In stock Horned Baboon Tarantulas for sale All tarantulas for sale
Ceratogyrus spp.
Sold under its hobby name. This guide covers the group or trade name this fella is sold as, so the ranges fit the whole group. Start in the middle and watch how your animal settles in.
Horned Baboon Tarantulas: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: Southern African fossorials named for the curved horn on the carapace. Fast to bolt into the burrow rather than fight, a common first Old World pick. Adults reach about 4.5-5.5 in across.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Fossorial, dry deep burrowHandling: No handling, 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 | 72-82°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 35-50%, dry burrow column, water dish |
| Setup Type | Fossorial, dry deep burrow |
| Substrate | Dry soil/coco/topsoil, 6 in+, starter burrow, cork |
| Feeding | Strong feeder: slings weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, 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
- Up to 5 in leg span: tall solo enclosure, vertical cork, open hanging space, damp substrate, water dish
- Subadults: size up with the leg span and add more vertical cork surfaces
- Deep dry fossorial burrow setup for juveniles and adults: needs more substrate depth than a Burrow Buddy can give
Warnings First
- Painful bite. Fast and defensive, but usually bolts into the burrow rather than fight. No handling.
- Obligate burrower. Give real depth and a starter burrow; don't dig it out.
- Keep the substrate dry. Use a water dish, not misting.
- Vent low on two opposite walls so air reaches the bottom of the burrow, especially after a dish spill.
Simple Care
- Deep dry substrate (6 in+) with a starter burrow and an anchored cork hide.
- Vent low on two opposite walls at the substrate line so the burrow stays aired out.
- Keep a pebble-filled water dish full; slings can drown otherwise.
- Stage a catch cup before opening the enclosure. Never handle.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- The hobby names: C. darlingi, C. marshalli, C. meridionalis, C. brachycephalus, C. paulseni, C. attonitifer: Southern African savanna.
- Fossorial: deep dry substrate with a pre-started burrow and an anchored cork bark hide. The horn is a cosmetic cuticular outgrowth with no known defensive function.
- A six-inch burrow exchanges little air at the bottom, so a spill can leave damp air sitting there for days. Vents low on two opposite walls fix that.
- Judge by hand rather than by gauge. Substrate should read dry from surface to burrow depth, and any dish spill should dry back within a day or two.
- Keep the dish full with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim. Slings drown in adult-scaled dishes, easy to miss on a burrower.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Adults: about one right-sized prey item every week or two; drop prey near the burrow mouth.
- Fast at the burrow entrance but usually bolts down rather than out. Tools and a catch cup, always.
- Molting: a premolt tarantula turns sluggish, seals up its burrow, and refuses food for days or weeks. Leave it alone and wait 5-10 days before feeding again.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Southern African savanna: Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi.
- Habitat translation: Deep, dry, burrowable substrate with a pre-started burrow and an anchored cork hide, plus a water dish.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size 4.5-5.5 in leg span; medium-fast growth; females about 12-15 yrs.
- A good first Old World pick: fast and defensive, but it retreats to the burrow instead of standing its ground. C. attonitifer is a newer addition, from Angola.
- Bites hurt, but this genus isn't in the same danger class as the worst African arboreals. No-handling is about speed and defensiveness, not antivenom risk.