Ceratogyrus marshalli — Fact Sheet

Ceratogyrus marshalli · Ceratogyrus marshalli

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

This species should be kept alone. A practical adult setup usually emphasizes safe floor space and substrate depth rather than decorative height.

Small juveniles do best in modest, secure rearing tubs at first; upgrade gradually instead of putting a tiny spider straight into an adult display enclosure.

Useful basics include:

• Deep packed substrate
• A secure hide or started burrow
• Strong enclosure security
• Minimal disturbance
• A water dish

For an adult, a secure enclosure around 30 x 30 x 30 cm is practical. Fill roughly two-thirds of its height with 15-20 cm of firm, shape-holding substrate and start a burrow beneath angled cork. A mix of unfertilized topsoil with coco fibre and a modest clay or sand fraction holds better than loose fibre alone. For slings, use small ventilated cups with a reachable damp corner and a pre-started retreat. Quarantine new animals for at least 60-90 days in a separate room or airspace where practical; use separate tongs and water equipment and record feeding, molts, waste, and unusual mites before placing the animal near an established collection.

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

The enclosure should support digging and webbed retreat building while keeping the fall distance short.

Useful elements include:

• 15-20 cm of compact substrate for an adult
• Cork bark or a starter hide
• Minimal stable decor
• No dangerous climbing height

A low, front-opening enclosure is convenient only if it closes securely and lets the keeper work without placing hands near the retreat. Top-opening tubs can be safe for juveniles when the lid seals tightly and ventilation holes are too small for escape.

💡 Lighting

Ambient room lighting is sufficient, with no need for UVB or basking lamps.

🌡️ Temperature

• Daytime air: 21-27 °C

• Cool zone: 20-23 °C

• Night: 18-22 °C

• Measure ambient temperature with a digital thermometer near the retreat

• Warm the room or one enclosure side if needed; avoid heat mats under the floor

• Avoid heat rocks, hot bulbs over small boxes, and overheating

💧 Humidity and water

Ceratogyrus marshalli is generally kept with a dry surface, a moisture gradient below, and fresh water. A room reading around 45-60% RH is a useful reference, not a reason to spray the whole enclosure.

Useful principles:

• Dry upper substrate
• Clean water dish
• Good airflow
• No swampy or constantly sprayed setup

Keep one lower corner lightly more humid for slings and molt support, then let the surface dry. Overflowing the dish occasionally is safer than frequent misting. Stale damp air, saturated substrate, and a bone-dry sling cup are all avoidable extremes.

🪳 Feeding

This species is insectivorous and feeds readily on common feeder insects.

Suitable foods include:

• Crickets
• Roaches
• Locusts where available
• Mealworms in moderation

As a rough guide, feed slings every 3-5 days, juveniles once or twice weekly, and adults every 7-14 days when body condition supports it.

Prey should be removed if not taken. A sealed retreat is often premolt or settling behavior, not a reason to leave crickets loose in the enclosure.

☠️ Safety

Ceratogyrus marshalli must be managed without direct handling. Clinical reports of bites from some African and Asian tarantulas, including Pterinochilus murinus and Poecilotheria regalis, describe severe pain and delayed or prolonged muscle cramps. These reports justify caution across this group; they do not establish the exact severity of every species or every bite.

Use long tools and a catch cup, with a second containment tub for transfers in a closed room. Keep hands out of retreats and webbing, do not hand-feed, and do not chase an escaping spider. Keep transfers low to limit fall injuries to the animal.

After a bite, wash the wound with soap and water and contact a poison centre or medical service with the scientific name and time of exposure. Seek urgent care for severe or spreading pain, muscle cramps or persistent symptoms; call emergency services for breathing difficulty, throat swelling or collapse. Do not cut the wound or try to extract venom. Treatment focuses on wound assessment and symptom control under medical supervision.

🩺 Health — warning signs

Common problems include falls, overheating, dehydration, poor enclosure security, and failed molts under bad conditions.

Warning signs include:

• Lethargic posture
• Wrinkled abdomen
• Persistent stress climbing
• Visible injury
• Failed molt

Old World tarantulas should not be managed casually. If serious problems arise, interventions should be deliberate and minimal.