Lasiodora spp.
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater (LP) Group: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: The 'LP': Lasiodora parahybana, the Brazilian salmon pink, one of the largest and most popular tarantulas in the hobby: 8-10 inches across, a fast grower, and a 'garbage-disposal' feeding response. Bold and hardy, but the urticating hairs are more irritating than a Brachypelma's and a fall can rupture that big abdomen.
Group: Industry StaplesDifficulty: Spice 3: IntermediateSetup: Large terrestrialHandling: Not recommended
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 | Moderate ambient (60-75%) with cross ventilation; moist-leaning substrate, large dish, overflow corner |
| Setup Type | Large terrestrial |
| Substrate | Soil/coco mix, 4-6 in, on the moist side of medium; slightly damper for slings |
| Feeding | Voracious: slings 2-3×/week, subadults weekly, adults a half-dozen crickets every 2 weeks; don't power-feed into obesity |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3: Intermediate |
| Handling | Not recommended |
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
- terrestrial burrow setup for juveniles
- Large custom enclosure for adults
Warnings First
- Gets huge fast. Plan for an adult enclosure of at least 18×12×12 in
- Type-I urticating hairs that keepers consistently rate more irritating than Brachypelma's
- Falls cause abdomen rupture: floor area over height; don't let it get obese
- A wide, low enclosure develops still corners. Vent low on two opposite walls so the far end of the floor keeps exchanging air.
Simple Care
- Substrate on the moist side of medium with a large water dish; overflow it every couple of weeks. Put pebbles in the dish so slings cannot drown.
- Cross ventilation low on two opposite walls, scaled to the footprint.
- Floor space, not climbing height.
- Feed well but watch the abdomen: power-feeding plus a fall is fatal.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- The genus: L. parahybana (LP, Brazilian salmon pink: the giant), L. klugi (Bahia scarlet birdeater), L. difficilis, L. itabunae. Native to humid northeastern Brazilian Atlantic forest.
- Adults need a low, wide enclosure (at least 18×12×12 in) with substrate deep enough to bulldoze and a large permanent water dish. Keep the substrate moist-leaning but ventilated; overflow the dish rather than misting on a schedule.
- 'Moist-leaning but ventilated' on a wide, low footprint is a vent-placement problem. A lid vent on an 18 inch floor exchanges the air above the spider while the far corners of the substrate sit still, and with a big messy feeder those are the corners that go sour. Put vents low on two opposite walls, at or just above the substrate, and scale the count to the footprint rather than reusing a small-enclosure design.
- Ventilation and ambient humidity trade against each other, and the overflow method is how you resolve it here. Feed moisture in at the dish and let good airflow carry it across, rather than closing the enclosure up to hold a reading. Ambient will settle around 60 to 75% on its own.
- Judge by hand rather than by gauge. The overflow area holds shape when squeezed with no free water and dries back over a week or so; the rest of the surface reads drier. If nothing dries between overflows, add airflow.
- Keep a large dish and put pebbles or flat stones in it so the waterline sits below the rim. LP slings grow fast, which means keepers move to an adult-sized dish early, and that oversized dish is a genuine drowning hazard for a spider that is still small. The stones also keep escaped feeders from fouling the water.
- Overflow into one corner or wet the substrate under the hide rather than misting on a schedule. One damp microclimate the spider can choose beats a uniformly damp floor, and it lets the rest of the enclosure dry and re-air between waterings.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- The benchmark feeding response in the hobby: slings 2-3×/week, juveniles weekly, adults a half-dozen crickets every couple of weeks. Avoid pinkies.
- Don't power-feed: an oversized abdomen plus the inevitable fall is the classic LP death. Genetics, not feeding rate, mostly drive how big and how fast.
- Molting: even a giant feeder turns sluggish, seals up, and refuses food for days or even weeks before a molt. 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: Northeastern Brazil: humid Atlantic forest.
- Habitat translation: Large low-and-wide terrestrial enclosure, moist-leaning substrate deep enough to bulldoze, and a big permanent water dish.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Adult size 8-10 in DLS (max ~11 in); a fast grower: keepers routinely document 0.25 in to 5 in in 12-16 months at 75-82°F with weekly feeding; females ~12-15 years, males ~3-5.
- Egg sacs are enormous (1,000-2,000+ slings), so captive-bred stock is cheap and plentiful: there's no excuse for wild-caught.
- Slings and juveniles are skittish hair-flickers; adults are usually confident but unpredictable. Maintenance is tool-based, calm, and face-away.