As far a difficult to keep spiders go, there are few apparently as difficult as T.blondi, better known as the Goliath Birdeating spider. Although it very rarely lives up to its name as a birdeater (although will eat amphibians and small mammals) or its fearsome reputation, this spider is expensive pretty tricky to keep well in captivity.
So, cue having to buy a new house for our new arrival:
Just to give some sense of scale to this picture, the flower pot on the right hand side is large enough for me to put my fist into, so the left hand size one is pretty huge. This will be home to Xena, the Theraphosa blondi hopefully for her entire life. She is only a year or so old so this could be for the next 25 years, by which time I will be... rather old.
Anyway, Goliath Bird eaters are amazing spiders. They are among the largest species in the world (along with the similar Theraphosa apophysis and Lasiodora parahybana) growing to a maximum leg span of over 10 inches. Despite their size they are actually fairly chilled out and with practice by both handler and handlee can get used to being picked up. I imagine that you're thinking that sounds good in theory, but a bit more difficult in reality. Well, we decided to take the bull by the horns (or the spider by the pedipalps... Or is that just a little bit too geeky?) and hold her straight away. This was also useful to check for any mites or ticks - parasites which can be a problem for these sorts of tarantula.
Don't believe me? Well here we both are:
Yes, she is still a baby and will probably double in size before adulthood, but I still think she could be the largest spider I have ever held. It's a close run thing between her and our adult B. albopilosa, Curly, at any rate. T. blondi have a reputation of having some of the most irritating hairs of all tarantulas and it seems that Xena lived up to this reputation. My hands are still kinda itchy and I think gloves may be in order next time she comes out to play.
Xena seems contented enough in her new habitat, preferring the damp end to the dry end at them moment. I will be keeping the blog updated with any news about her, although having moulted in January, she is unlikely to moult again for a while. I will leave you with a picture of Xena in her new home.
