Kochiana brunnipes — Fact Sheet

Kochiana brunnipes · Kochiana brunnipes

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Small secure fossorial enclosure; house singly and do not handle
• Adult: about 18 x 18 x 18 cm; spiderlings in much smaller escape-proof cups
• 8-10 cm compact unfertilized soil/coco mix; add clay if tunnels collapse
• Every vent and lid seam must be narrower than the carapace
• Quarantine 6-8 weeks with separate tools and a scientific-name record

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Small cork chip or half-round with starter burrow
• Leaf fragments and a clear feeding area
• Tiny shallow water dish; no heavy stones, sharp decor, or mesh snag hazards

💡 Lighting

• No UVB or basking lamp; indirect room light is sufficient
• Photoperiod: 10-12 h; dark at night
• Keep the small enclosure away from direct sun and hot lamps

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 23-26 °C

• Warm zone: 22-26 °C

• Cool zone: 20-22 °C

• Night: 20-22 °C

• Warm the room; if necessary, heat one side through a thermostat

• Never heat under the substrate

💧 Humidity & water

• Working range: 60-75%; keep one lower corner lightly moist
• Let most of the surface dry and maintain cross-ventilation
• Use a tiny shallow dish or carefully placed droplets for very small slings
• Avoid condensation, flooding, and wet prey remains

🪳 Feeding

Feed regularly:

• Fruit flies, pinhead crickets, tiny roaches, or fresh pre-killed pieces for slings
• Adults: prey no longer than the abdomen every 5-10 days

In moderation:

• Juveniles may feed every 3-5 days during active growth

Avoid:

• Wild insects, oversized prey, and mealworms allowed to burrow
• Remove uneaten prey within 24 h and all prey during premolt

Supplements:

• No calcium or vitamin powder

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Escape → oversized vent or lid gap
• Wrinkled abdomen or weak coordination → dehydration
• Constant wall climbing → wet, loose, or unusable substrate
• Mold or mites → too much water or unretrieved prey
• Sealed retreat and fasting → usually premolt; do not dig
• Hemolymph leak, fall, or failed molt → urgent specialist help

The bite is not regarded as medically significant, but venom and urticating hairs still require no-handling care and eye protection during major cleaning.