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:

• These guys are true Brachypelma smithi, not to be confused with their cousins, the hamorii, which used to go by the same name!
• The more uncommon and more sought after red knee species, these guys look close to the hamorii but are often regarded as more beautiful
• Great species that likes to stay in the open as adults, making a lovely and well-tempered display spider

Name: The Brachypelma smithi has a genus name with Greek roots meaning “short” and “sole of foot”. It is more commonly known as the Mexican Giant Orange Knee.

Recommended Enclosure Size & Setup: This is a terrestrial species. Surface area of the enclosure should be no less than two times the spider's diagonal leg span in one direction, and three times the diagonal leg span in the other.

The enclosure should be tall enough to accommodate 2-3 inches of substrate for slings and 4+ inches for adults. Never allow your terrestrial spider more than two times their diagonal leg span as head space 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): Ideally kept in the mid 70° range with a bit of wiggle room in either direction. Temperatures consistently below 65° or above 85° should be avoided.

A reliable thermometer is strongly recommended.

Humidity: 60%-70%. Slings should stay on lightly moist substrate, adults should have a water dish and mostly dry substrate, it can be beneficial to overflow the water dish a bit and let the area dry out again before continuing the wet/dry cycle.

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

Size: Specimens sold by Josh's frogs will be at least 1 inch at time of sale. Adults can reach up to 7 inch diagonal leg span.

Age: B. smithi spiderlings sold by Josh's Frogs are at least 2-3 months old. Males reach 4-5 years, with females drastically outliving them at 20+ 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, B. smithi 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.

Coloration/Patterning: Slings are light brown, growing to a velvety black with flame orange bands around the leg joints.

Social Behavior: Brachypelma smithi are not social creatures and any attempt to cohabitate will likely result in cannibalism.

Natural Range: Some parts of Central America and Mexico

Links of Interest:

• 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.

Still not sure if Brachypelma smithi from Josh's Frogs is the right pet arachnid for you? Read the reviews below and see what other customers are saying!