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.

• A dwarf species with similarly small enclosure requirements, this species would make a really cool desk pet.
• Adults stay out in the open quite a bit, with striking coloration it makes an ideal display spider.
• Known to be fairly docile and would rather bolt into a burrow when disturbed rather than fight or flick hair.
• Heavy webbers, creating some interesting web mats and tunnels.

Cyriocosmus leetzi, also known as the Colombian Dwarf Tiger or Venezuelan Dwarf Beauty. Cyriocosmus loosely translates to "main" and "space" - leetzi is derived from the name of an entomologist.

Enclosure size: 

As with most terrestrials, we recommend at least 4x the diagonal leg span of the spider for length and width, and enough height for at least an inch or two of substrate, leaving no more than about 2x the diagonal leg span as head space to prevent injury from falling. Babies can comfortably live in a 4 or 8 oz deli container for quite a while. Adults can live in an 8"x8"x8" Exoterra or similar enclosure for a nice display.

Temperature:

Comfortable range for them is between 74°-80°, temperatures consistently 5 or more degrees outside of this range should be avoided for long term safety of the spider.

Humidity:

65%-75%, can be achieved by misting ½ of the enclosure every week or two depending on ventilation, more frequently or less frequently if you find that the substrate is drying out too quickly or just staying consistently wet.

Size:

At time of sale specimens range from about .5-.75" diagonal leg span. Adults only reach sizes of up to 2" diagonal leg span.

Age:

At least 2 months at time of sale. They are a shorter lived species, with females reaching 5-7 years of age and males averaging roughly ⅓ of that.

Feeding:

At time of sale most specimens are eating 3-4 melanogasters at a time offered 2x per week. With size and age they will eat larger prey (roughly the size of their carapace or smaller) and will eat less frequently. Never attempt to feed a freshly molted tarantula less than a week after their molt to prevent injury to the spider.

Sexing:

Due to age, Cyriocosmus leetzi sold by Josh's Frogs are sold as unsexed. As they approach maturity, specimens may be sexed using a molt, due to the small nature of this spider molt sexing may require a magnifying glass. Females will have spermatheca and a uterus externus between the top set of book lungs that will catch and "flap" if a pin is run down the inside of the abdomen. Males will have a much more plain slit that does not budge with attempts to manipulate it.

Coloration/Patterning:

Black with orange striping and designs on the abdomen and carapace that starts to form when they are barely bigger than the head of a pen, and becomes very apparent by the time they are the size of a pencil eraser.

Social behavior:

Cyriocosmus leetzi are not social creatures, any attempts to cohabitate will likely result in cannibalism.

Breeding:

Spiders for breeding purposes should remain supervised when together and should only be attempted well fed. Mature males can be put in the enclosure of a mature female for courtship/mating. Remove male promptly after insertion is observed, or immediately if female is aggressive rather than receptive. This is best done around a month after the female molts, as a freshly molted female is less likely to molt out of a pairing.

Natural Range:

Colombia is known for sure, though one of its common names suggests it may also be found in Venezuela.

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.

http://arachnoboards.com/