Selenobrachys philippinus — Fact Sheet

Selenobrachys philippinus · Selenobrachys philippinus

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

House this species alone. Even if two juveniles appear to tolerate one another, cohabitation can end in predation without warning.

Quarantine new stock for at least 60-90 days in a separate area. Use dedicated forceps and water equipment, and record feeding, waste, hydration, molt dates, injuries, and visible mites. Avoid pesticides, reptile mite sprays, and decorative bioactive introductions during quarantine.

Small slings need secure vials with several body lengths of substrate, lateral ventilation, a starter hole, and tiny water access. Pre-killed prey can be placed at the burrow mouth if a sling is too small to subdue live prey safely. Scale the enclosure gradually so uneaten insects and molts remain recoverable.

An adult setup around 25 x 25 x 35 cm works when 18-22 cm of the height is compact substrate. Include a side-started cork retreat, water dish, and anchor points. Leave only modest open height. Position access away from the burrow mouth and make certain sliding doors cannot be pushed apart by soil or webbing.

Rehouse by joining containers inside a larger empty tub and guiding the spider through a tunnel or catch cup. Have the entire route prepared before disturbing the burrow. A sudden bolt is foreseeable, not an accident.

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

Use compacted pesticide-free topsoil mixed with coco fibre and a little clay or other safe tunnel-holding invertebrate substrate. Build it in compressed layers. Loose fibre collapses; permanently saturated organic soil becomes anaerobic. Avoid fertilizer, cedar or pine shavings, sharp rock, unstable heavy decor, and mesh that can catch claws.

Angle cork bark into a starter tunnel against one wall. Add leaf litter, thin cork pieces, and stable twigs near the entrance for webbing. Expect the spider to connect most objects with silk and to bury the water dish occasionally.

Keep vents above the substrate and on more than one side. Remove prey remains and contaminated material without stripping sound webbing. A complete rebuild is justified for flooding, structural collapse, persistent mold, severe infestation, or medical need—not because the enclosure looks untidy.

💡 Lighting

No UVB or basking lamp is required. Use 10-12 hours of indirect room light. The enclosure should remain shaded enough that the spider can emerge without being exposed to intense glare.

🌡️ Temperature

Maintain roughly 22-26 °C by day, with a cooler retreat near 20-23 °C and a small night drop to the same range. The target is stable warmth, not a hot spot. High temperatures combined with wet stagnant air can exhaust or dehydrate the spider surprisingly quickly.

Room heating is safest. If extra heat is needed, use a thermostat and warm one external side only. Never heat beneath the substrate. Check the temperature at the burrow entrance and the cooler side rather than relying on a room thermostat across the room.

Do not impose a dramatic seasonal cycle on slings, recent imports, thin animals, or spiders approaching a molt. Breeding attempts should not compromise basic stability.

💧 Humidity and water

Keep the lower substrate evenly but lightly moist and allow part of the surface to become less damp. A working enclosure may read around 65-80% relative humidity, but substrate condition and airflow are more useful than one hygrometer number.

Provide a shallow water dish at all stages when size allows. Overflow one edge or water down one side, then let the upper layer begin to dry. Cross-ventilation should clear condensation within hours. A sour smell, persistent wet walls, springtail or gnat explosion, and surface pacing all suggest excess moisture or insufficient air exchange.

Do not mist directly onto the spider or flood a sealed burrow. During premolt, leave water available, remove prey, and protect the stable moisture gradient.

🪳 Feeding

Use appropriately sized captive-reared crickets, roaches, locusts where legal, and occasional mealworms or superworms that cannot disappear into the soil. Slings may eat small prey or pre-killed portions every 3-5 days, juveniles every 5-10 days, and adults roughly every 7-14 days. A well-conditioned adult may need longer intervals.

Keep prey no larger than the spider’s body and reduce feeding when the abdomen is clearly wider than the carapace. Remove uneaten prey within 24 hours and immediately if premolt is likely. Aggressive feeding response does not prove hunger.

After a molt, wait until movement is coordinated and the fangs are black—usually several days for small juveniles and at least a week for adults. Do not dust whole prey with supplements.

☠️ Safety

Selenobrachys philippinus 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

• Spider repeatedly above ground → retreat collapsed, flooded, stale, or insecure
• Persistent condensation and odor → excessive moisture with weak ventilation
• Shrunken abdomen or weak movement → dehydration, poor intake, overheating, or illness
• Sealed tunnel and refusal → often premolt or normal retreat maintenance
• Live prey beside a soft freshly molted spider → immediate injury risk; remove it
• Escape during servicing → access and containment plan failed; secure the room before recovery

Do not excavate a healthy sealed burrow merely to check the spider. Seek prompt specialist or veterinary advice for a death curl, inability to right itself, continuing hemolymph loss, a severe failed molt, or progressive decline.