Brachypelma hamorii / Brachypelma smithi group
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.
Mexican Redknee Tarantulas: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: The classic redknee starter tarantula: slow-growing, hardy, long-lived, and usually calm, but still a fragile terrestrial spider with urticating hairs and CITES paperwork expectations.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Dry terrestrial new-world tarantulaHandling: Not recommended; calm does not mean drop-safe
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 | 72-80°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Low-Moderate ambient (45-60%), steadily ventilated; dry substrate, dish with occasional overflow |
| Setup Type | Dry terrestrial new-world tarantula |
| Substrate | Mostly dry soil/coco mix, 3-5 in, with a hide and water dish |
| Feeding | Slings weekly; adults every 2-3 weeks based on abdomen condition |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | Not recommended; calm does not mean drop-safe |
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
- small secure starter vial or Baby Buddy for slings
- Burrow Buddy grow-out for juveniles
- low adult terrestrial setup with floor space over height
Warnings First
- Fall risk is the real danger. Keep the enclosure low
- Urticating hairs can irritate skin, eyes, and lungs
- Slow growth and long lifespan require patient keepers
- CITES II genus. Keep captive-bred/source records
- Decades of slow growth means decades at small sizes. Keep pebbles in the water dish the whole time.
Simple Care
- Keep mostly dry with a clean water dish. Put pebbles in it so slings cannot drown.
- Vents low on two opposite walls so air crosses the floor, not just the lid space above a low enclosure.
- Use a cork hide and enough substrate to feel secure.
- Do not chase, over-handle, or place high decor where a fall can rupture the abdomen.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- A dry terrestrial setup with a hide, water dish, and modest depth is safer than a tall display build.
- Overflow the water dish occasionally for a small moisture pocket, then let the surface dry back down.
- Keep ventilation steady; damp stagnant substrate is harder on this genus than a mostly dry enclosure.
- Steady ventilation on a deliberately low enclosure means low vents, not just more of them. Because the lid sits close to the substrate, lid vents mostly exchange the thin band of air above the spider. Put vents on two opposite walls at or just above the substrate so air crosses the floor and under the hide, which is where the overflow pocket and the spider both are.
- That makes the overflow method work as intended: moisture goes in at one spot and airflow carries it off over several days, rather than spreading until the whole substrate is mildly damp. On a dry genus more airflow is always better, and ambient drifting below 45% is harmless because the spider drinks from the dish.
- Judge by hand rather than by gauge. The overflow area holds shape when squeezed with no free water and dries back within about a week; everything else reads dry. A pocket that never dries means more airflow.
- Keep the dish clean, full, and packed with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim. A redknee takes many years to mature, so it is small enough to drown in an adult-scaled dish for a long stretch of a very long life.
- Put the overflow under or beside the cork hide rather than misting. A humid pocket where the spider shelters is the microclimate worth having, and it leaves the open floor dry and moving air.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Redknees are not fast growers. Feed slings weekly, juveniles every 7-10 days, and adults every few weeks; track abdomen size instead of pushing growth.
- Molting: expect long premolt fasts. Remove all prey, leave the spider alone, and wait 5-10 days after the molt before feeding once the fangs have hardened.
- Maintenance is easy if the setup is low and simple. Spot-clean boluses and old webbing without tearing apart the main retreat.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Pacific slope dry forest and scrub habitats in western Mexico; captive stock is often produced from long-standing hobby lines.
- Habitat translation: Warm dry terrestrial setup with a secure hide, shallow water dish, and a low fall-safe layout.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Taxonomy and trade names are messy: older hobby animals labeled B. smithi may be B. hamorii. Treat the guide as the redknee husbandry group unless a breeder gives a confirmed ID.
- Females can live multiple decades; males mature far sooner. Plan enclosure upgrades slowly and avoid repeated rehousing.
- Brachypelma species are CITES Appendix II. Buy captive-bred and keep source records, especially if breeding or reselling.