Chilobrachys huahini

🔤 Taxonomy

Chilobrachys huahini Schmidt & Huber, 1996 is the accepted scientific name in the World Spider Catalog. It was described from Thailand, with the type locality south of Hua Hin. The spelling “huahini” reflects that locality; trade labels such as “Asian fawn” are informal and do not establish identity.

Names commonly encountered in the hobby include:

• Asian fawn tarantula
• Hua Hin earth tiger
• Hua-Hin-Vogelspinne

Several brown Chilobrachys species look similar, especially as juveniles. Buy an animal with a breeder record and a scientific label rather than relying on color alone.

📌 Description

This is a fast, defensive Old World tarantula built for a silk-lined burrow. Adults commonly reach about 13-16 cm diagonal leg span; females are heavier and may live roughly 10-15 years, while males often mature sooner and survive only a few years. The subdued brown or fawn coloration makes the behavior, rather than bright patterning, the main attraction.

A settled spider may stay below ground for long periods and then appear at the burrow mouth after dark. It can web the entrance, cork, leaves, and nearby ventilation into one working retreat. A keeper must be comfortable caring for an animal that is often invisible and must not dig it out for reassurance.

This species has no urticating hairs. Its defenses are speed, threat display, stridulation, and biting. It belongs with an experienced keeper who already understands catch-cup transfers and can service an enclosure without putting hands near the retreat.

☠️ Venom

Treat a bite as medically important. Species-specific clinical data are limited, but reports involving Chilobrachys and other Old World theraphosids include intense pain, swelling, delayed symptoms, and muscle cramps. “No recorded bite from this individual” is not evidence that the venom is mild.

Never handle the spider. Before opening the enclosure, close the room, block routes under doors, move children and pets away, prepare two catch cups, and know where the animal can bolt. Use long forceps for boluses and a soft brush only to guide a transfer; do not pin, grab, or provoke a threat display.

After a bite, wash the site, remove rings or tight items before swelling develops, and contact poison-control or medical services. Urgent assessment is warranted for severe or spreading pain, cramps, weakness, vomiting, breathing difficulty, facial swelling, or altered consciousness. Do not cut, suck, freeze, or apply a tourniquet to the wound.

🌍 Distribution

The World Spider Catalog records C. huahini from Thailand. The type locality and reviewed GBIF observations place it in western Thailand around the Hua Hin, Phetchaburi, Ratchaburi, and adjacent region. These records support a warm seasonal setting, but the spider experiences it inside a buffered burrow, not fully exposed to daytime weather.

The useful captive lessons are deep shade, stable ground moisture, an aerated entrance, and room to retreat downward. Seasonal rain does not justify soaking the enclosure; it supports a moist lower layer paired with a surface that can breathe.

🌡 Climate across the native range

Monthly normals from reviewed records in western Thailand:

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com · CC BY 4.0 · Monthly normals calculated by Herpeton Academy from daily archive values.

Location references use GBIF.org occurrence data where available; original occurrence records retain their source dataset licenses.

⚖️ Legal status

The official CITES Appendices and current EU wildlife-trade Annexes were checked on 2026-08-05. Chilobrachys huahini is not currently CITES-listed, and no species-specific EU Annex entry was found. The Bern Convention is not relevant because the species is not native to Europe.

That does not make collection or international movement unrestricted. Thailand’s wildlife, collection, and export rules can apply, while destination countries may regulate venomous animals, imports, sales, transport, or public display. Verify the law where the animal will be kept before buying.

Prefer captive-bred stock. Keep the invoice, seller or breeder name, purchase date, advertised parentage or locality, sexing notes, and any import or transfer papers. Those records help distinguish lawful captive trade from animals collected without traceable origin.

🤌 Husbandry

Keep one spider per enclosure. Cohabitation creates a serious risk of cannibalism and turns routine maintenance into an unsafe exercise.

Use a secure, simple quarantine enclosure for at least 60-90 days. Keep it in a separate area from the main collection, use dedicated tools, and record feeding, water, waste, visible mites, posture, and molts. A new import that is thin, injured, persistently weak, or heavily infested needs advice from an exotics veterinarian familiar with arthropods; do not apply reptile mite products or household insecticides.

Spiderlings need a small vial or box that is tall enough for several centimetres of substrate but narrow enough for easy feeding and observation. A water dish is preferable as soon as it fits safely. Upgrade before the animal can span the enclosure or reach the lid when standing on silk.

For an adult, 30 x 30 x 40 cm is a useful starting size. Fill more than half the height with substrate so the spider can build a 20-25 cm retreat. The space above the finished surface should be modest. Every lid, door, feeding port, and ventilation hole must be secure before the spider is introduced.

Plan maintenance from outside the strike zone. Put the dish near a door, give the burrow a side away from the main access point, and have a secondary tub around the enclosure during rehousing. A transfer tunnel between old and new containers is safer than chasing an exposed spider.

💡 Lighting

UVB and basking lamps are unnecessary. Provide 10-12 hours of indirect room light so the spider has a stable day-night rhythm. A dim plant light can be used if it does not heat the lid or dry the burrow.

Do not use red or blue night bulbs. For observation, brief low-intensity light is enough. Place the enclosure away from direct sun, loud speakers, constant vibration, and busy surfaces where it may be knocked.

🌡 Heating and temperature

Keep the occupied part of the enclosure around 22-27 °C by day, with a cooler lower or side retreat around 20-23 °C. A natural night drop to roughly 20-23 °C is acceptable. Sustained temperatures near 30 °C in a small moist enclosure increase dehydration and overheating risk.

Warm the room when possible. If supplemental heat is unavoidable, place a thermostatically controlled source outside one side, never under the substrate. A burrowing spider normally retreats downward from heat, so bottom heating reverses its safest escape route.

Measure near the entrance and at the cooler side with digital probes. Do not force a wet-season or dry-season cycle on a new, thin, juvenile, premolt, or unwell animal. Stable care and body condition come before breeding cues.

💧 Humidity and water

Humidity percentages are only a rough check. A practical setup keeps the lower substrate lightly moist, one side or upper surface somewhat drier, and air moving through vents on opposing sides. About 60-80% relative humidity may occur, but persistent condensation, sour odor, or waterlogged soil means the balance is wrong.

Provide a shallow clean water dish at all times. Overflow it lightly into one corner, then wait for that area to begin drying before watering again. Pouring water down one side is less disruptive than repeated spraying, which can trigger a bolt and wet the web without hydrating the deeper soil evenly.

During premolt, continue water access and keep the lower layer stable; do not soak a sealed burrow. A spider lying on its back is usually molting. Remove prey and leave it undisturbed.

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Use a firm mix such as pesticide-free topsoil with coco fibre and a small clay component. Compress it in layers so a tunnel holds its shape. Loose dry coco fibre alone can collapse, while pure wet peat can become airless. Avoid fertilized soil, aromatic wood, sharp stone, mesh that can trap claws, and heavy decor that could settle onto the burrow.

Set a cork-bark slab or tube diagonally into the substrate and start a narrow hole beneath it. Add leaf litter and a few stable twigs above the entrance as web anchors. The spider will redesign the area; intact silk is functional furniture, not dirt.

Cross-ventilation should remain above the expected web and substrate line. Spot-clean prey remains and boluses with long forceps. Rebuild only for persistent mold, flooding, collapse, infestation, or a medically necessary move.

🪳 Feeding

Offer captive-reared crickets, roaches, or locusts where legal. Prey should generally be no larger than the spider’s body, and smaller for spiderlings. Slings can take small portions every 3-5 days; juveniles usually every 5-10 days; adults commonly every 7-14 days or less often when well conditioned.

Use abdomen condition, not feeding aggression, to set the schedule. A very swollen abdomen increases the consequences of a fall. Remove uneaten prey within 24 hours, immediately if it burrows near the spider, and always when premolt is suspected.

After a molt, wait until the fangs are completely dark and the spider moves normally—often several days for juveniles and 7-14 days for a large adult. Whole feeder insects need no calcium or vitamin dusting.

🥚 Breeding

Breeding is for keepers who can safely separate two fast Old World spiders and house many offspring. Confirm sex from a molt where possible and do not pair animals sold under uncertain Chilobrachys labels. Prepare the male’s escape route and all catch containers before introduction.

Published species-specific reproductive data are sparse. Captive practice for comparable Chilobrachys uses stable conditions around 24-27 °C rather than aggressive heating; a 45-70 day incubation window and roughly 50-200 young should be treated as planning ranges, not guarantees. Never disturb a female repeatedly to check an egg sac.

🩺 Common problems

• Constant wall climbing or exposed pacing → substrate too wet, retreat insecure, ventilation poor, or recent disturbance
• Shrunken abdomen and weak posture → dehydration, prolonged poor intake, or illness
• Condensation, odor, gnats, or spreading mold → excessive water and inadequate airflow
• Refusal followed by sealed burrow → often normal premolt; remove prey and wait
• Failed molt or stuck appendage → hydration or health problem; avoid pulling and seek specialist advice
• Bleeding after a fall → serious hemolymph loss; minimize movement and obtain urgent expert help

A death curl, inability to right itself, persistent leakage, severe mite burden, or progressive weakness deserves prompt veterinary or experienced arachnid assessment. Normal hiding can last weeks or months; digging into a sound burrow usually creates the emergency the keeper hoped to prevent.

📌 Conclusion

Chilobrachys huahini suits an experienced keeper who can accept limited visibility and maintain a deep retreat without opening it. The decisive requirements are an escape-proof enclosure, a moist but ventilated lower layer, permanent water, and a no-contact working method. If catch-cup practice and a safe rehousing space are not already in place, choose a slower terrestrial species instead.

📚 Sources and further reading

• World Spider Catalog — Chilobrachys huahini
• World Spider Catalog — Schmidt & Huber 1996 original-description record
• GBIF — Chilobrachys huahini
• The Tarantula Collective — Chilobrachys fimbriatus care (comparative genus husbandry)
• Mondal et al. 2025 — distribution, natural history, and medical importance of Chilobrachys spp.
• CITES — current Appendices
• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2026/1383