Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica — Fact Sheet

Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica · Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Enclosure planning dimensions: 30 x 30 x 45 cm
• Substrate planning depth: 5 cm
• Housing: One animal per enclosure

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

Use a vertical enclosure with secure bark retreats and enough space to climb. Height, ventilation, and retreat security are more important than heavy decoration.

Simple stable decoration is usually best. The enclosure should be easy to service without tearing apart the spider’s main retreat.

💡 Lighting

Keep lighting simple: ordinary room light and a consistent day-night cycle are enough.

🌡️ Temperature

• Daytime air: 23-27 °C

• Cool zone: 21-23 °C

• Night: 20-23 °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

Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica does best with moderate humidity, fresh water, and strong airflow. The enclosure should not remain stagnant or overly wet.

Useful principles include:

• Fresh water always present
• Slightly more moisture in one area if needed
• Ventilation strong enough to prevent stale air
• No permanently wet enclosure

🪳 Feeding

Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica is insectivorous. Suitable prey includes:

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

Young spiders can be fed more often, while adults usually need a 7-14 day rhythm adjusted to abdomen size, recent molts, and prey size.

If the spider seals itself in or shows clear premolt behavior, prey should not be left inside to wander.

Adjust feeding to stage and body condition. Growing slings may eat often; adults usually need longer gaps. Remove prey during premolt and reduce feeding if the abdomen stays overfull.

☠️ Safety

Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica 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 dehydration, poor ventilation, stress from frequent disturbance, and falls in inappropriate enclosures.

Warning signs include lethargy, weak feeding response, repeated frantic movement, and difficult molts.

When troubleshooting, check ventilation, water access, retreat security, and recent disturbance before changing multiple variables at once.