SPECIAL NOTE: USPS forbids shipping venomous spiders or scorpions in the mail.

Because of this, we ship these animals FedEx priority overnight for a flat fee of $39.99.

Defining Characteristics:

• One of the best beginner species due to their generally gentle demeanor
• Boasts a faster growth rate than other members of its genus or some other classic beginner species
• A definite gentle giant, these docile and curious spiders can boast an 8 inch diagonal leg span in adulthood
• Definite home renovators, these spiders are often seen out in the open moving substrate for their own home improvement projects.

Name: Grammostola pulchripes or Chaco Golden Knee tarantula Grammostola has Greek roots meaning "lined clothing", which probably refers to the knee striping on most members of the genus. Pulchripes has Latin roots meaning "beautiful feet". Putting it all together, it's not difficult to figure out how it got its name! Adults have some pretty beautiful leg striping.

Recommended Enclosure Size & Setup: This is a terrestrial species. The surface area of the enclosure should be no less than four times the spider's diagonal leg span in both directions.

The enclosure should be tall enough to accommodate 2-3 inches of substrate for slings and 4+ inches for adults. Never allow the enclosure to be more than two times their diagonal leg span high above their substrate, as a fall from any higher could be catastrophic. ABG mix, coco cradle, and Dig-It are all good substrate options for this species, but our Pet Bug Team prefers ABG all the way!

Temperature (°F): They are an incredibly temperature-hardy species with an acceptable range of 65-78°. Temperatures consistently 5 or more degrees outside of this range should be avoided.

A reliable thermometer is strongly recommended.

Humidity: 55%-65%. This range is easily maintained by intermittently overflowing the water dish a bit and letting the surrounding substrate dry out a bit before doing so again.

A reliable hygrometer is strongly recommended to monitor humidity within the enclosure.

Size: Grammostola pulchripes spiderlings sold by Josh's Frogs are at least 3/4 of an inch in diagonal leg span at the time of sale. Adults will easily reach 7-8 inches in diagonal leg span at maturity.

Age: These specimens are at least 3 months old at time of sale. Females live 15-25 years, averaging around 20, males of the species tend to average 5-6 years.

Feeding: These spiders are currently eating two to three 1/4 inch crickets, once a week. There are a variety of appropriate prey items that you can offer, such as roaches, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, hornworms, and silkworms. Consider feeding your prey items with our gutload formula to give your pet well-rounded nutrition.

We recommend that the prey items not be much longer than the tarantula's “head” is wide. Larvae are an exception—our larvae are harmless. Since they are very high in fat, they're not the best staple diet, however they make a great weight gain supplement.

Remove uneaten prey items after 24 hours, these may stress your animal out or endanger the spider during molting. Never attempt to feed a freshly molted tarantula less than a week after their molt to prevent injury to the spider. Depending on its age, the hardening process could take anywhere from 48 hours all the way up to a week.

Sexing: Due to age, G. pulchripes spiderlings sold by Josh's Frogs are sold as unsexed. Specimens of 2.5-3 inch diagonal leg span will be able to start being accurately sexed. The most accurate method is always molt sexing, the molt of a female tarantula of appropriate size will have spermatheca and a uterus externus in between the top two sets of book lungs that will appear as a "flap" that will catch and open if a pin is gently run down this section of the old exoskeleton. Males will have a much more plain slit that will not budge with attempts to manipulate it.

Color/Pattern: Spiderlings are pink with a brown abdomen, gradually growing to be a gray brown color with yellow striping on the knees that can range from a banana yellow to a yellow/orange.

Social Behavior: Grammostola pulchripes should be kept by themselves, as any attempts to cohabitate will likely result in cannibalism.

Natural Range: Grasslands of Argentina and Paraguay.

Links of interest:

• Crickets
• Dig-It
• Arachnoboards: a community of spider enthusiasts that will be able to or have already answered almost any question you can think of with regards to tarantulas.