Mexican red-knee tarantula

Brachypelma hamorii is distinct from B. smithi, despite older care pages joining the names. Orange-red knees alone do not resolve every traded animal’s identity. Ask for the scientific name and provenance.

A female can need decades of care and slow growth does not mean a juvenile is already reliably sexed. Keep one observation animal and obtain feeding and moult history. Apparently calm spiders can still fall, bite or release irritating hairs.

The proposed custom layout is 55 × 35 × 30 cm. Confirm actual dimensions and ventilation before ordering. Use deep stable substrate, a fitted retreat and low unprotected fall height. Secure perforated ventilation avoids exposed wire that can snag claws.

Terrestrial-tarantula guidance supports a stable room in the low-to-mid twenties Celsius as a reviewable starting plan. Measure seasonal extremes. Avoid hot basking spots or unregulated underside mats; any controlled warmth must preserve cooler choices.

Use ordinary room daylight, a shaded shelter and darkness overnight, following the guidance used here. No mandatory UVB or exact UVI target is established here. Keep display lighting from adding heat or flooding the retreat.

Established adults can have mostly relatively dry exposed substrate, a modest damp area and clean drinking water. Spiderlings need closer checks and a different hydration balance. Never flood a burrow to force viewing or interpret dry care as no water.

Offer manageable cultured insects according to abdomen condition, growth and moult stage. Slow-growing adults may need widely spaced meals. Remove uneaten live prey promptly, especially from a closed retreat. Resume after moulting only once the body and fangs have hardened.

Keep singly and avoid routine handling. Preserve shelter and do not scrape material from beneath a pre-moult spider. Irritating hairs can affect eyes and skin; minimise disturbance and wash hands after maintenance.

Record meals, moults and condition without repeated restraint or weighing. Injuries, persistent weakness or failed moulting need experienced invertebrate-veterinary help. Check water and climate before assuming every refusal is disease. Do not force off old skin or use household pesticides.

Choose documented captive-bred B. hamorii and check current CITES and movement requirements. Reject unsupported claims that hamorii and smithi are interchangeable. Keep exact identification and legal-origin records with the animal.

Prepare low fall clearance, substrate and servicing access before arrival. Check water and security regularly and remove waste and prey remains. Leave identity, last meal and moult-state records for holiday care; daily prey or handling is not a care requirement.