Welcome to our article all about the Arizona Blond tarantula. No doubt you’re either looking to get your first tarantula or are just curious as to some information about these little creatures.
Here you can find out all about the Arizona Blond and decide for yourself whether you think it would make a great tarantula for you and your circumstances.
The Arizona Blond (Aphonopelma chalcodes) is a New World spider. They make great pets for first time tarantula owners as they are docile and generally easy to care for. They can grow up to 6 inches in length and are not poisonous to humans.
If you’re thinking of starting a tarantula collection, the Arizona Blond makes a great first-time addition.
Of course, there is much more to be known about this particular tar antula, so now you’ve seen the basic answer, keep reading to find out more interesting facts about the Arizona Blond that will come in very useful should you decide to go ahead and purchase one.
Is the Arizona Blond Poisonous?
As already mentioned, the Arizona Blond is not a poisonous species.
However, their bite could lead to irritation although they are not aggressive in the slightest and would rather run and hide instead of attacking.
They are prone to urticate (kick hairs), when they feel threatened which would lead to irritation of the throat if breathed in or irritation of the skin if it were to come into contact.
How Big Does an Arizona Blond Get?
As previously mentioned, the Arizona Blond can reach up to 6 inches (measured diagonally leg to leg) although most of them reach 3-5 inches in length.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell how big exactly your tarantula will get, but after each molt there will be an increase in size.
They will continue to molt once a year for the rest of their adult lives although their size will not be as dramatically increased as it is when they are a juvenile.
How Fast Does an Arizona Blond Grow and How Long do They Live?
The speed at which an Arizona Blond grows is very slow. This is because it takes a long time for females to reach maturity.
Females are able to live for over 25 years whereas males live between 6-8 years and will die shortly after mating. As soon as a male Arizona Blond has matured, as with all tarantulas, he will start to build a sperm web, collect the sperm in his pedipalps, hunt out a female and try to mate with her.
Are You Able to Handle an Arizona Blond Tarantula?
As we have already established, Arizona Blond tarantulas are generally docile creatures.
They are indeed able to be held and are comfortable with slight handling although they will never be tame or cuddly little pets.
However, this temperament differs between individual tarantulas and even between molts of the same tarantula. Though they tend to be relaxed, these tarantulas can be defensive and kick hairs, show a threat pose, and even bite.
How Do I Care For an Arizona Blond?
Arizona Blonds are solitary tarantulas (like most) and should be housed in their own enclosure.
Their care is very typical to all new worlds. The enclosure should have more width than height and contain a lot of substrate as these are burrowing tarantulas, especially as spiderlings/slings.
If you purchase an Arizona Blond as a spiderling, they should be kept in a standard spiderling enclosure along with a water dish and a hide. Once they reach juvenile stage, they should be placed into a juvenile enclosure along with their hide and water dish. There should not be too much height as to avoid them climbing the walls, thus risking them falling and rupturing their abdomen.
The substrate should be kept dry with either a small water dish on the side or keep dropping a tiny amount of water on the side of the enclosure. Roughly once a week, the substrate should be moistened and left to dry out.
As adults, the Arizona Blond should be kept in an enclosure no larger than 5-10 gallons (16x8x10 – 20x8x12) and provided with at least 4 inches of substrate, together with a water dish and a hide.
They should be kept at room temperature (68-72 degrees) although it is possible to keep slings at a slightly warmer temperature to try and make them grow faster.
What Should I Feed My Arizona Blond?
When it comes time to feeding your tarantula, if they are still slings, you will find flour beetles, cricket legs or pre killed tiny crickets will be perfect. They should be fed twice a week. As they grow into larger slings, it’s time to switch to small crickets or roaches.
When they become juveniles, the food becomes larger, so one or two medium sized crickets once a week.
Finally, at the adult stage, they should be fed 2 to 3 large crickets/silkworms a week.
One other thing to note, as the Arizona Blond is a burrowing tarantula, it is not uncommon for them to hide in their burrow, seal it up and not eat for months at a time (this is usually when the weather gets cooler – kind of like a hibernation period, although not really).
Beware that over-feeding will lead to a large abdomen which will be dragged around causing abrasions which can lead to death, however, if the abdomen looks very small/under-nourished, a bit of extra feeding won’t do any harm to your tarantula.
We hope you found this little article helpful, why not check out our interesting article on the p. metallica and note the differences!
Until next time, stay spidery!