Mexican red rump tarantula

A dark terrestrial tarantula with red abdominal hairs. Older records use Brachypelma vagans; a red rump alone does not prove identity.

Confirm the exact traded identity and provenance; older genus names remain common.

Choose documented captive-bred stock and plan an individual observation animal.

Arrange dependable holiday care and keep money available for food, replacement equipment and appropriate veterinary help. Test the habitat before the animal arrives.

Provide a broad enclosure with deep burrow-supporting substrate and a low fall height. Scale floor space to adult leg span; avoid a tall empty display.

Measure usable internal space after substrate, guards and furnishings. Check ventilation, cable holes and access against the smallest occupant. Fix heavy furnishings independently of loose substrate.

The keeper account uses 20–24°C ambient air, with a cooler refuge available.

Record the warm and cool locations, overnight minimum and daytime maximum. Air, surface and substrate readings are different measurements. Any added heater needs compatible thermostatic control and safe separation from the animal; assess summer cooling as well as winter heating.

Gentle day/night lighting is sufficient for observation; no mandatory UVB target was established.

Keep the night dark and provide retreat from daytime light. Lamp percentage, electrical wattage and a product name cannot establish the exposure reaching an animal. Check the finished installation after changes to mesh, branches or lamp position.

Maintain drinking water and a partly moist deeper layer while letting the surface dry. Neither a flooded burrow nor bone-dry substrate is the plan.

Inspect the occupied refuge and substrate as well as the air reading. Adjust water provision and ventilation together, and clean contaminated drinking surfaces. A single humidity number cannot describe every microclimate.

Feed cultured insects sized for the individual. Adjust frequency to abdomen condition and remove prey promptly around moulting.

Record what is actually eaten and follow changes in growth and body condition. Food size, life stage and the full diet matter. Supplement products require an individual plan; do not combine calcium, vitamin D and multivitamins by guesswork.

Burrowing and rapid retreat are normal. Keep singly and minimise disturbance that provokes irritating hairs.

Make necessary maintenance predictable and allow voluntary retreat. Prepare a secure transfer container before essential moves. Observation should not repeatedly interrupt feeding, rest or moulting.

Do not excavate a sealed retreat to check appetite. Post-moult feeding waits for a hardened animal.

Keep dated observations of appetite, activity and condition. A sudden decline, injury, abnormal breathing or repeated failed moults needs appropriate professional assessment. This guide does not provide a diagnosis or medicine dose.

Record the current name and older genus, source and life stage together.

Ask for a dated source record, scientific identity, life stage and established care history. Keep new arrivals and their equipment separate while an appropriate quarantine plan is agreed. Check current official rules for the exact animal, route and transaction before importing or buying; this page does not establish legal clearance. Never release animals or viable eggs outdoors.

Check water access and security without opening the burrow. Inspect moisture in an unoccupied corner and remove deteriorating food. Keep a dated record of measurements and observations, and revisit the full advice when conditions or life stage change.