In stock Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula for sale All tarantulas for sale
Psalmopoeus irminia
Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A gorgeous, fast arboreal display tarantula with a strong feeding response: adults reach about 5-6.5 inches across.
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: ArborealHandling: No handling, potent venom bite risk
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 | 60-75%, cross ventilation, damp below, dry cork |
| Setup Type | Arboreal |
| Substrate | Lightly moist substrate + vertical cork |
| Feeding | Slings 2x/week, juveniles weekly, adults every 1-2 weeks |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, potent venom bite risk |
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.
- Vertical bark setup for juveniles.
- Taller vertical arboreal build for the adult.
Warnings First
- Potent venom: a bite can cause real pain, nausea, dizziness, and muscle cramps.
- Fast and defensive; expect bolting when cornered.
- No handling at any size.
- Constant wet substrate plus a sealed lid is the main failure mode; cross-ventilate to keep the webbed retreat healthy.
Simple Care
- Vertical cork is mandatory.
- Keep airflow strong and moisture moderate.
- Vents low on one wall and high on the opposite wall so air rises past the cork and out above the retreat.
- Shallow water dish with pebbles in it so slings cannot drown.
- Rehouse with a catch cup ready.
- Use tongs and a catch cup; this species bites hard.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- P. irminia often webs behind cork and uses vertical retreats heavily; give a secure tube or hide rather than empty space.
- A moisture gradient helps, but constant wet substrate can turn stale.
- Vent low on one wall, high on the opposite: air enters across the damp floor, rises past the cork, and exits above the webbed retreat.
- Judge by touch: lower substrate lightly damp with no free water when squeezed; cork faces and webbing dry. Condensation on the walls means add airflow.
- Mist the substrate at the base of the cork, not into the retreat, so the ground stays damp and the webbed pocket stays dry.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Expect speed: feed and rehouse with controlled openings and a catch cup.
- Slings tiny prey 2x/week; juveniles weekly; adults every 1-2 weeks. Keep prey smaller than the abdomen; adjust to body condition. Strong feeder, fast grower.
- Premolt: sluggish, seals into its cork retreat, stops eating for days to weeks. Normal. Pull uneaten feeders, wait 5-10 days after the molt before feeding again.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Venezuela and nearby northern South American forest habitats.
- Habitat translation: Arboreal cork retreat with moderate humidity and ventilation.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Expect speed and defensive reactions; keep the enclosure simple enough to find the spider.
- Slings web heavily and can vanish; feed tiny prey and avoid flooding web retreats.
- Fast grower; females live 10-15 yrs, males 2-4 yrs. No urticating hairs, but a painful, potent bite. Advanced keepers only.