat. | Araneae |
| Origin | South America |
| Habitat | Mountain forest |
| Diet | Live insects |
| Humidity | 60-80 % |
| Behavior | Nocturnal; semi-aggressive |
| Keeping | Individual |
| Care Level | Difficult |
| Housing | Semi humid terrarium |
| Breeding | Moderately difficult |
| Life Span | 5-10 years |
| Protection | No |
| Metric Units | |
| Size | 5 cm |
| Temperature Day | 20-24 °C |
| Temperature Night | 18-22 °C |
| Housing Size | 30 x 30 x 40 cm |
| US Units | |
| Size | 2" |
| Temperature Day | 68-75 °F |
| Temperature Night | 64-72 °F |
| Housing Size | 10" x 10" x 15" |
Distribution and habitat
The venomous purple-legged bird spiders are primarily nocturnal arboreal dwellers. They are native to the mountain forests of the Amazon region of Ecuador, where they live mainly in branch forks, tree cavities and large bromeliads.
Maintenance
For 1 animal a terrarium with a minimum size of 30 x 30 cm and a minimum height of 40 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 vertical cork tubes, roots and branches (hiding places and privacy screens), a solid substrate of sand-clay-peat mixture, a small, shallow drinking vessel and for decoration artificial or potted plants (e.g. Ficus repens, Scindapsus aureus). A large part of the substrate should always be kept slightly moist. Daily the inside of the terrarium should be finely sprayed with water (humidity), but better is a rain or mist system
| Temp. day: 20-24 °C | Temp. night: 18-22 °C | Humidity: 60-80 |
The lighting duration should be 8-12 hrs. depending on the season. A conventional light source 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). Young animals can be offered food 1-2 times a 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 regular and 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 about 60-150 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 and feed on their own. Females can live for over 10 years.
Obligation to report
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). Your pet store will be happy to provide you with further information.
Important
They move very fast and can jump up to 30 cm.
Their irritant hairs break when touched, cause skin irritation and can possibly 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 by the substrate (safety goggles). A bite is very painful, the venom is equivalent to that of a bee or wasp. Crushed or held legs can be thrown off at a predetermined breaking point and regenerate completely after 1-2 molts. They change color slightly with each molt
The terrarium must have good ventilation without drafts and meet the species specific needs. Measuring devices such as thermometers, hygrometers, etc. are necessary. The lighting has to correspond to the species-specific day-night rhythm and has to 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 Eugen Ulmer