Care Sheet: Grammostola pulchripes - Chaco Gold Knee

Care Sheet: Grammostola pulchripes - Chaco Gold Knee
Before being concerned about specific humidity/temperature gauges, I would highly suggest having a look at this book: http://books.google.com/books?id=rIVAkA3IlHgC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
or possibly even purchasing it, as it has tons of information that clear’s up a lot of confusion as to these little creatures. There is a lot of false marketing and false opinions out there and the information represented here is meant as a guideline and not a specific rule that can be applied to all of these types of tarantulas. There are variations even in the same species born in the same egg sac! The goal of the information here is to get an in depth view on the tarantula from an owner/handlers eyes.

Common Name: Chaco Gold Knee
Scientific Name: Grammostola pulchripes
Origin: Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina 
Type: New World Terrestrial
Temperature: 20-30 °C (remember this range is a guideline)
Humidity: 50-60% (remember this range is a guideline)
                 
Max Size: approx. 9"-10” (remember this range is a guideline)
Speed: Moderate (remember this is a guideline)
Temperament: Calm (remember this is a guideline)
Venom: Mild
Growth Rate: Medium (remember this is a guideline)

Description:

G. pulchripes receive their coloration very early on, I would try remember the size but as it was long ago would say after 2cm leg span is reached, the next molt you can start looking for coloration. The full adult coloration at that too! The G. pulchripes molts roughly every second to third month, but I have noticed the increase in size includes increase in duration of the pre-molt and post-molt phase. This tarantula regardless of anything is always cool and calm, very easy to handle as long as you show it the due respect (as such with all tarantula's), also my specimen is an exceedingly good eater almost never refusing food.

Housing:

G. pulchripes moves around quite a lot, my specimen (Paris), has an underwater barrel that is normally used as an aquarium decoration in her tank and is regularly seen either inside this barrel, on top of it, or half suspended between the barrel and the side of her home. I have noticed that this species does move around a lot, especially at night, I have even had the job of being able to watch her drink water a few times. As a sling Paris burrowed minimally, also other G. pulchripes I have heard of did not burrow much. A hide is not a necessity, but is always helpful in reducing any stress the animal ever experiences. The tanks should NOT be more than the tarantulas leg span x 2 (5cm leg span = 10cm max height on the tank) as a fall from this species could cause an injury and death. Also avoid any sharp edged decorations in the tank.

Temperatures should be around 25 °C, with humidity OK at around 55%. A large water bowl is fine and will be used often. Ensure that the water bowl isn't wider/deeper than 1x your tarantula's leg span.

Feeding:

G. pulchripes’s eat well, it has been remarked by other G. pulchripes owners that the males do not feed as voraciously as the females though. I have fed mine crickets the same size or larger than the tarantula itself (I definitely do not recommend this or do it as a regular practice, the tarantula could be severely injured if overpowered by its prey) and fortunately there were no issues with this regard. Takes can be anything from a gentle pickup to a charging rushing tackle. Generally with my specimen there is a good bit of wrestling and pinning down involved. I have found that feeding them two crickets twice a week is similar to power feeding, which I will only do until they reach between a quarter and a third of their adult size (this rule can be applied to all T’s) then I will drop down to one cricket twice a week. 

Temperament:

General: If my BG. pulchripes gets a fright, it generally reacts b turning around quickly and either facing towards or directly away from what gave it the fright. On opening the container's lid it would be slightly startled but furthermore not much. I have noticed when this tarantula is hungry, it often mistakes any movement as food. I highly recommend using something soft such as a paintbrush to alert the tarantula you are there, hold it still if they explore it with fangs to test if that is food or not, then when they realise it isn't it should be safe to handle them. I have as yet not picked any of mine up in the prescribed best way, but that is for another post.

The urticating bristles these tarantulas flick off are the average in severity and they can leave itching rashes on whichever body parts come into contact with them, which really can hurt sometimes. It is very important to avoid getting them in your airways, or eyes.

Fangs, though rarely threatened, are mechanically dangerous, in that they can be up to half an inch long and would be somewhat comparable to a wasp/bee sting. I have only once induced a threat pose from my specimen, sadly I exhaled directly onto her which sent her rearing up into a pose suggesting I leave her alone sooner rather than later.

Before molt: The G. pulchripes goes pitch black when it starts getting close to molting, you can notice the body of the tarantula underneath the outer exoskeleton as it gets darker and the outer exoskeleton starts becoming transparent. Behavior in this time seems unchanged but it IS a stressful time for them so be cautious and try AT ALL COSTS to avoid handling before a molt. Generally the specimen will go extremely dark brown, will not be shiny and will have a bald patch. Differently to my L. parahybana, B. vagans and B. auratum this tarantula shows a darkening on the abdomen from the joint between the prosoma and opisthoma down towards the spinnerets. Almost as if she was dipped in chocolate sauce head first. This I believe is a sign of the inter-molt phase where they will feed but not as actively.

After molt: The G. pulchripes is a very light grey almost transparent such as a Perspex sheet for a short while after molting, eventually they become darker grey and not transparent, then the grey eventually becomes black. Throughout this hardening process the T won’t move much and you MUST NOT move it either. After 3-5 days I put in one small cricket and wait until the G. pulchripes takes it then I know she is ready to feed again. If the cricket isn't eaten within a day I remove it then try again at a later stage.

Notes:

My G. pulchripes is an absolute sweetheart. Handling her is a joy as she will either perch in a relaxed manner on your hand or go for a short stroll up your arm, when walking on uncertain terrain all of my tarantulas dot down lines of webbing and this one is no exception.