Holothele 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.
Holothele Dwarf Tarantulas: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small New World genus whose names keep changing. H. longipes is the one you'll see. Care, size and temperament are essentially Neoholothele incei: a tiny, fast, web-and-burrow dwarf, sometimes attempted as a small group but safest alone.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 3: IntermediateSetup: Dwarf terrestrial burrowerHandling: Not recommended, tiny and fast
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 | 60-75%, lightly moist substrate, airflow |
| Setup Type | Dwarf terrestrial burrower |
| Substrate | Lightly moist soil/coco, depth, web anchor points |
| Feeding | Small prey: slings weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3: Intermediate |
| Handling | Not recommended, tiny and fast |
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
- Horizontal terrestrial burrow setup, juveniles through adults: a Burrow Buddy footprint is a forever home for a dwarf this size
Warnings First
- Tiny and fast: easy to lose at rehouse.
- Taxonomy is unsettled: labels move around; care doesn't.
- Webs and burrows. Give depth and anchor points.
- Communal attempts are optional and less predictable than N. incei.
- Web tunnels over a moist floor in a small enclosure go stale fast. Vent low on two opposite walls, and keep grit in the water dish.
Simple Care
- Lightly moist substrate with depth and web anchor points.
- Vents low on two opposite walls so air crosses beneath the web layer.
- Small prey; remove leftovers.
- Small water dish packed with grit so slings cannot drown.
- Single housing is the default; small groups are experienced-keeper only.
- Keep it small enough to monitor; ventilated, not swampy.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- H. longipes is the current hobby name; the genus keeps getting split (Neoholothele came from it). Small terrestrial dwarf, kept like N. incei.
- Web tunnels act as a baffle, so lid venting misses the space the spider occupies. Vent low on two opposite walls so air moves under the web layer.
- Ventilation and moisture trade off, and a small enclosure swings fast. Keep it lightly moist under free-flowing vents rather than sealing it up.
- Judge by touch rather than by gauge. Substrate lightly moist with no free water, silk dry to the touch, no condensation behind the webbing.
- Keep a small dish packed with coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim, and water the substrate away from the tunnels rather than misting the silk.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Small prey: slings weekly, adults every week or two; remove if ignored.
- Spends time webbed up or burrowed; don't keep disturbing it. Rehouse over a tray.
- Molting: a premolt dwarf turns sluggish, seals into its web/burrow, and refuses food for days or weeks. Leave it alone and wait 5-10 days before feeding.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Northern South America.
- Habitat translation: A small, ventilated, lightly-moist enclosure with substrate depth, cork, and web anchor points; small prey.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size 2.5-3 in leg span: a dwarf; medium-fast growth.
- Some Holothele-style dwarves are attempted communally, but labels in this genus are messy. Treat it as optional and less reliable than N. incei.
- Genus boundaries are still in flux. Don't be surprised if a 'Holothele' you bought gets reclassified; the care is unaffected.
- Skittish rather than defensive; the 'intermediate' rating is about the small size at rehouse, not danger.