Feather Leg Baboon (Stromatopelma calceatum)

The Feather Leg Baboon Spider is well known for it’s defensive and properly aggressive behavior. Unlike many other old world species, “strocals” don’t waste time being defensive, but often go straight to being aggressive if provoked and will boldly make attempts to attack whatever is provoking it.

On more than one occasion, tweezers, catch cups and other tools used during maintenance will need to be dropped and abandoned until the Feather Leg calms down and goes back to it’s shelter. They will climb up a pair of tweezers or sneak around a catch cup before you can blink twice, and you definitely don’t want an angry one of these on you, a bite is almost a guarantee.

Maneuvering mature males and females during breeding projects can be a scary affair for the breeder. As always, females are full of fight, but even mature males will fight with fangs blazing while being ushered in to a females enclosure. But when it comes to tolerance for one another, all the drama fades away. Even the largest mature females will be quite tolerant and accepting of mature males approaching them for mating (at the right time in her molt cycle of course). Multiple females can be mated with a single male because his survival rate is actually pretty decent.

No solid medical data has been collected regarding the effects of this tarantula’s venom on humans, but It’s venom is considered medically significant, causing intense pain and cramping weeks and even months after an envenomed bite. So please take great care when working with the beautiful but serious fighter that is the feather leg baboon tarantula.

They really are for experienced hobbyists, especially as adults and we’re making sure anyone who considers keeping this species fully understands what they are working with.

TYPE
Old World - Arboreal

SCIENTIFIC NAME
Stromatopelma calceatum

ORIGIN
Southeast India

HABITAT
Sling- Sling box or 16oz deli cup
Juvenile - 4x4x7 enclosure
Sub-Adult - 6x6x9 enclosure, 2 ½ or 5 gallon tank
Adult - 8x8x12 enclosure or 10 gallon tank
Provide them with a cork bark hide, water dish, a little sphagnum moss (optional) and straight coco fiber. However a substrate like jungle mix or creature soil which is mainly peat moss, a little soil and a small amount of sand. Coco fiber works very well and is the least expensive.

DIET
Roaches, crickets and mealworms is our recommended foods. However, superworms are also acceptable when they reach adulthood.

TEMPERATURE
75-82F, heating generally isn’t a concern with this species, and they do well at room temperature.

HUMIDITY
70%-80%, slings should stay on lightly moist substrate, adults should have a water dish and a corner of their enclosure that goes through a wet/dry cycle, moistening the substrate and then leaving it alone until it dries out.

ADULT SIZE
Adults can reach up to 6"+ diagonal leg span.

LIFESPAN
3-15 years (Males 3-4 years, with females drastically outliving them at 15+ years)

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
We do not recommend keeping tarantulas as they will cannibalize each other. Its best to keep tarantulas in individual enclosures.