Tliltocatl verdezi — Fact Sheet

Tliltocatl verdezi · Tliltocatl verdezi

Full care guide and sources

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

An adult enclosure around 30 x 30 x 25 cm is adequate. Pack 10-15 cm of pesticide-free topsoil and coco fiber, optionally with a little clay for structure. Provide a partly buried cork-bark hide, leaf litter and a stable water dish. Some adults remain visible; others deepen the retreat. Both are normal.

🪨 Substrate and furnishings

Keep the gap above the substrate low to prevent injury in a fall. Use cross-ventilation, a secure non-mesh lid and ventilation holes too small for the carapace. Avoid sharp rock, loose gravel, calcium sand, perfumed soil and heavy decor that can collapse into a tunnel.

Before a molt the abdomen may darken, food may be refused and the hide may be sealed. Remove prey and do not disturb the retreat. Resume feeding only after the fangs turn fully black and the spider hardens—often 5-10 days in adults and less in small slings.

💡 Lighting

No UVB or basking light is needed. Indirect room light for 10-12 hours provides a normal cycle. Keep the hide shaded and prevent direct sun. A modest plant lamp may be used only when it does not raise enclosure temperature.

🌡️ Temperature

• Daytime air: 20-25 °C
• Cool zone: 18-21 °C
• Night: 18-21 °C

💧 Humidity and water

Provide a shallow water dish at all times. Let most of the surface dry, then moisten a lower corner or slightly overflow the dish. Slings need a little more frequent local moisture because their surface-area-to-volume ratio makes desiccation faster.

Avoid spraying the whole enclosure to reach a nominal humidity percentage. Good results come from a moisture gradient and cross-ventilation. Persistent condensation, wet webbing, fungus gnats or sour substrate mean the setup is too wet; a shriveled abdomen or long periods over an empty dish mean hydration must be corrected.

🪳 Feeding

Use captive-cultured roaches, crickets or locusts. Prey should generally be no larger than the abdomen; pre-kill oversized items for small slings. Feed slings every 4-7 days, juveniles every 7-10 days and adults about every 10-21 days, changing the interval according to abdomen condition and temperature.

Remove leftovers within 24 hours and immediately if premolt is possible. Worms that burrow should be offered in a dish or have the head crushed. Do not power-feed a slow-growing species: an abdomen much wider than the carapace increases fall and rupture risk. Whole prey supplies its nutrition; dusting with supplements is unnecessary.

☠️ Safety

A bite from Tliltocatl verdezi can cause puncture wounds, pain and swelling. Human bite reports are too uneven to predict an individual reaction or assign a precise venom potency to every species. Do not interpret a quiet animal or a “mild venom” label as permission to handle it.

Urticating hairs are a separate hazard: they can irritate skin and injure eyes. Avoid rubbing exposed skin or eyes; suspected eye exposure needs prompt medical assessment. Keep your face away from the enclosure and wear eye protection and gloves when removing molts or used substrate.

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

• Urticating-hair exposure: minimize disturbance, keep dry shed skins away from the face and rinse eye exposures promptly.
• Fall injury: prevent excess open height and hard decor beneath the spider.
• Chronic dampness: a saturated enclosure causes mold and poor air quality; keep moisture local and ventilation active.
• Dehydration or overheating: confirm fresh water and measured temperatures first when the spider appears weak.
• Premolt feeding: prey may damage a soft spider. Remove it when fasting or retreat closure begins.
• Obesity: reduce feeding when the abdomen becomes disproportionately large.
• Identity and paperwork loss: retain both Brachypelma verdezi and Tliltocatl verdezi names in records so legal and breeding history remains traceable.