Arizona Blonde Tarantula

Room temperature of about 20-26°C is fine in most UK homes, and as a desert species it copes with cooler nights. If supplementary heat is needed, use a heat mat on the side of the enclosure on a thermostat, never underneath. No basking surface is needed.

No UVB or special lighting is needed. A normal room day and night cycle is enough, and keep the enclosure out of direct sunlight, which can overheat it quickly.

Coco fibre or topsoil at least 10-12 cm deep so it can dig its own burrow. Keep it mostly dry, moistening a lower corner occasionally rather than wetting the whole enclosure.

Feed slings small crickets or roach nymphs twice a week, juveniles every 7-10 days and adults a few large crickets or a roach every 2-3 weeks. Adults often fast for weeks or months, especially in cooler periods or premoult, so remove uneaten prey within 24 hours and wait about a week after a moult before feeding.

Provide a shallow water dish at all times. Occasionally overflow it into one corner, but do not mist or keep the enclosure humid.

Give a half cork bark round as a hide with a burrow start beneath it. Little else is needed, and avoid tall set-ups that allow falls.

Damp, stuffy conditions cause problems for this desert species, so keep it dry and well ventilated with a water dish. Long fasts are normal if the abdomen stays plump, so watch instead for a shrunken abdomen (dehydration) and for falls in tall enclosures.

It is usually calm, but hands-off is still best because a fall can kill it. It flicks urticating hairs that irritate skin and can injure eyes, so keep your face away and wash your hands after maintenance. The venom is medically insignificant, with bites compared to a bee sting, though a bite would still hurt.

No licence needed in the UK. It is not on the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 schedule (as modified in 2007), not CITES-listed, not in the Wildlife Trade Regulations annexes and not on the invasive species lists (Aphonopelma pallidum, a different species, is CITES Appendix II). It is less often available in the UK than many tarantulas, so buy captive-bred stock from a reputable breeder where possible.

Very slow-growing: males take about 5-8 years to mature and usually die within a year of maturing, while females may take 8-12 years. Sex from a moulted skin, or by the mature male's tibial hooks, enlarged palps and dark colouring. Also sold as the Desert Blonde, and Aphonopelma apacheum, A. minchi, A. rothi, A. schmidti and A. stahnkei were made synonyms by Hamilton, Hendrixson and Bond (2016).