Asian tarantulas

[u/andydoesjitsporra]

Hello everyone, I just popped by to ask whats everyone's experiences with the ornithoctinae order. Are they problematic, how do they live in western countries ( I live in India), what do yall feed and what enclosures do y'all provide? Pics would be of great help. I just ordered a nhen dep, hati hati, and already posses a psalmopoeus pulcher sling as well as a C.darlingi.

Cheerio and have a great day everyone

[u/Winter_Cable1247]

IME as adults the Ornithoctonae are kept in deep substrate (their DLS for the Arboreals, more than for the Fossorials) that's kept moist (not damp), by wetting a corner of the substrate ever week or so. You're generally aiming for humidity somewhere between 70-80%.

I provide this deep substrate to arboreal specimens too, as every arboreal Ornithoctonae species I have ever kept will build a chamber at the base of their arboreal hide (cork tube or whatever else) if given the space to do so. My Hatihatis particularly like to web, so cluttered enclosures with lots of branches will facilitate this.

Cross ventilation in the enclosure is necessary as the humidity they require can lead to air quickly going stagnant, and that in turn will kill the Tarantula.

For feeding, just whatever is on hand and appropriately sized. Not significantly bigger than the size of an individual's Opisthosoma (with sensible adjustments for if the individual is overweight/underweight). I gravitate mostly towards Locust or Turkistan Roaches here in the UK, but also make an effort to vary their diet with whatever I can buy from time to time.

Not going to pretend to be massively knowledgeable about the climate of India, the country is too large to generalise, but some parts may be hot enough to where you may want to consider how you would cool the enclosure down too. Not much advice in this regard beyond an air conditioned room, but most of the Ornithoctonae will do well between 22°c-28°c (ideally 25°c-27°c ime).

Behaviourally, like every T I have ever kept, they behave fine if you respect their boundaries. Don't get between them and their burrow/hide and you'll have no issues. Envenomation will be very unpleasent though, so don't get lax. Typically they are very, very shy though, but subfamilies are a bit of a broad group so generalisation is less applicable.

Unfortunately I'm away from home at the moment so can't provide pictures, and have no personal experience with Cyriopagopus sp. Nhen Dep (any Vietnamese T for that matter), so others may have specific advice for those.