Tliltocatl vagans
Mexican Redrump Tarantula: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A sturdy New World terrestrial that needs more digging room than a shallow display setup provides. Give this fella deep, firmly packed substrate, a started burrow under cork, a dry surface over moist lower layers, low cross-ventilation, and a full pebble-filled dish. Adults may sit in the open, but individuals can bolt or kick urticating hairs when disturbed, so use tools and a catch cup. Keep it spicy. - Big Z
Group: TarantulasDifficulty: Spice 2: BeginnerSetup: Terrestrial burrower with deep, packable substrateHandling: Handling discouraged. Kicks urticating hairs when disturbed.
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 | 70-76F. Keeper-selected working range from the overlap of multiple species-specific keeper sources. Avoid direct or unregulated supplemental heat and judge the animal and enclosure, not a single hot spot. |
|---|---|
| Humidity | No numeric % target. Manage moisture by substrate condition: keep lower substrate layers lightly moist while the surface dries between waterings, cross-ventilate at substrate level, and keep a pebble-filled water dish full. |
| Setup Type | Terrestrial burrower with deep, packable substrate |
| Substrate | Fill 1/2 to 2/3 of the enclosure with deep, packable soil-based substrate. Firm it enough to support a starter burrow under anchored cork; keep the surface dry over lightly moist lower layers. |
| Feeding | Spiderlings twice weekly; juveniles every 7-10 days; adults every 2-3 weeks. Use appropriately sized invertebrate prey, remove uneaten prey after 24 hours, and adjust by abdomen condition. |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 2: Beginner |
| Handling | Handling discouraged. Kicks urticating hairs when disturbed. |
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 for the spider to pass, filled about 2/3 with substrate
- Juvenile: horizontal enclosure filled 1/2 to 2/3 with substrate
- Adult: horizontal enclosure at least 3 times the spider's leg span, filled 1/2 to 2/3 with substrate
Warnings First
- Handling discouraged. Individual behavior varies, and this species can bolt or kick urticating hairs when disturbed
- Keep moves low and use a catch cup and tools. A heavy-bodied terrestrial can be injured in a fall
- Ventilation outranks a humidity number. Use low cross-ventilation and judge the substrate gradient directly
- Keep pebbles in the water dish so the waterline stays below the rim. This reduces risk but does not make a dish risk-free
- Remove uneaten live prey after 24 hours and before a molt
Simple Care
- Fill 1/2 to 2/3 of a horizontal enclosure with deep, firmly packed substrate and start a burrow under anchored cork.
- Keep the surface dry while maintaining light moisture in the lower layers. Add water at one corner instead of soaking the whole surface.
- Cross-ventilate low on two opposite walls at substrate level.
- Keep a pebble-filled water dish full and away from the burrow entrance.
- Feed by life stage and abdomen condition, then remove uneaten prey after 24 hours.
- Stage a catch cup before maintenance and work with tongs.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- The Tarantula Collective recommends filling 1/2 to 2/3 of the enclosure with substrate at each life stage, with a horizontal footprint and a secure hide. Tom's Big Spiders likewise describes packed substrate, a starter burrow, and moist lower layers under a dry surface. Those species-specific keeper sources support depth and a moisture gradient without requiring an arbitrary adult inch value.
- Field studies describe T. vagans using burrows in clay soil. Captive substrate does not need to duplicate field soil, but it must pack firmly enough to hold a tunnel. This packability requirement is a husbandry translation from field natural history plus the keeper method, not a tested substrate recipe.
- Ventilation at substrate level and a pebble-filled dish are Big Z's keeper house standards. Place the dish away from the burrow mouth so a spill does not run down the shaft. Mist under the hide if targeted moisture is needed, never over the animal.
- Keep the enclosure horizontal and limit open height above the substrate. The Tarantula Collective recommends an adult footprint at least 3 times the leg span and ideally 4-5 times, while filling 1/2 to 2/3 with substrate.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Spiderlings: feed twice weekly. The Tarantula Collective names flightless fruit flies, flour beetles, or pre-killed tiny crickets and roach nymphs, and says to pre-kill prey over 2/3 of the sling's size. For a 1 in sling, 2/3 is about 0.67 in; that inch figure is arithmetic synthesis, not a published species value.
- Juveniles: offer 2-3 small to medium crickets or one medium Dubia roach every 7-10 days.
- Adults: offer 4-5 large crickets or one large Dubia every 2-3 weeks, then adjust frequency by abdomen condition. Tom's Big Spiders also reports adults accepting several large crickets or one large Dubia.
- Remove uneaten prey after 24 hours. After a molt, the keeper source gives waits of 24-48 hours for spiderlings, 3-7 days for juveniles, and 5-10 days for adults, with feeding resumed only after the fangs have hardened.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, per the accepted World Spider Catalog record. This species-level range does not imply a supplier locality for the individual.
- Habitat translation: A ground-dwelling burrow setup with deep, firmly packed substrate, a secure cork hide over a starter burrow, a dry surface over lightly moist lower layers, low cross-ventilation, and a pebble-filled dish away from the entrance. This is a clearly labeled synthesis of field burrow evidence, species-specific keeper guidance, and Big Z's ventilation and dish standards.
Advanced Keeper Details
- World Spider Catalog accepts Tliltocatl vagans (Ausserer, 1875), lists it as the type species of Tliltocatl, gives Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize as its distribution, and records the older Brachypelma and Eurypelma combinations.
- Published natural-history work documents burrow use and variation among mainland and introduced Cozumel populations. Those population observations do not establish the locality, sex, or individual temperament of this arrival.
- Temperament reports conflict in emphasis. Tom's Big Spiders describes many specimens as quick and skittish but usually retreating, The Tarantula Collective describes generally docile adults that may kick hairs or bolt when disturbed, and Fear Not calls adults bold and not easily startled while still advising against handling. The handling boundary therefore follows the shared risk, not a promise about temperament.
- The keeper-selected moisture method intentionally uses visible substrate condition instead of a numeric RH target. Field humidity and laboratory rearing conditions are context, not retail setpoints.