Orphnaecus sp. "Quezon Blue"
Identity confidence: needs verification. We have not confirmed what this animal is. Ask us before you set anything up off the name alone.
Quezon Blue Earth Tiger Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: This is an undescribed trade form with no accepted species name, verified locality, published diagnosis, or specimen-to-population link. Published Quezon Orphnaecus records do not identify it. The build is therefore a conservative genus/family/Big Z analogue: deep moisture-holding substrate with a less-wet surface, more than one cover object, effective cross-ventilation, open water, ordinary room temperature, individual housing, and a staged catch cup. Retail listings describe it as fast/reactive, but that hobby reputation is not treated as biological proof. Because identity, venom significance, and escape behavior are unverified, Big Z's applies no handling and secondary containment. - Big Z
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Conservative fossorial-style house analogue: deep shape-holding substrate plus multiple stable cover objects, with no species/locality/habitat inference.Handling: Never handle. Retail listings describe this trade form as fast/reactive, but that is hobby reputation, not verified biology. Big Z's stages the catch cup first and services it inside secondary containment.
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 | 73-81 F (23-27 C) is a Big Z house starting band informed by family-level theraphosid guidance. It is not a species optimum and is not justified by Real, Quezon climate because the trade form has no verified locality. |
|---|---|
| Humidity | No species- or locality-specific RH % target exists. Maintain a damp lower layer, a less-wet surface, effective cross-ventilation, and an open dish as conservative genus/family/house practice. Do not infer tolerance limits from provincial rainfall. |
| Setup Type | Conservative fossorial-style house analogue: deep shape-holding substrate plus multiple stable cover objects, with no species/locality/habitat inference. |
| Substrate | Use deep, shape-holding, moisture-retentive substrate with a damp lower layer and less-wet surface, plus more than one stable cork, bark, rock, or husk-style cover option. Congeneric field records support cover-associated shallow retreats; exact mix and depth are family/Big Z construction. No locality or physiology claim is made for the trade form. |
| Feeding | Offer appropriately sized prey at a cautious recorded house cadence. Weekly prey smaller than the abdomen and waiting until the spider is hardened after molt are family-level guidance. Twice-weekly sling feeding, if used, is Big Z house practice, not trade-form evidence. Remove leftovers and adjust from intake and body condition. |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | Never handle. Retail listings describe this trade form as fast/reactive, but that is hobby reputation, not verified biology. Big Z's stages the catch cup first and services it inside secondary containment. |
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
- Sling: individual escape-proof enclosure with deep shape-holding substrate, multiple cover options, damp lower layer, less-wet surface, effective ventilation, and safely delivered water; exact instar and adult trajectory unknown
- Juvenile: individual fossorial-style enclosure with increasing substrate depth, multiple stable retreats, open water, and secondary containment for service
- Adult: size and lifespan unknown; scale enclosure from the individual while retaining deep substrate, multiple cover options, open water, ventilation, low escape opportunity, and no-contact maintenance
Warnings First
- IDENTITY FIREWALL: no locality, climate, habitat, size, speed, growth, lifespan, or venom value may be promoted to trade-form fact until a specimen-to-description or specimen-to-vouchered-population link exists.
- Published Quezon records concern undescribed Orphnaecus morphospecies L1 and L2. Neither is linked to this trade animal.
- Retail listings describe the trade form as fast/reactive. That hobby reputation supports cautious house containment but is not treated as biological proof.
- Seven dogs died after bites by Australian Phlogiellus/Selenocosmia in one clinical series; no canine case was found for this trade form. Keep dogs physically separated as a conservative cross-taxon precaution, not because this stock is proven dog-toxic.
- No trade-form human clinical series exists. A 2026 Mindanao Orphnaecus venom-fraction zebrafish study is genus-level pharmacology, not human risk evidence.
- No handling. Use a catch cup, escape-safe workspace, and secondary containment.
Simple Care
- Treat the animal as an undescribed trade form with no verified locality or species diagnosis.
- House one spider per enclosure.
- Provide deep shape-holding substrate with a damp lower layer, less-wet surface, and multiple cover options.
- Use effective cross-ventilation and a full open water dish when safely sized.
- Use 73-81 F as a family/house starting band, not a locality-derived optimum.
- Feed at a cautious recorded house cadence and adjust from abdomen condition and intake.
- Stage a catch cup and service the enclosure inside secondary containment.
- No hand contact; identity, venom significance, and escape behavior remain unverified.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- No publication links the trade form to the Real or UP Sierra Madre records. Those localities cannot supply its climate, habitat, or physiology.
- Congeneric field natural history, not captive husbandry, records retreats under rocks, logs, coconut husks, and limestone. Multiple cover options over deep form-holding substrate are a labeled analogue.
- Seasonal occupancy of coconut-husk piles differed between samples. Whether individual spiders relocated, and why, is unknown.
- 73-81 F, damp lower substrate, less-wet surface, cross-ventilation, and open water are family/genus/house starting practice, not species requirements.
- Serviceability matters as much as depth: use stable cover that can be inspected without placing hands into an unseen retreat, and work inside secondary containment.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Weekly prey smaller than the abdomen and a postmolt hardening wait are family-level guidance, not trade-form evidence.
- Twice-weekly sling feeding is Big Z house practice if used; record intake and abdomen condition and adjust.
- No species growth curve, molt cadence, adult feeding interval, adult size, or lifespan exists for this trade form.
- Remove leftovers and live prey around molt; avoid using retailer lifespan or feeding claims as welfare evidence.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Not established for this trade form. Genus context only: Acuña et al. (2025) records undescribed Orphnaecus morphospecies from Real, Brgy. Llavac at 300 m and the UP Sierra Madre Land Grant at 450 m in Quezon, Luzon; those records are assigned to different morphospecies and neither is linked to the trade animal. The supplier gave no locality, and no climate or habitat from those sites is transferred to this stock.
- Habitat translation: The native locality and habitat of the trade form called 'Quezon Blue' are unknown. Undescribed Orphnaecus occur in Quezon, but no publication links this animal to those records. The enclosure is therefore a conservative genus/family/Big Z house analogue: deep moisture-holding substrate with a less-wet surface, more than one cover object, cross-ventilation, and an open water dish. It is not a translation of a verified native habitat.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Orphnaecus currently contains six listed described species, but the trade form has no accepted species name, type, LSID, diagnosis, or published specimen link.
- Generic boundaries were revised in 2025 when Selenobrachys and Chilocosmia were restored. This trade form has never been tested and cannot be linked to either published Quezon morphospecies.
- Acuña et al. (2025) records undescribed Luzon morphospecies at Real and the UP Sierra Madre Land Grant. Those are genus-context records only; L1 and L2 are different morphospecies and neither identifies this stock.
- Congeneric field papers document cover-associated shallow retreats and seasonal occupancy differences. They are field natural history, not published husbandry, and do not prove individual relocation.
- A Mindanao Orphnaecus venom-fraction zebrafish study is genus-level pharmacology and supplies no human clinical conclusion.
- CITES Appendices valid 5 March 2026 do not list Orphnaecus. RA 9147 regulates native wildlife, including captive-bred specimens, with activity-specific requirements for collection, breeding, transport, and import/export. DAO 2019-09 treats unlisted native fauna as Other Wildlife Species. Identity, provenance, and applicable permissions for this stock remain unresolved. This is not legal advice.
- The prior universal permit wording and 12-year/one-million-peso penalty statement were removed because they misapplied activity- and conservation-category-specific law.