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Atlas / Library / Theraphosidae / King Baboon Tarantula
AdvancedNocturnal · sleeping now
Theraphosidae

King Baboon Tarantula

Pelinobius muticusCitharischius crawshayi

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. thetarantulacollective.com

Photograph: Ewout Knoester · CC BY-SA

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. King Baboon Tarantula is nocturnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

Burrowing · temperate · middlingFrom the sheet: 24–28°C, humidity 50–60%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/pelinobius-muticus

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature24–28 °C
Humidity50–60 %
Enclosure30×30×35
Diet10–14 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
24–28°Ambient

One ambient band, 24–28°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states24-28°C (75-82°F; warm end low 80s)

Humidity

50–60%Target RH

The sheet states50-60% with a humid burrow base

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m20–23 cm
1520100400 cm
20–23 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Order / Family
Araneae
IUCN / CITES
Not evaluated (IUCN); CITES not yet in our data
Difficulty
Advanced (experts only)
Commonality
Popular 'grail' – widely wanted but slow-growing; steady trade
Adult size
Body ~9 cm; leg span up to ~20–23 cm (massive, heavy)
Lifespan
Females ~20–25 yr; males ~10–15 yr
Growth rate
Very slow
Activity & niche
Fossorial deep burrower; arid; rarely surfaces; nocturnal
Temperament
Highly defensive and territorial; loud stridulation, forceful strikes
Venom / defense
No urticating hairs; potent (medically significant) venom (intense long-lasting pain) – experts only

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

30 cm35 cm
warm hidewatersubstrate
50100150200 cm
30 × 30 × 35 cmWidth × depth × height
9dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesAdult ~30×30×35 cm; very deep substrate (20+ cm), fossorial

Temperature
24–28°C (75–82°F; warm end low 80s)
Humidity
50–60% with a humid burrow base
Min. enclosure
Adult ~30×30×35 cm; very deep substrate (20+ cm), fossorial
Substrate
20–30 cm firm coco fibre/topsoil for elaborate deep burrows
Hides / decor / water
Deep starter burrow, cork, water dish; keep base slightly damp

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

Juvenile
every 7 d
Adult
every 10–14 d
2Meals in 28 days · adult

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. This sheet states a figure for each age, so each age has its row.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56. A young animal's row is drawn only where the sheet gives one: working it out by dividing the adult interval would be inventing a ration.

The sheet statesCrickets, roaches, locusts; adults take large prey / occasional pinkie · Slings ~2×/week; juveniles ~weekly; adults every 10–14 days

Staple food
Crickets, roaches, locusts; adults take large prey / occasional pinkie
Feeding frequency
Slings ~2×/week; juveniles ~weekly; adults every 10–14 days
Supplements
None – gut-load feeders only

Behaviour and handling

HandlingNot recommended – large, powerful, very defensive, potent venom; observation only
CommunalNo – solitary and cannibalistic
Defense / stress signsLoud stridulation, raised front legs, forceful striking, retreat to deep burrow; no hair-kicking

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
20–25 yrLifespan in care
20 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Reproduction
Oviparous; 1 egg sac, ~20–50 spiderlings (smaller sacs); very slow-growing young

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsDehydration of burrow base, mold if surface too wet, fall/rupture, DKS from pesticides; slow growth tests patience
Red flags / quarantine
SignsOften WC – quarantine for mites/nematodes and dehydration; watch DKS, death curl; provide deep burrow immediately

Good to know

  • One of the largest, longest-lived and most iconic African tarantulas – a rusty-orange giant that can take 5+ years to mature

What it needs

Enclosure at least 30 × 30 × 35 cmbecause enclosureAdult ~30×30×35 cm; very deep substrate (20+ cm), fossorial
A thermometerbecause temp24-28°C (75-82°F; warm end low 80s)
A hygrometerbecause humidity50–60% with a humid burrow base

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.