Jillian - 2006-09-23 The Goliath Bird eating spider also occurs in Trinidad an island off the northeast coast of Venezuela. I have found dinnerplate size specimens inhbiting the roof rafters of my house's ceilings one 3 occassions.
Phil M. - 2006-02-12 I've had my T. blondi for about 5 months. It is quite easily startled and short tempered. There's nothing quite like the sound of if its fangs hitting my metal tongs as I attempt to remove food scraps and feces from its enclosure. The urticating hairs from this species are extremely irritating. I have found a pair of arm-length rubber gloves to be very useful. You must be very careful not to get any of those hairs near your eyes,nose, or mouth. It has a 9" legspan and is in a 20 gal. long aquarium with about 7 inches of Eco-Earth/vermiculite/peat moss mix. Heat is supplied with a 60 watt ceramic heat bulb during the day, a 15 watt red night bulb 24 hours a day, and an undertank heater placed on the side of the aquarium. Humidity is maintained by misting daily and covering about 2/3 of the screen top with a sheet of acrylic. The temperature stays around 80F day/74F Night. Humidity is 80%. Surprisingy I feed this spider mostly gut loaded crickets(the largest ones I can buy) several times a week. About once a week it gets a Madagascar hissing cockroach. Of the tarantulas I have, currently, this one requires the most maintenance. Due to its aggressive nature required living conditions, and feeding regimen, I don't recommend this one to anyone new to the hobby.
What's big, fast, hairy and has an attitude? The Goliath Bird-eating Spider!
The Goliath Bird eating spider also occurs in Trinidad an island off the northeast coast of Venezuela. I have found dinnerplate size specimens inhbiting the roof rafters of my house's ceilings one 3 occassions.
I've had my T. blondi for about 5 months. It is quite easily startled and short tempered. There's nothing quite like the sound of if its fangs hitting my metal tongs as I attempt to remove food scraps and feces from its enclosure. The urticating hairs from this species are extremely irritating. I have found a pair of arm-length rubber gloves to be very useful. You must be very careful not to get any of those hairs near your eyes,nose, or mouth.
It has a 9" legspan and is in a 20 gal. long aquarium with about 7 inches of Eco-Earth/vermiculite/peat moss mix. Heat is supplied with a 60 watt ceramic heat bulb during the day, a 15 watt red night bulb 24 hours a day, and an undertank heater placed on the side of the aquarium. Humidity is maintained by misting daily and covering about 2/3 of the screen top with a sheet of acrylic. The temperature stays around 80F day/74F Night. Humidity is 80%. Surprisingy I feed this spider mostly gut loaded crickets(the largest ones I can buy) several times a week. About once a week it gets a Madagascar hissing cockroach. Of the tarantulas I have, currently, this one requires the most maintenance. Due to its aggressive nature required living conditions, and feeding regimen, I don't recommend this one to anyone new to the hobby.