Orange knees
The orange and red bands on its leg joints warn other animals to leave it alone.
Minibeasts · For experienced keepers
Mexican red-knee tarantula
Spider · from the Pacific coast of Mexico
A large, dark, hairy spider with bright orange-red bands at the joints of its legs.
- Size
- Leg span about 15cm
- Lives for
- Females 25 to 30 years; males about 10
- Suits
- Calm, careful adults who like to watch
Pads after you, one careful step at a time. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the tarantula
A thirty-year pet
Females can live for thirty years: one of the longest-lived of all spiders.
It kicks hairs
Its defence is to flick barbed hairs off its abdomen. They itch badly and must be kept out of your eyes.
Slow to grow
It takes about seven years to become an adult.
It can go without food
An adult can go for months without eating, especially before it sheds its skin.
Protected
It is protected in the wild. Pets must be captive-bred.
The real thing
Photos of the tarantula
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
It needs a secure tank with dry compost, a hide and a shallow water dish, at warm room temperature. Feed it a few live insects each week.
Before you get one
The red-knee is the calmest tarantula, but it is a pet to look at, not to hold. A fall can kill it, and its hairs can hurt you.
Keep going