Aphonopelma bicoloratum
Mexican Bloodleg Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A restricted-range Mexican terrestrial and one of the calmest tarantulas Big Z's stocks, but also one of the slowest growers in the hobby. Keep it at 72-80F in a low horizontal enclosure on 3-4 in of dry, firmly packed substrate with an anchored hide and a full pebble-filled dish. Do not chase humidity and do not push feeding to speed it up; this animal moves at its own pace and stays beautiful for decades. Spice 2 for temperament, not for patience. Keep it spicy. - Big Z
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Dry terrestrial with a shallow scrape retreat and low fall zoneHandling: Not recommended. Catch cup transfers only.
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 72-80F working room range. Ordinary indoor night drop to the upper 60s is fine and needs no correction. Aphonopelma are montane and semi-arid Mexican animals that tolerate a normal household range; a concentrated hot spot is a bigger risk than a cool night. |
|---|---|
| Humidity | No numeric % target. Manage by method: keep the substrate surface dry, keep a pebble-filled water dish full at all times, and ventilate at substrate level. If the enclosure needs moisture, add it to one lower corner under the hide rather than spraying the animal. A permanently damp enclosure is the main husbandry killer for this species. |
| Setup Type | Dry terrestrial with a shallow scrape retreat and low fall zone |
| Substrate | 3-4 in of dry, firmly packed coco fiber and topsoil or another additive-free soil mix that holds a shallow scrape. Fill enough that the animal cannot fall more than roughly its own diagonal leg span from the highest point it can reach. Anchor a cork hide over a started depression. |
| Feeding | Spiderlings: one small prey item weekly. Supplied 1.5-2 in juveniles: one appropriately sized cricket or small roach every 7-10 days. Adults: one suitable meal every 2-4 weeks, adjusted by abdomen condition. Prey no longer than the spider's body. Remove uneaten prey within 24 hours, and withhold entirely through premolt until fangs are dark and the exoskeleton is firm. |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | Not recommended. Catch cup transfers only. |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Spiderling: compact enclosure with openings narrower than the spider, dry substrate with one lightly moist corner, reachable prey
- Juvenile (the supplied 1.5-2 in animals): low terrestrial grow-out, 3-4 in packed dry substrate, anchored full-body hide
- Adult: low horizontal enclosure sized from the measured animal, generous floor, minimal height, no hard fall hazards
Warnings First
- Damp substrate is the primary cause of death in captive Aphonopelma. Keep it dry and ventilated.
- Calm does not mean handleable. It has urticating hairs and a fall from height can rupture the abdomen. Catch cup transfers only.
- Extremely slow growth is normal for this species. Do not power-feed to force molts; it shortens the animal's life.
- Fasting for weeks or months with a healthy-looking abdomen requires no intervention.
- Mexican theraphosids are subject to CITES and Mexican export controls. Keep provenance records and verify current listing status before any international movement.
Simple Care
- Maintain a normal indoor 72-80F with no concentrated hot spot.
- Low horizontal enclosure, 3-4 in of dry firmly packed substrate, anchored cork hide.
- Keep the surface dry. Moisture, if any, goes into one lower corner under the hide.
- Cross-ventilate low on two opposite walls at substrate level.
- Keep a pebble-filled water dish full on the drier side.
- Feed by abdomen condition, not by calendar. Pull uneaten prey within 24 hours.
- Expect very slow growth. Long gaps between molts are normal and not a problem.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Aphonopelma as a genus is kept dry with a permanent water source. The operating decision here is a dry surface plus a full dish rather than any humidity percentage, which is the same physical method used across Big Z's other Aphonopelma guides.
- Floor area matters more than height. Height is a hazard for a heavy-bodied terrestrial, so the substrate fill is set to keep the fall zone short rather than to maximise burrowing depth.
- This species makes a shallow scrape rather than a deep burrow in most captive reports. Provide the option without expecting excavation.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feeding cadence here is deliberately conservative genus-level practice rather than a species-specific published schedule. Abdomen condition is the control, not the calendar.
- Prey-size ratios are used instead of invented measurements: no longer than the spider's body, pre-killed if over roughly two thirds of a small sling's size.
- Post-molt timing uses physical checks - dark fangs, firm exoskeleton, normal movement - rather than a day count.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Endemic to a restricted area of Michoacan, Mexico, in semi-arid upland habitat. The supplier provided no locality for the purchased animals, so no finer origin claim is made. Captive-bred stock is the norm for this species in the US hobby.
- Habitat translation: Semi-arid Mexican upland becomes a low horizontal enclosure with dry packed substrate, a shallow anchored retreat, strong low ventilation, and a permanent water dish. This is a labeled synthesis of general Aphonopelma captive practice and Big Z's house standards, not a claim derived from a supplied locality.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Aphonopelma bicoloratum Struchen, Brandle and Schmidt, 1996 is the accepted name. It is distinguished in the hobby by black carapace and abdomen against orange-to-salmon femora, a pattern no other US-available Aphonopelma carries.
- Growth rate is the single most commented-on trait in keeper reports; multi-year gaps between molts in adults are routinely described. Buyers should be told this before purchase so slow growth is not read as illness.
- No sex, locality, or formal life stage was supplied for these animals. Size lane is assigned from the measured 1.5-2 in figure on the invoice.