Ornithoctoninae sp. "Ho Chi Minh"
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.
Ho Chi Minh Earth Tiger Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: Build the retreat first: deep, firm substrate, cork cover, a water dish and secure ventilation. Keep the lower soil lightly damp and leave the spider's tunnels intact. The setup below is adapted from care of other captive Asian burrowing tarantulas; the exact needs of this trade form are not established.
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 5: ExtremeSetup: Deep burrowing enclosure with cork cover, web anchors and secure ventilationHandling: No handling. Prepare a catch cup before opening the enclosure and use tools for maintenance.
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 | Stable indoor room temperature, away from direct sun and local heat sources. This is general tarantula keeper practice; no tested temperature range is established for this trade form. |
|---|---|
| Humidity | No fixed humidity % target. Keep the lower substrate lightly damp without standing water, allow the exposed surface to become drier, and provide a shallow water dish. Water slowly down an edge away from the occupied retreat; keep ventilation open. |
| Setup Type | Deep burrowing enclosure with cork cover, web anchors and secure ventilation |
| Substrate | Use firm, diggable soil/coir substrate. A small sling enclosure can be about two-thirds filled; larger burrowing setups commonly use half to three-quarters fill. These are general keeper layout guides, not tested minimums for this trade form. Choose a container that still leaves usable room above the substrate. |
| Feeding | Offer manageable crickets or roaches, conservatively no longer than the abdomen. Tiny slings may take small pre-killed portions. Adjust meals to feeding response and abdomen condition; reduce or pause when well-fed or refusing. Remove refused live prey promptly; clear any remaining food by the following day. Never leave live prey with a molting animal. |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 5: Extreme |
| Handling | No handling. Prepare a catch cup before opening the enclosure and use tools for maintenance. |
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
- Small spiderlings: a secure sling enclosure or Baby Buddy only if its vents retain the animal and it provides a complete retreat, molt space and accessible water.
- Larger animals: a Burrow Buddy only while its actual dimensions meet the animal's burrow, turning and molt-space needs; otherwise use a deeper custom enclosure.
- Scale the enclosure to the animal you receive. A size measurement alone does not establish sex or maturity.
Warnings First
- Keep hands away from the spider; use a catch cup and tools for transfers.
- Secure furnishings so digging cannot make them collapse. Avoid hard objects beneath a possible fall.
- Never leave live feeders with a molting or newly molted spider.
- Do not dig out or flood a sealed burrow just to check on the animal.
Simple Care
- House individually to avoid fighting and cannibalism.
- Secure the lid and check every ventilation gap before adding the spider.
- Provide a firm starter retreat under anchored cork; let the spider change it.
- Keep a damp lower refuge and drier surface choices without sealing the enclosure.
- Check the water dish and substrate regularly; add water gradually away from the retreat.
- Offer manageable prey and remove leftovers.
- Leave sealed burrows and molting spiders undisturbed.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Choose the enclosure from the spider's measured leg span, the space needed for its burrow, and room to turn and molt. A fill fraction alone does not make a small container large enough.
- Pack the substrate enough to hold a tunnel. It should hold together when gently squeezed, without releasing water; loose dry coir will not make a stable burrow.
- Anchor cork and lightweight web supports securely. Arrange the water dish where it can be maintained without dismantling the retreat.
- Use ventilation and gradual watering together. Surface misting alone may leave the deeper substrate dry; inspect a visible edge rather than watering on a fixed calendar.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Offer prey near the retreat and close the enclosure promptly. Do not hold food against the fangs with tongs.
- Young growing spiders need smaller portions and closer observation than larger well-fed animals. The abdomen and feeding response are more useful than a rigid feeding calendar.
- If the spider refuses, remove the feeder and keep water available. Do not repeatedly disturb it with more prey.
- After a molt, wait until the new fangs and body have hardened before offering food. Do not use a fixed number of days for every size.
- Remove accessible prey remains and boluses without tearing apart established tunnels.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: The species and collection locality of animals sold under this trade name are unconfirmed. The trade name is not a verified range record.
- Habitat translation: This is a captive burrowing-tarantula setup adapted to an incompletely identified trade form. The aim is a stable, sheltered retreat with water and airflow; it is not a claim that every member of Ornithoctoninae lives the same way.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Keep notes on burrowing, feeding and molts so care can be adjusted to this individual. A trade name is not enough to establish adult size, lifespan or breeding needs.
- Persistent loss of condition, injury or difficulty molting warrants advice from a veterinarian experienced with invertebrates.