Venezuelan suntiger (Psalmopoeus irminia)... Quick stats: Type: Arboreal Size (approx): 5"? female Feeding: Big crickets, roaches, etc. Enclosure: 5.5 Gallon aquarium on end Substrate: 3" deep bed-a-beast Furnishings: Cork bark slab, terra cotta water dish Temp/Humidity: 80-84°F, 70-75% humidity Temperment: Varies from somewhat defensive to quite aggressive (stridulates!) Purchased on: 05/14/2000 The Suntiger's photo album

One of those spiders that can only be appreciated in person.

Species Information: I bought this spider (along with the Usambara and the Cobalt) from a guy who was selling off most of his collection. This species is an arboreal from Venezuela. They are considered somewhat aggressive, as are other members of this genus.

Feeding: She eats mostly crickets and the occasional roach.

"C" is for crickets, and that's good enough for me.

Housing: She lives in a container, like Tick's. It's a 5 gallon aquarium set up on end. The bottom few inches of the opening are covered with plexiglass to hold in the substrate. The next few inches are a door with ventilation holes. The rest is a big door that stays in place most of the time with ventilation holes at the top. There is a terra cotta water dish and a cork bark slab for climbing. She's built a thick web at the top of the cork bark. I keep the humidity around 70-75%. The temp in the spider room is 80- 84°F.

Temperment: She sometimes seems calm, but fast like most arboreals. Other times, she'll be really flighty and quite aggressive (threat postures sometimes appear with little warning.) Heck, she's downright mean sometimes. Unpredictable is the word. This species and others of its genus have this reputation.

She's telling me she doesn't want to be bothered.

Molting:   Date   Old LS   New LS     08/05/2000   4½"?   5"?

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