Idiothele mira
Blue-Foot Trapdoor Baboon Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: The blue-foot baboon: a true trapdoor tarantula: it builds a hinged silk-and-soil door over its burrow and ambushes from behind it. Stunning electric-blue tarsi, skittish (retreats rather than fights), Old World speed. The catch is the substrate: it has to be firm enough to hold a trapdoor. Adults reach about 4-5 inches across.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 3: IntermediateSetup: Fossorial trapdoor (firm substrate)Handling: NEVER
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 | Low-Moderate ambient (45-60%), ventilated at substrate level; firm dry-to-slightly-moist clay column |
| Setup Type | Fossorial trapdoor (firm substrate) |
| Substrate | Firm clay/peat mix, 6-8 in, that holds a trapdoor; give a starter hole |
| Feeding | Medium feeder: slings weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3: Intermediate |
| Handling | NEVER |
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 firm-substrate trapdoor burrow setup for juveniles and adults: needs more substrate depth than a Burrow Buddy can give
Warnings First
- Old World: fast, no handling; painful bite risk, though not in the medical-emergency tier
- Needs a firm, packable substrate that can hold a trapdoor: loose coco won't work
- Skittish: retreats behind the door; don't keep prying the door open
- A hinged trapdoor seals the burrow almost completely. Vents low on two opposite walls are what keep the sealed tunnel connected to fresh air.
Simple Care
- A firm clay/peat substrate, 6-8 in, packed enough to hold a hinged trapdoor; start a hole for it.
- Vents low on two opposite walls, at the substrate line, because the trapdoor itself seals the burrow.
- Dry-to-slightly-moist; a water dish with pebbles in it so slings cannot drown.
- Leave the trapdoor alone; catch cup staged if you rehouse.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- A single species: I. mira (blue-foot baboon), South Africa. The defining requirement is substrate: a firm, packable clay/peat mix deep enough (6-8 in) that the spider can construct and hinge a trapdoor. Pre-start a burrow hole so it has something to work with.
- Dry to slightly moist; a water dish. Otherwise low-maintenance, but loose, fluffy substrate is the classic failure (no trapdoor, stressed spider).
- The trapdoor is also what makes ventilation worth thinking about on this species specifically. A hinged door over a deep burrow in dense clay is close to an airtight seal, so whatever air is in the tunnel is what the spider has until the door opens. Vents low on two opposite walls, at the substrate line, keep the surrounding substrate and the area just outside the door well aired, which is the only part of the system you can influence.
- Ventilation and moisture trade against each other, and here you want the substrate firm rather than wet. Keep it dry to slightly moist so it packs and holds a hinge, run a dish, and let the vents flow. Damp clay in a still enclosure is what turns a trapdoor build sour.
- Judge by the substrate rather than a gauge. It should pack firmly and hold a shaped edge without weeping water when squeezed, and the surface should read dry.
- Keep the dish full and put pebbles or coarse grit in it so the waterline sits below the rim. You will not see this spider often behind its door, so a dish that cannot drown a sling is worth building in from the start.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Medium feeder: slings weekly, adults every week or two. It ambushes from behind the trapdoor, so prey nearby triggers a strike.
- Skittish; it retreats behind the door rather than threat-posturing. Don't keep opening the trapdoor to check on it: that's the main way keepers stress this species.
- Molting: a premolt tarantula turns sluggish, seals behind its trapdoor, and refuses food for days or even weeks. Pull any uneaten feeders, leave it strictly alone, and wait 5-10 days after the molt (until the new fangs and exoskeleton harden) before feeding again.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: South Africa: savanna and grassland.
- Habitat translation: A deep, firm, packable clay/peat substrate that holds a hinged trapdoor, with a pre-started burrow hole, dry-to-slightly-moist conditions, and a water dish.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size ~4-5 in DLS; slow-to-medium growth; females ~12-15 years.
- The electric-blue tarsi are the showpiece: most visible at the trapdoor or freshly molted. A genuine novelty in the hobby: an actual trapdoor-building tarantula.
- Old World: fast, skittish, and capable of a painful bite; never handle. The specialized firm-substrate requirement is the real 'difficulty', not temperament or medical-emergency venom.