OttawaChris
08-27-03, 08:11 AM
Holy Shnikeys... 3 months of this now!
This week I thought I would tell you all about a girl that has become one of my favorite spiders in my collection...
Species: Grammastola Aureostriata
Common names: Chaco Golden knee, Chaco golden stripe, Paraguay Birdeater
Hails from: Temperate regions of Paraguay and Brazil
General Description:
I affectionately call these spiders gentle giants. They are so mellow its almost unbelievable. This is a relatively large species of tarantula (like many south american terrestrial species tend to be) They are reputed to have reached legspans of 9 inches but I find this a little far fetched... 7 is more realistic (which is still pretty large when you see them)
This species has a bulky build and actually closely resembles the Pink Zebra Beauty tarantula. They have a light cream-coloured/tan carapace with an abdomen that has the urticating hairs that are darm brown/black and the longer hairs white/tan. They also have beautiful gold stripes along their "knees". Their Latin name Aureostriata actually means gold (aureo) stripe (Striata)
This is a species that I would call a very good starter species because of how mellow and docile they are and how hardy they seem to be. They are very tolerant of temperature and humidity fluctuations and don't require high temps and humidity like many other south american species do. This is a good species to handle if you are so inclined (individuals may vary in temerpament though)
Housing requirements:
I have mine on a potting soil/peat moss mixture with a half hollowed out log. She has dug around underneath the log and made a nice little cache for herself when she doesnt feel like being out and about. Floor space is key rather than climbing height (they are better climbers than most of the terrestrial species I keep BUT it is still dangerous for them to climb too high) A water dish should be kept full at all times.
Temperature and Humidity:
Mine has thrived between 50 and 80% humidity and between 70 and 90F... I recommend a temp of 80F with 65 to 70% humidity though.
Feeding:
A couple of large crickets once a week is plenty but I also recommend supplementing a small vertebrate (like a pinky mouse) every 3 months or so. I do this with all of my larger spiders to help balance out their diet (larger spiders would eat larger prey in the wild)
Personal Notes:
-Mine was a pet shop rescue... she was quite emaciated and looked very rough and ragged when I got her. The spider was in such bad shape that I couldnt even recognize her species at first (the store was claiming them to be goliath birdeaters... sheesh) After a couple of months of TLC and an exclusive diet of pinky mice and rats she is now the fattest specimen in my entire collection and refuses to lose weight LOL she is almost TOO fat. She molted out with gorgeous colours and then I knew she was a chaco. We had affectionately dubbed her "The mystery spider" when I first got her but now her name is Giggy (short for Gigantaur)
-Mine has never so much as flicked a hair or raised a leg at me. She usually just lumbers into her burrow if I am disturbing things too much in her cage... she is such a slow spider it is cute. Even when she eats she just sits there and scoops up the prey when it comes near rather than pounce on it like most spiders do.
-This one spider in my collection is a TV star. The local news came to my place to do a story on tarantulas when the city bylaws were trying to ban tarantulas. She behaved perfectly and walked off to her burrow to hide when we bothered her too much... showing all the viewers that the majority of tarantulas will run and hide rather than attack (with the exception of a few of the species I have profiled here ;) )
Both the camera man and the reporter doing the story entered my place as arachnophobes... and after spending 2 hours both left enlightened and loving spiders... the reporter held one on camera and the cameraman loved them so much he actually took a rose hair home with him as a pet then returned a week later to get a second one from me :D
Till next week folks!! I look forward to any pics or stories you may want to add for this species.
This week I thought I would tell you all about a girl that has become one of my favorite spiders in my collection...
Species: Grammastola Aureostriata
Common names: Chaco Golden knee, Chaco golden stripe, Paraguay Birdeater
Hails from: Temperate regions of Paraguay and Brazil
General Description:
I affectionately call these spiders gentle giants. They are so mellow its almost unbelievable. This is a relatively large species of tarantula (like many south american terrestrial species tend to be) They are reputed to have reached legspans of 9 inches but I find this a little far fetched... 7 is more realistic (which is still pretty large when you see them)
This species has a bulky build and actually closely resembles the Pink Zebra Beauty tarantula. They have a light cream-coloured/tan carapace with an abdomen that has the urticating hairs that are darm brown/black and the longer hairs white/tan. They also have beautiful gold stripes along their "knees". Their Latin name Aureostriata actually means gold (aureo) stripe (Striata)
This is a species that I would call a very good starter species because of how mellow and docile they are and how hardy they seem to be. They are very tolerant of temperature and humidity fluctuations and don't require high temps and humidity like many other south american species do. This is a good species to handle if you are so inclined (individuals may vary in temerpament though)
Housing requirements:
I have mine on a potting soil/peat moss mixture with a half hollowed out log. She has dug around underneath the log and made a nice little cache for herself when she doesnt feel like being out and about. Floor space is key rather than climbing height (they are better climbers than most of the terrestrial species I keep BUT it is still dangerous for them to climb too high) A water dish should be kept full at all times.
Temperature and Humidity:
Mine has thrived between 50 and 80% humidity and between 70 and 90F... I recommend a temp of 80F with 65 to 70% humidity though.
Feeding:
A couple of large crickets once a week is plenty but I also recommend supplementing a small vertebrate (like a pinky mouse) every 3 months or so. I do this with all of my larger spiders to help balance out their diet (larger spiders would eat larger prey in the wild)
Personal Notes:
-Mine was a pet shop rescue... she was quite emaciated and looked very rough and ragged when I got her. The spider was in such bad shape that I couldnt even recognize her species at first (the store was claiming them to be goliath birdeaters... sheesh) After a couple of months of TLC and an exclusive diet of pinky mice and rats she is now the fattest specimen in my entire collection and refuses to lose weight LOL she is almost TOO fat. She molted out with gorgeous colours and then I knew she was a chaco. We had affectionately dubbed her "The mystery spider" when I first got her but now her name is Giggy (short for Gigantaur)
-Mine has never so much as flicked a hair or raised a leg at me. She usually just lumbers into her burrow if I am disturbing things too much in her cage... she is such a slow spider it is cute. Even when she eats she just sits there and scoops up the prey when it comes near rather than pounce on it like most spiders do.
-This one spider in my collection is a TV star. The local news came to my place to do a story on tarantulas when the city bylaws were trying to ban tarantulas. She behaved perfectly and walked off to her burrow to hide when we bothered her too much... showing all the viewers that the majority of tarantulas will run and hide rather than attack (with the exception of a few of the species I have profiled here ;) )
Both the camera man and the reporter doing the story entered my place as arachnophobes... and after spending 2 hours both left enlightened and loving spiders... the reporter held one on camera and the cameraman loved them so much he actually took a rose hair home with him as a pet then returned a week later to get a second one from me :D
Till next week folks!! I look forward to any pics or stories you may want to add for this species.