| Special Notices |
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An excellent first tarantula. This species is widely appreciated by keepers for its generally calm, deliberate behavior, beautiful coloration, manageable care, and impressive longevity, while remaining an observation animal rather than a handling pet.
Starting with a baby? A FREE sling container is available if
requested at checkout. It is not automatically included.
Visit my Urban Tarantulas YouTube channel
for care, setup, feeding, and show-and-tell videos to see how we keep and feed our
tarantulas.
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| Care Details |
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🌡️ Temperature: A practical captive range is about 70–78°F (21–26°C). Stable room temperatures within this range are appropriate; avoid sustained excessive heat and abrupt temperature changes.
💧 Humidity: Favor a mostly dry surface with access to slightly moist lower substrate, especially for smaller specimens. Provide good ventilation and a clean water dish at all practical life stages rather than trying to maintain an artificially high enclosure humidity.
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| 🏠 Housing |
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Babies / Slings: Use a secure, ventilated container with ample diggable substrate and a starter retreat. Keep lower layers from becoming bone-dry while avoiding saturation, offer appropriately tiny prey, and provide water access when practical.
Juveniles: Increase floor space gradually and provide several inches of compactable substrate with a snug hide. Maintain good ventilation, a water dish, and limited open height above the substrate to protect this terrestrial species from falls.
Adults: Provide a secure terrestrial enclosure emphasizing usable floor area, substantial substrate depth, and a sturdy retreat. Include a water dish and good ventilation, with minimal fall distance because mature specimens are heavy-bodied terrestrial tarantulas.
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| 🍽️ General Diet |
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Offer appropriately sized crickets and suitable roaches such as Dubia, Red Runner, or Lobster roaches. Slings can accept very small live prey or portions of pre-killed prey when needed, while larger juveniles and adults can take proportionally larger invertebrates.
Adjust portions and feeding frequency according to life stage, abdomen condition, and feeding response instead of following a rigid schedule. Remove uneaten prey and boluses, and avoid leaving live feeders with a tarantula approaching a molt.
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| In-depth Facts |
| 🕷️
Scientific Name |
Aphonopelma bicoloratum Struchen, Brändle & Schmidt, 1996
View Aphonopelma bicoloratum in the World Spider Catalog
Explore current taxonomy, distribution, and scientific references.
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| 📛 Common Names |
Mexican Blood-Leg Tarantula; Mexican Bloodleg Tarantula. |
| 🌡️ Temperature |
About 70–78°F (21–26°C), with stable room temperatures preferred. |
| 💧 Humidity |
Mostly dry surface with some moisture retained below, good ventilation, and constant access to water. |
| 📍 Locale |
Mexico. |
| 🏷️ Category |
Terrestrial and opportunistically burrowing, with light webbing. |
| 📏 Adult Size |
Females: Approximately 4.5–5.5 in (11–14 cm) DLS.
Males: Approximately 4–5 in (10–13 cm) DLS.
DLS means diagonal leg span. These
are general species notes, not the size of the specimen offered.
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| 🪶 Urticating Hairs |
Yes. This species possesses urticating hairs and can flick them if sufficiently disturbed, although keeper reports commonly describe A. bicoloratum as relatively reluctant to use this defense. |
| ⏳ Growth Rate |
Slow; patience is part of raising this long-lived Aphonopelma to adult size. |
| 🧭 Lifespan |
Females: Approximately 20–30+ years in captivity.
Males: Approximately 5–8 years total lifespan in captivity.
Captive keeper estimates of total
lifespan, not years remaining after purchase.
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| 🍽️ Feeding |
Appropriately sized crickets and suitable roaches; adjust portions to life stage and body condition and withhold live prey around molts. |
| 🎯 Recommended Level |
Super beginner-friendly with the right setup. Its typically calm, deliberate demeanor, beautiful coloration, and longevity also make it an exceptional display species for experienced collectors. |
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| Safety Disclaimer |
| Tarantulas
can bite. Enjoy observing your tarantula and use secure transfer methods during
maintenance. Handling is at your own risk. Always prioritize your safety and the
tarantula’s well-being. Although this species is often reluctant to flick its urticating hairs, avoid direct hair contact and use calm, secure maintenance methods. |
