Mary Allen
In our portrait, you can find out more about the giant tarantula Lasiodora parahybana and its behavior. In addition, we provide information about where it comes from and what should be considered when keeping the Brazilian giant tarantula.
The Lasiodora parahybana is called the Brazilian giant tarantula. With a leg span of up to 30 cm, it is one of the largest spiders in the world. She also shows herself to be self-confident in behavior and meets enemies in an imposing manner.
Lasiodora Parahybana: the Brazilian Giant Tarantula
- Lasiodora parahybana
- The Brazilian giant tarantula belongs to the tarantula family and the genus Lasiodora.
- The Lasiodora parahybana can be found in eastern Brazil. It is particularly widespread in the Paraiba area.
- The Brazilian giant tarantula lives in dry forests and steppes.
- No other species of tarantula belong to the species Lasiodora parahybana.
- The life expectancy of the Lasiodora parahybana is 10 to 15 years.
- The Brazilian giant tarantula is not a protected species.
Habitat: Where Does the Lasiodora Parahybana Come From?
The Lasiodora parahybana is native to the Paraiba area, a state in northeastern Brazil, which used to be called Parahybana. This explains the name Lasiodora parahybana, which the Brazilian giant tarantula officially bears. This species of tarantula prefers a dry climate and lives in shrub steppes and dry forests.
The Brazilian tarantula is one of the ground dwellers and likes to hide under stones, pieces of bark, fallen leaves, or roots. The Lasiodora parahybana only looks for a cave while it is shedding its skin and at lower temperatures. The den is also used for brood care. In order to protect itself from predators, the giant tarantula also lines its burrow with spider silk.
The Appearance of the Brazilian Giant Tarantula
The Lasiodora parahybana has a body length of 9 to 10 cm and a leg span of up to 30 cm. This makes it one of the largest spiders in the world. The appearance of the giant tarantula is also characterized by its shaggy-looking and thick hair. The basic color of Lasiodora parahybana is black – complemented by gray-beige hair.
The males also have a reddish-brown color on the abdomen. The sexes also differed in the physique. In contrast to the females, the male Lasiodora parahybanas have a slimmer build.
The Behavior of the Lasiodora Parahybana: Confident and Aggressive
Since its imposing size is not enough to survive, the Lasiodora parahybana has a successful defense strategy. In the event of impending danger, the spider acts self-confidently by adopting the attack posture typical of spiders. She stretches her upper body and hits her front legs. In addition, the biting claws are spread.
In this way, the Lasiodora parahybana signals to its counterpart that he should rather retreat. If that doesn’t happen, she uses her stinging hair. These have small barbs and get stuck in the enemy’s skin, where they cause severe itching. However, a bite only occurs in the rarest of cases.
The Lasiodora Parahybana is Also Unimpressed by Humans
When kept in the terrarium, the Lasiodora parahybana shows the same self-confident behavior as in the wild. In contrast to other spiders, it can often be seen in the terrarium and rarely hides. Even when cleaning, the giant tarantulas do not seek refuge.
But be careful: if the Lasiodora parahybana feels threatened, it will also attack the owner. You should therefore be careful with feeding and cleaning, and withdraw if she aggressively hits her forelegs.
The Breeding of the Lasiodora Parahybana
The males reach their sex realms at the age of about two years. The female Lasiodora parahybanas do not reach sexual maturity until they are three years old. The female produces cocoons that can contain up to 2000 eggs. Due to a large number of eggs, the young are relatively small when they hatch. The Lasiodora parahybana compensates for its small size by the fact that it grows quickly. Therefore, you should quickly place the spiderlings in larger containers so that their growth is not hindered.
The Posture of the Lasiodora Parahybana
There are a few points to consider when keeping the Lasiodora parahybana. The spiders also prefer a dry climate in the terrarium. A humid terrarium is therefore not suitable to house a Brazilian giant tarantula. If the humidity does not meet the requirements of the Lasiodora parahybana, it can happen that it tries to leave the terrarium. It does this to find a drier environment.
As an earth-dwelling spider, the Lasiodora parahybana needs sufficient hiding places such as:
- root
- pieces of bark
- leaves
You can also provide stones as hiding places. As in nature, however, it only uses it for molting or brood care. Otherwise, the spider moves freely in the terrarium, which enables you to observe it.
Due to its size, a terrarium size of at least 40 x 40 x 40 cm is recommended for a fully grown Lasiodora parahybana. The floor of the terrarium should be covered with a 10 cm thick layer of foliage soil. Moistening of the substrate is only necessary if necessary, as otherwise, the humidity is too high. In the hiding places, however, there should be humidity between 65 to 75%.
The Lasiodora parahybana not only makes special demands on the humidity, but the temperature should also correspond to the conditions of its home. During the day it should be between 23 and 26 ° C in the terrarium. At night, however, 18 to 20 ° C is sufficient.
The Diet of the Lasiodora Parahybana
The Brazilian giant tarantula eats grasshoppers, crickets, and house crickets. However, when feeding young animals, you should make sure that the food is correspondingly smaller. Otherwise, there is a risk that the spiderlings will suffocate on the food animals.