Ephebopus 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.
Skeleton Tarantulas: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: The skeleton tarantulas: a defensive, fast burrower and the only tarantula with urticating hairs on its pedipalps instead of its abdomen, kicked off at threats. E. cyanognathus has blue chelicerae. Adults reach about 4.5-6 in across.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 3: IntermediateSetup: Fossorial, deep burrowHandling: Not recommended, fast and defensive
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 | 75-82°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 65-75%, moist burrow-holding substrate |
| Setup Type | Fossorial, deep burrow |
| Substrate | Moist soil/coco, 6 in+, holds a burrow, cork entrance |
| Feeding | Medium-fast feeder: slings weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3: Intermediate |
| Handling | Not recommended, fast and defensive |
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
- Compact secure enclosure while it's a tiny sling
- Deep moist fossorial burrow setup for juveniles and adults: needs more substrate depth than a Burrow Buddy can give
Warnings First
- Defensive and fast for a New World species, kicks urticating hairs off the pedipalps at threats rather than off the abdomen.
- Obligate burrower. Give real depth, don't dig it out.
- A deep moist burrow exchanges almost no air at the bottom. Cross ventilation at the substrate line connects the tunnel to fresh air.
Simple Care
- Deep moist substrate (6 in+) that holds a burrow, with a cork-bark entrance.
- Cross ventilation low on two opposite walls, at the substrate line, so the burrow column can breathe.
- A water dish with pebbles in it so slings cannot drown; keep the substrate moist, not soggy.
- Tool-based maintenance; expect a defensive burrower, not a pet rock.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- The hobby names: E. murinus, E. cyanognathus (blue-fang), E. uatuman (red skeleton), E. rufescens: gallery forest of northern South America.
- Build cross ventilation at the substrate line: vents low on two opposite walls so air crosses the top of the damp column and reaches the burrow.
- Hold 65-75% by keeping the column moist and running a dish under free-flowing vents, not by sealing the enclosure.
- Judge by the substrate, not a gauge: packable, moist at depth with no weeping water when squeezed, top allowed to look drier. Collapsing means too dry.
- Keep a water dish with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim, and water at the burrow entrance or down one side rather than misting the surface.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Medium-fast feeders: slings weekly, adults every week or two; prey dropped near the burrow mouth.
- Defensive and quick; maintenance is hands-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: Northern South America: gallery forest.
- Habitat translation: Deep, moisture-holding substrate that supports a burrow, a cork-bark burrow entrance, a water dish, and a moist (not soggy) microclimate.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size 4.5-6 in leg span; medium-fast growth; females about 10-12 yrs.
- Genuinely the most Old-World-like New World tarantula: defensive, fast and a committed burrower. A stepping stone between docile New World terrestrials and true Old World.
- E. cyanognathus's blue chelicerae are the genus showpiece, visible mostly when it threat-postures from the burrow mouth.
- Placement in the family tree has moved around a lot; older write-ups that treat it as an arboreal pinktoe relative are working from an outdated picture.