Cilantica devamatha — Fact Sheet

Cilantica devamatha · Cilantica devamatha

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

For an adult, use an escape-proof enclosure around 25 x 25 x 35 cm filled with 18-25 cm of compact substrate. A mix of pesticide-free topsoil and coco fiber with a little clay or excavator soil can hold tunnels; test that it compacts without becoming mud. Anchor cork bark at an angle to start a burrow and add leaf litter for web attachment.

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

Ventilation holes must be smaller than the carapace and present on opposing sides. Secure every lid. Avoid mesh, loose stones, sharp decor and unsupported heavy wood. Keep the service area simple so the water dish can be reached with forceps without crossing the tunnel entrance.

Premolt may appear only as a sealed entrance and prolonged refusal. Remove live prey and wait. Never open a sealed burrow. After a molt, wait until the fangs are black and the spider is firm—commonly 7-10 days for an adult—before feeding.

💡 Lighting

UVB and basking lamps are unnecessary. Provide a subdued 10-12-hour room light cycle and keep the retreat shaded. Direct sun and bright lamps can heat a dark fossorial enclosure dangerously. A plant light is acceptable only if it produces no measurable rise at the substrate surface.

🌡️ Temperature

• Daytime air: 22-26 °C
• Cool zone: 20-23 °C
• Night: 20-23 °C

💧 Humidity and water

Maintain a permanent shallow water dish and a moisture gradient. The lower two-thirds of the substrate should remain lightly moist enough to hold a tunnel; the upper surface and entrance should be allowed to breathe and partly dry. Add water slowly down one side rather than spraying the spider or flooding its chamber.

Humidity percentages are less useful than substrate condition, clean air and behavior. Condensation, sour smell and mites signal stagnant overwatering. Dry collapsing soil and a shrunken spider signal insufficient moisture. Good cross-ventilation is essential even though this is a humid-forest species.

🪳 Feeding

Offer roaches, crickets or locusts that fit the spider; prey around half to two-thirds of its body length is adequate. Feed slings small or pre-killed portions every 4-7 days, juveniles every 7-10 days and adults roughly every 7-14 days. Place prey near the entrance with long forceps, then close the enclosure before observing the response.

Remove uneaten prey within 24 hours and immediately if the burrow is sealed. Do not probe to confirm a kill. An invisible spider may still be healthy; use web repair, prey disappearance and periodic safe views as evidence. No calcium or vitamin dust is needed.

☠️ Safety

Cilantica devamatha 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

• Escape during maintenance: this is the highest-consequence preventable event. Prepare containment before opening the lid.
• Collapsed burrow: shallow or fluffy substrate denies normal behavior and can trap the spider. Provide deep, firmly packed soil.
• Stagnant moisture: waterlogged, poorly ventilated setups support mold and mites and may stress respiration.
• Desiccation: completely dry substrate is inappropriate for this Kerala fossorial species; keep the lower profile moist and water available.
• Molt interference: prey left in a tunnel can injure a soft spider. Respect sealed entrances and fasting.
• Taxonomic and origin uncertainty: old labels may use three different names. Preserve invoices, molt photos and breeder records; never mix breeding stock of uncertain identity.