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Avicularia “geroldi” (trade label)

🔤 Taxonomy

Avicularia geroldi Tesmoingt, 1999 is a nomen dubium, not a species accepted by the current World Spider Catalog. In the 2017 Avicularia revision, Fukushima and Bertani found that the stated holotype had never been deposited in the named collection. The published information could not establish an identity that later researchers can test.

GBIF keeps the old name as a synonym record for search purposes, but its accepted usage resolves only to the genus Avicularia. Tarantulas still circulate under the trade label “A. geroldi”; this guide preserves that discoverability without asserting that captive stock represents a valid species.

Important label notes:

  • World Spider Catalog status: nomen dubium
  • GBIF status: synonym record resolving to Avicularia
  • Husbandry below: conservative Avicularia-level care, not verified species limits

📌 Description

The trade name is generally applied to a dark arboreal pinktoe-type tarantula, but reports of size, lifespan, colour, speed, and breeding cannot be tied securely to a diagnosable species. Similar-looking captive lines may not share the same biological identity, even when sellers use the same spelling.

Treat the animal in front of you as an unidentified Avicularia-type arboreal until stronger evidence exists. Its actual size and behaviour should determine enclosure scale. The practical values here are deliberately conservative and match a medium to large pinktoe setup: vertical cover, cross-ventilation, clean water, local rather than enclosure-wide moisture, and no handling.

Care pointConservative fallback
Identityunresolved trade label; not an accepted species
Adult enclosureabout 30 x 30 x 45 cm for a medium-large arboreal specimen
Day temperature21-26°C
Night temperature20-23°C
Moisturelocal humid reserve with dry ventilated upper surfaces
Adult feedingappropriate prey every 7-14 days, adjusted to condition
Recordsretain source label, line, date, photos, molts, and documents

☠️ Venom

Every tarantula sold as “A. geroldi” must be treated as venomous. There is no sound clinical basis for calling the bite medically significant, yet the uncertain identity makes confident species-level venom statements impossible. Fangs can cause a deep mechanical injury, and pain, swelling, nausea, or allergy-like symptoms may occur.

Assume contact-type urticating hairs are present, as in Avicularia. Avoid handling and never work with the enclosure at face height. Arboreal tarantulas can sprint or jump when the retreat is opened. Use long forceps and a catch cup inside a larger clear tub. Wash a bite and obtain medical help for severe pain, spreading swelling, breathing difficulty, faintness, or other marked symptoms. Flush eye exposure without rubbing and seek urgent advice.

🌍 Distribution

The 1999 description associated the doubtful name with Brazil, and its title specifically referred to Santana Island. Because the type was not deposited and the name cannot be diagnosed, this is historical locality information only. It does not confirm that captive animals carrying the label originate there, nor does it establish a native range or habitat envelope.

The map highlights Brazil solely to visualize the country attached to the original doubtful name. No climate, season, forest type, or husbandry parameter has been inferred from it.

Historical country context for the doubtful name Avicularia geroldi

⚖️ Legal status

The official CITES Appendices and Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1383 were checked on 2026-08-06. The historical name Avicularia geroldi was not found in the CITES Appendices or EU Annexes A-D. The Bern Convention is not relevant. This result does not show that a particular spider was legally collected, exported, or correctly identified.

Retain the dated invoice, seller or breeder identity, received label, line information, photographs, and import or transfer papers. Do not silently convert the name into A. avicularia or another accepted species. Local law may regulate venomous invertebrates, sale, transport, exhibition, breeding, or rental housing, and taxonomic uncertainty may complicate import documentation.

🤌 Husbandry

Before applying this setup, confirm that the animal has the climbing, web-retreat behaviour and general form expected of an Avicularia-type tarantula. A specimen that remains strictly terrestrial or digs an obligate deep burrow may be mislabelled and needs expert identification rather than a forced arboreal enclosure.

Keep one per enclosure. Around 30 x 30 x 45 cm is a reasonable starting adult enclosure for a medium-large animal, but size it to the specimen. Smaller juveniles need smaller ventilated containers where prey and hydration are easy to observe. Put rows of fine vents on opposing sides above and below the retreat; do not depend on a mesh lid.

Provide vertical cork, a hidden space behind it, artificial or safe live foliage, and fine branches for web anchors. Add 5-8 cm of absorbent substrate and a stable water dish. Arrange the door so maintenance does not destroy the upper silk sleeve. A second small elevated water cup can be useful for a spider that rarely descends.

Quarantine for at least 8 weeks with dedicated tools. Record feeding, refusal, posture, fecal deposits, molts, mites, and flies. Preserve the seller’s exact wording and photograph the animal after molts. Exuviae from mature animals may someday help a qualified taxonomist, whereas discarded records make an uncertain line less useful. Never combine or breed lines solely because the names on their tubs match.

💡 Lighting

No UVB or focused basking light is required. Provide an ordinary 10-12-hour room-light cycle and darkness at night. Direct sunlight can overheat a vertical container extremely fast.

Use only a modest external plant LED if needed, and confirm the temperature inside the upper retreat. Keep shaded cover available. Coloured night bulbs and prolonged bright viewing disturb the spider without improving care.

🌡 Heating and temperature

Use approximately 21-26°C by day and 20-23°C at night as a conservative Avicularia working range. These numbers are not a climate reconstruction for “A. geroldi.” The historical place name is too weak a basis for seasonal cooling, warmer breeding cycles, or precise species claims.

Room heating is preferable. If supplementary heat is necessary, place a low-power thermostatically controlled source outside one side, leaving a cooler vertical route. Never warm the base under the entire enclosure or cover vents. Temperatures sustained above 28°C, especially with weak airflow, can dehydrate the animal rapidly.

💧 Humidity and water

Keep a shallow dish full and let one lower corner hold a little moisture while the upper web and exposed surfaces dry. Occasional evening droplets on foliage can supplement drinking in a dry room. Do not spray the spider, flood the retreat, or seal vents to raise a number. The broad 60-80% metadata range is comparative genus care, not a known requirement for this doubtful name.

Use condition as the primary guide. Day-long condensation, a sour smell, spreading mold, or wet webbing shows overwatering or poor air exchange. A wrinkled abdomen, repeated drinking, or weak posture suggests dehydration or excessive heat. Spiderling containers require especially frequent inspection because their small volume changes quickly.

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

A base of clean topsoil, coco fibre, or a soil-coco mixture absorbs dish overflow and permits spot cleaning. Five to eight centimetres suits an arboreal fallback; adjust if the animal consistently digs. Avoid fertilizer, pesticides, aromatic wood, sharp wire, hard unstable ornaments, and fibres that catch claws.

Wedge cork and branches firmly. Give multiple web anchors around a narrow shaded upper retreat and leave room for a catch cup. Mesh roofs are best avoided because tarsal claws may snag. An empty tall tank offers volume but little usable security.

Remove prey remains and accessible fecal deposits without stripping the web. Do not open a sealed retreat for inspection. Replace all substrate only for contamination, persistent pests, or a necessary rehouse.

🪳 Feeding

Feed captive-reared roaches, crickets, or locusts where legal, normally no longer than the abdomen. Small spiderlings can take pinhead prey or freshly killed pieces twice weekly; juveniles often feed every 5-7 days; a healthy adult usually needs one suitable meal every 7-14 days. Let the individual’s abdomen and response determine adjustments.

Offer prey at the web edge after dark and remove it within 24 hours if ignored. Repeated refusal, a dark abdomen, or a sealed tube usually indicates premolt. Never push a feeder into the retreat. After molting, wait for fully black fangs and firm movement—several days for juveniles and often 7-10 days for adults.

Avoid power-feeding to match unsupported size claims for the label. A swollen abdomen is vulnerable during a fall. Whole prey requires no calcium or vitamin dusting.

🩺 Common problems

  • Misidentification becomes permanent when a trade label is copied without its nomen-dubium caveat.
  • Stagnant wet housing is a major preventable danger for pinktoe-type tarantulas.
  • Heat and an empty dish can produce dehydration, a wrinkled abdomen, and weak posture.
  • A closed web and prolonged fasting usually precede molting; disturbance can be fatal.
  • Mold, mites, and phorid flies are encouraged by wet waste and forgotten prey remains.
  • Falls, leaking hemolymph, severe incoordination, eye exposure, or an obviously arrested molt warrant advice from an exotics veterinarian familiar with arachnids.

Do not use household pesticide, essential oils, or mammal mite products in or near the enclosure.

📌 Conclusion

“Avicularia geroldi” should be managed as a historical trade label, not a verified species. Safe care means a ventilated arboreal fallback scaled to the actual spider, meticulous origin and molt records, and restraint in breeding or resale claims. If a seller presents the old name as taxonomically settled or claims a precise wild locality without documents, that is a reason to pause the purchase.

📚 Sources and further reading