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Lasiocyano sazimai

🔤 Taxonomy

Lasiocyano sazimai is the currently accepted name in the World Spider Catalog. It was long kept and sold as Pterinopelma sazimai, so older care notes, invoices, and forum posts often use that previous combination.

English common names used in the hobby:

  • Brazilian blue tarantula
  • Sazima’s tarantula
  • Iridescent blue tarantula

📌 Description

Lasiocyano sazimai is the Brazilian blue tarantula, a terrestrial New World species famous for metallic blue iridescence. It is visually impressive but not a casual beginner tarantula: it can be skittish, defensive, and sensitive to stale damp conditions.

Adults are usually around 14-16 cm legspan. The best display comes from a secure, low enclosure with good light outside the enclosure, not from handling or forcing the spider into the open.

☠️ Venom

The bite is not treated as medically significant, but it can still be painful. Urticating hairs are a more common irritation risk during maintenance. Use a catch cup for rehousing and avoid blowing, tapping, or handling just to show the color.

🌍 Distribution

Lasiocyano sazimai is endemic to Brazil and is associated with rocky, open, upland habitats in the Chapada Diamantina region and nearby Brazilian records. The habitat is not a wet rainforest floor; it is seasonal, exposed, and retreat-based.

Captive care should offer a dry to moderately moist surface, a slightly more humid retreat, stable ventilation, and clean water. A permanently wet setup dulls the main husbandry advantage of the species: the ability to choose a retreat microclimate.

Range map

⚖️ Legal status

As checked against current official CITES Appendices and EU wildlife-trade Annex references on 2026-06-01, no current CITES listing or specific EU Annex listing was found for Lasiocyano sazimai. The species is not relevant to the Bern Convention because it is not native to Europe.

Local and national Brazilian wildlife, collection, and export rules may still apply. Because the species is endemic and historically sensitive in trade, keep proof of captive-bred origin, seller details, transfer papers, and the old Pterinopelma sazimai synonym where it appears on documents.

🤌 Husbandry

Keep this species alone in a secure low terrestrial enclosure. It is not a social tarantula and should not be handled to display its color.

Start juveniles in smaller containers with a hide, reachable prey, and a moisture gradient. Adults need firm substrate, a secure retreat, and enough floor space to move without a tall fall zone.

Useful care priorities:

  • Low terrestrial enclosure
  • Dry surface with a moister retreat option
  • Stable hide or cork slab
  • Fresh water dish
  • Strong ventilation

Quarantine new arrivals. Blue Brazilian tarantulas are desirable, and older labels may use Pterinopelma sazimai, so purchase records and identity notes matter.

💡 Lighting

No specialist lighting or UVB is required. A normal room day-night rhythm is enough. Any plant or display lighting should stay outside the enclosure or be weak enough that it does not overheat or dry the retreat.

🌡 Heating and temperature

A practical daytime range is about 21-26°C, with nights around 18-22°C. Avoid pushing the species hot simply because it is Brazilian.

Rocky upland habitats create sheltered microclimates. In a terrarium, that means a warm room, a retreat, and ventilation rather than a hot lamp aimed at the spider.

💧 Humidity and water

Aim for about 50-70% with fresh water always available. The surface can be mostly dry, but the hide base or one side should retain a little moisture.

The goal is a gradient. Constantly wet substrate encourages mold and stress; bone-dry substrate for long periods increases dehydration and molting risk.

🌿 Enclosure and decoration

Use substrate that holds shape, such as compacted coco fiber, soil mix, or a soil-clay blend. Add a cork hide or partly buried retreat that the spider can modify.

Keep decor stable and low. The blue color is best appreciated when the spider feels secure enough to come out on its own, not when the enclosure is over-decorated or repeatedly disturbed.

🪳 Feeding

Feed roaches, crickets, locusts where legal, and other safe insects. Juveniles can eat once or twice weekly; adults usually do well every 7-14 days depending on body condition.

Remove uneaten prey promptly. Do not leave worms to burrow, and do not feed during the period before or just after a molt.

🧭 Routine care and records

Routine care for Lasiocyano sazimai should be calm, repetitive, and documented. Check the enclosure from the outside first: posture, abdomen shape, webbing, water level, prey remains, mold, condensation, and whether the hide entrance has been sealed. These small observations tell you more than trying to make the tarantula move.

A useful weekly rhythm is simple. Refresh water before it is dirty, remove boluses and uneaten feeders, confirm that ventilation is open, and adjust one moisture area if the enclosure is trending too dry or too wet. Do not rebuild the enclosure every time the spider changes where it sits. Webbing, closed burrow entrances, and long fasts are normal parts of tarantula life, especially around molts.

Keep a short record with the acquisition date, source, molt dates, feeding dates, refused meals, rehousings, and any unusual behavior. The record is not bureaucracy: it helps identify a slow dehydration trend, a molt interval that has changed, or a mature male that has stopped feeding for normal biological reasons. Photos taken during routine checks can also preserve identity features without handling.

Maintenance should be planned before opening the enclosure. Have the feeder cup, long tongs, water bottle, catch cup, lid, and a clear working surface ready. For fast or defensive species, work inside a larger plastic tub or another contained area. The goal is not to test temperament but to finish the job with the spider still secure and unstressed.

🧾 Buying, quarantine, and traceability

Choose captive-produced animals whenever possible and ask for the scientific name used by the breeder, the approximate age or size, molt history if known, and whether the animal is confirmed female, unsexed, or male. Common names are useful for hobby conversation, but they are not enough for records because several unrelated tarantulas share similar trade labels.

Quarantine new arrivals away from the main collection for at least several weeks. Use simple equipment, disposable towels around the work area if needed, and separate feeding tools when there is any concern about mites, phorid flies, mold, or unknown substrate. Quarantine is also a settling period: the spider can establish a retreat, drink, and feed once without being disturbed by display changes.

Inspect the animal without forcing contact. A healthy tarantula should be coordinated, able to grip, and not leaking fluid. A thin abdomen after shipping may improve with water and time, but a collapsed posture, repeated failed molts, visible injury, or heavy parasite load needs experienced help. Do not attempt home treatments with oils, disinfectants, or insecticides inside the enclosure.

Keep invoices, breeder messages, import papers, and photos of the animal and container label. This is especially important for species with recent name changes, corrected spellings, or old hobby names. Good records protect the keeper, help future buyers, and make it easier to update the article and collection label when taxonomy changes.

🩺 Common problems

Common problems include stale damp substrate, dehydration, hair-kicking stress, falls, and mistaken identity under old trade names.

Warning signs include a wrinkled abdomen, weak movement, repeated refusal with visible decline, stuck molt, injury, or fluid leaking from the body. Keep handling minimal and seek experienced veterinary input for serious injury or molt failure.

📌 Conclusion

Lasiocyano sazimai is for keepers who want a striking display spider and can provide dry-to-moderate conditions without neglecting hydration. Legal origin and stable ventilation are as important as the blue color.

📚 Sources and further reading