Hysterocrates gigas — Fact Sheet

Hysterocrates gigas · Hysterocrates gigas

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Adult enclosure: 45 × 30 × 45 cm (length × width × height).
• Use most of the lower space for firm, diggable substrate and a stable burrow; the listed height is not empty climbing space.
• Substrate planning depth: 25 cm
• Housing: One animal per enclosure

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

The enclosure should be built around the burrow. Provide deep substrate, a stable bark piece or hide, water access, and enough open working space for maintenance without destroying the main tunnel.

Do not build an aquatic section because of old claims about this species entering water. A shallow water dish and moisture-retentive lower substrate are safer and more useful than standing water. Heavy decor must rest on the enclosure floor or be buried before substrate is added so the spider cannot undermine it and cause a collapse.

💡 Lighting

Keep lighting simple: ordinary room light and a consistent day-night cycle are enough. Avoid direct lamps that overheat or dry the enclosure too aggressively. Quarantine new arrivals in a simple secure setup before moving them into a display enclosure.

🌡️ Temperature

• Daytime air: 22-27 °C
• Cool zone: 20-23 °C
• Night: 20-23 °C

💧 Humidity and water

Maintain moderate to moderately high moisture deeper in the substrate, while keeping the surface from staying constantly wet. A dish of clean water should always be available. If the substrate smells, clumps heavily, or constant condensation sits on the glass, the enclosure is too wet.

🪳 Feeding

Suitable diet: large crickets, roaches, locusts, and other suitable insects matched to body size. Remove uneaten prey and food remains. Feed according to body condition, not only appetite, and avoid leaving live prey during premolt. Missed meals are common; remove prey, review conditions, and try again later rather than leaving insects in the enclosure.

☠️ Safety

Hysterocrates gigas 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

The most common problems are burrow collapse, substrate kept too wet, dehydration, difficult molts, and escapes during deep cleaning. If the animal sits exposed, refuses food for a long time, or looks thin, first check water, temperature, deep substrate moisture, ventilation, and retreat stability.

If a deep clean is unavoidable, plan it like a transfer: catch container, second secure enclosure or tub, long tools, and a clear work area. With a large defensive specimen, slow preparation is safer than quick improvisation. For serious injury, leaking hemolymph, or a difficult molt, seek an exotic-veterinary professional when possible.