Aspinochilus rufus
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
Peach Earth Tiger Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A half-inch Asian earth tiger sling that will spend nearly its entire life underground. Give it a deep, firmly packed substrate column that is dry on top and lightly moist at depth, start a burrow for it, and then leave it alone. Old World temperament with no urticating hair, so speed and biting are its whole defensive repertoire. You will see the burrow entrance far more than you see the spider, and that is the species working correctly. Not a beginner animal despite the size. Keep it spicy. - Big Z
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Asian fossorial with a deep, moisture-graded substrate columnHandling: Never. Tongs and catch cup 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 | 75-82F working range. Tropical Southeast Asian origin means it wants steadier warmth than a desert species and tolerates a night drop poorly. A normally heated room is usually sufficient; if supplemental heat is used it must be thermostatted and must never heat the burrow column directly. |
|---|---|
| Humidity | No numeric % target. Manage by method: keep the top third of the substrate dry and the bottom third lightly and consistently moist. Ventilate low so the surface dries back between waterings. Keep a small water dish full for larger animals. For a 0.5 in sling, moisture comes from dampening one side of the substrate column, never from misting the animal. |
| Setup Type | Asian fossorial with a deep, moisture-graded substrate column |
| Substrate | Deep and firmly packed, filling roughly two thirds to three quarters of the enclosure height, using an additive-free coco and topsoil blend that holds a tunnel. For the supplied 0.5 in slings, a tall vial or small deep enclosure with 3-4 in of packed substrate and a started burrow against the wall. Scale depth up with the animal at every rehouse. |
| Feeding | Supplied 0.5 in slings: one small prey item, pre-killed or appropriately tiny, twice weekly, dropped at the burrow entrance. Juveniles: one appropriately sized prey item every 5-7 days. Adults: one suitable meal every 7-14 days. Prey no longer than the spider's body. Remove uneaten prey within 24 hours and withhold entirely through premolt. |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | Never. Tongs and catch cup 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
- Sling (the supplied 0.5 in animals): tall vial or small deep enclosure, 3-4 in of packed substrate, started burrow, one side kept lightly moist
- Juvenile: deep fossorial grow-out, depth prioritised over floor area, small water dish added
- Adult: fossorial build sized from the measured animal, deep packed column, secure locking lid
Warnings First
- Old World species: NO urticating hair. Speed and biting are its only defences and it uses them readily.
- Small size is not a safety margin. Slings of this genus are extremely fast and disappear instantly when an enclosure is opened.
- No handling at any size, for any reason.
- Never dig the animal out. Excavation is the most common cause of both bites and burrow abandonment.
- A sling that has not been seen for weeks is usually fine. Judge health by whether prey left at the entrance disappears, not by sighting the animal.
- Do not let the substrate column go completely dry at depth. Slings of fossorial Asian species dehydrate faster than adults.
Simple Care
- Maintain a steady 75-82F. This is a tropical species and does not want a cold night.
- Fill two thirds to three quarters of the enclosure with firmly packed substrate and start a burrow.
- Dry on top, lightly moist at depth. Never mist the animal.
- Cross-ventilate low so the surface dries back.
- Feed at the burrow entrance. Do not excavate the animal.
- Rehouse into greater depth as it grows, not greater floor area.
- Stage a catch cup BEFORE opening the enclosure.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Depth is the controlling variable. An Asian fossorial in a shallow enclosure will not settle, will stay surface-bound, and will be markedly more defensive.
- The moisture gradient does the work that a humidity gauge cannot: dry surface for airflow and mold control, damp base so the burrow holds shape and the animal can regulate.
- Starting the burrow against the enclosure wall gives a viewing window and cuts the settling-in period substantially.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Cadence is conservative practice for fossorial Asian theraphosids keyed to abdomen condition, not a species-specific published schedule.
- For a 0.5 in sling, prey availability matters more than a strict schedule: leave a small item at the entrance and check whether it is taken.
- Post-molt timing uses physical checks rather than a day count. A fossorial sling molts out of sight, so judge by its renewed interest in prey.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Southeast Asia. The supplier provided no country of origin or locality for the purchased animals, and the genus is recently erected, so no finer range claim is made here. This should be filled in during keeper review once the identity is settled.
- Habitat translation: Humid tropical Asian forest floor becomes a deep column of firmly packed substrate that is dry on the surface and lightly moist at depth, strongly ventilated at substrate level, held at steady warmth, with a started burrow and a secure lid. Labeled synthesis of general Asian fossorial theraphosid practice and Big Z's house standards.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Aspinochilus is a recently erected genus and trade material moves under several names. The peach or rust wash across carapace and legs is the trade-distinguishing feature and is strongest immediately after a molt.
- Because the genus is new, published species-specific husbandry is effectively absent. Everything operational here is drawn from the broader Asian fossorial earth tiger group and should be treated as such until sources are checked.
- No sex or formal life stage was supplied. The sling lane is assigned from the measured 0.5 in figure on the invoice.