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Nhandu carapoensis
Brazilian Red Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A rarely kept New World terrestrial that kicks strongly irritating hairs. Give it deep packed substrate, a secure hide, a mostly dry surface with one moist lower area and strong cross vents. Catch cup only.
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 3: IntermediateSetup: Low terrestrial, deep packed soil, secure hideHandling: Transfers only, catch cup and tongs
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 | 73-80°F days, 68-73°F room nights OK |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 50-65%: dry surface, one moist lower area |
| Setup Type | Low terrestrial, deep packed soil, secure hide |
| Substrate | Packed coco/topsoil, 1/2-2/3 fill, 5+ in for adults |
| Feeding | Slings 2x weekly, juveniles weekly, adults every 10-14 days |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3: Intermediate |
| Handling | Transfers only, catch cup and tongs |
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
- Spiderling: compact enclosure with openings too narrow to pass, reachable prey and stable partial moisture
- Mid-size (2.5-3 in): low grow-out with deep packed substrate, 1/2 to 2/3 full, and a secure hide
- Adult: low horizontal enclosure with 5+ in packed substrate, sized to your spider, no hard fall hazards
Warnings First
- Catch cup transfers only. It kicks strongly irritating hairs and can be defensive or nervous. Use tongs for maintenance.
- Keep maintenance low to the ground. This heavy-bodied terrestrial can be injured in a fall, so keep hard objects out of the fall zone.
- Remove all live prey when premolt starts. Crickets can attack a molting tarantula's soft cuticle.
- Pull any uneaten prey within 24 hours.
- Keep pebbles in the water dish so the waterline sits below the rim. That cuts the risk, but no dish is risk-free.
Simple Care
- Hold 73-80°F with no concentrated hot spot.
- Use a low horizontal enclosure with deep packed substrate and an anchored cork hide over a started retreat.
- Keep most of the surface dry with light moisture low in one corner. Water the substrate, not the spider.
- Put vents low on two opposite walls at substrate level.
- Keep a pebble-filled dish full on the dry side, away from the retreat entrance.
- Feed by size and abdomen, and pull uneaten prey within 24 hours.
- Have a catch cup ready before opening, and use tongs for maintenance.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Build low and horizontal with floor space, a full-body shelter, and deep substrate it can reshape. Larger animals get 5+ in, filled 1/2 to 2/3, with a low fall zone.
- Use coco fiber and topsoil or another additive-free soil mix that holds shape when packed. Anchor the hide; this species moves a lot of soil.
- Skip the gauge. Keep most of the surface dry, one visibly darker lower area, a full dish, and strong cross ventilation.
- Keep the dish on the drier side, away from the retreat mouth, so a spill doesn't drain into its shelter. Add moisture under the hide or into the substrate, never over the spider.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Slings: small prey 2x weekly. Around 2.5-3 in: one right-sized cricket or roach every 7 days. Larger adults: one meal every 10-14 days.
- Use crickets, roaches or similar captive-bred prey no longer than the spider's body. Pre-kill prey over about 2/3 of a small sling's size.
- Feed less often when the abdomen is already broad. Pull uneaten prey within 24 hours, and all live prey once premolt starts.
- After a molt, wait until the fangs are dark, the exoskeleton is firm and it moves normally before feeding.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Brazil and Paraguay.
- Habitat translation: A low terrestrial build with deep form-holding substrate, a secure ground-level retreat, a mostly dry surface with light moisture low in one area, strong cross vents, and a pebble-filled dish away from the retreat.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Its hairs are strongly irritating and it kicks them readily. Tongs and a catch cup, every time.
- Nhandu carapoensis is the type species of Nhandu. Nhandu tripartitus is an old synonym.
- Adult size, growth and lifespan figures conflict, so size the enclosure and meals to your spider and its abdomen.