In stock Togo Starburst Baboon Tarantula for sale All tarantulas for sale
Heteroscodra maculata
Togo Starburst Baboon Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: One of the two most medically significant tarantulas in the hobby. Peptide-rich venom, documented hospital-visit bites, and it will attack rather than retreat. No-contact, experienced-keepers-only. Adults reach about 5 in across.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Arboreal/semi-arboreal, heavy webHandling: No handling, experienced keepers 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 | 75-82°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 60-75%, slightly damp substrate, dry webbing |
| Setup Type | Arboreal/semi-arboreal, heavy web |
| Substrate | Slightly moist soil/coco, heavy webbing/dirt curtains |
| Feeding | Medium-fast feeder: slings weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, experienced keepers 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
- Compact secure enclosure while it's a tiny sling
- Vertical bark setup with heavy webbing anchor points for juveniles
- Taller, heavily-webbed vertical arboreal build for the adult
Warnings First
- Medically significant venom: bites have sent keepers to hospital (sharp pain, swelling, numbness, hours of throbbing).
- Will deliberately attack rather than retreat; erratic bolting.
- Experienced Old World keepers only: staged catch cup every time, no kids or pets in the room during maintenance.
- Heavy webbing blocks airflow by design. Vent low on one wall, high on the opposite, so the retreat behind the silk still gets fresh air.
Simple Care
- Vertical cork with heavy webbing and dirt-curtain decor; slightly moist substrate.
- Cross-ventilation: vents low on one wall, high on the opposite, so air gets past the silk rather than stopping at it.
- Shallow water dish with pebbles in it so slings cannot drown.
- Never handle; never open without a catch cup staged and a plan.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- A single species: H. maculata, West Africa. Arboreal/semi-arboreal: vertical cork with heavy webbing, plus deeper substrate as an option.
- Dirt curtains and dense silk block air where the spider sits. Vent low on one wall at substrate level and high on the opposite for a real path across.
- Hold 60-75% by keeping the substrate slightly moist and running a dish, with vents flowing. Don't raise humidity by closing up: the webbing already cuts airflow.
- Judge by touch rather than by gauge. Substrate slightly damp with no free water, silk and cork faces dry, no condensation on the walls behind the curtain.
- Keep a shallow water dish with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim, and mist the open substrate away from the silk rather than through the webbing.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Medium-fast feeder: slings weekly, adults every week or two.
- One of the few tarantulas described as truly aggressive: it will move toward a threat. Every interaction is planned and tool-based, with a catch cup staged and the room cleared.
- Molting: a premolt tarantula turns sluggish, seals its retreat, and refuses food for days or weeks. Leave it alone and wait 5-10 days before feeding again.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: West Africa: Togo and Ghana.
- Habitat translation: Vertical cork enclosure with heavy webbing and dirt-curtain decor, slightly moist substrate, cross-ventilation, and a water dish: built so the keeper never has to be near the spider.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size 5 in leg span; medium-fast growth; females about 10-12 yrs.
- H. maculata and Stromatopelma calceatum top the hobby's worst-venom rankings: severe pain, swelling, numbness, throbbing, and hospital visits.
- For experienced Old World keepers only. Double-containment, long tongs, catch cup always staged, no other people or pets in the room during maintenance.