Name: Poecilotheria metallica
Common Names: Sapphire Ornamental | Gooty Sapphire Ornamental
Type: Arboreal
Category: Old World
Endemic Location: Southeast India
Body Length: 2.5”
Diagonal Leg Span (DLS): 8”
Urticating Hairs: No
Growth Rate: Fast
Life Expectancy: Females 12 years / Males 4 years
Recommended Experience Level: Advanced
Not for beginners. Without a doubt one of the most stunning tarantulas in the world, the Sapphire Ornamental Tarantula, every now and then referred to as the Gooty Ornamental (although it’s no longer definitely from Gooty, India) is nevertheless one of the most sought-after species for nearly each and every tarantula hobbyist. Starting out as boring grey-ish pink slings, women will mature in to a flurry of blues, whites and yellows that maintain your eyes glued. The men are smaller and aren’t as brightly colored however nevertheless very colourful. Mature male Poecilotheria metallica additionally do now not possess tibial hooks/spurs.
Once ladies attain full maturity, they will lose some of their shiny blue, with some areas turning darkish gray or even black, however nevertheless very beautiful. They are gorgeous eaters and develop fairly fast, so attempt now not to overfeed them and spend as a great deal time as feasible elevating your sapphire sling. They additionally have a tendency to be pretty serious about retaining their enclosure tidy. We have frequently witnessed Poecilotheria metallica the usage of the precise identical spot over and over when they discard a meals bolus or when excavating substrate from their shelters.
Poecilotheria stay in the back of bark and in holes or crevices in giant trees, so strive to furnish them with a lot of vertical shape to stay on that dives in to a respectable depth of substrate. They love it darkish and make the quality use of a vertical refuge the use of vertical portions of wooden or cork bark propped up in a nook of an enclosure to create a vertical tube structure. You can additionally use a stable tubular piece of cork bark in the core of the enclosure. Add some exceptional vertical float wooden or greater cork park portions as addition to their refuge and you will be giving them a amazing quantity of actual property to use.
In our opinion, they have the pleasant temperament of all the pokies (Poecilotheria genus), acknowledged to hunker down and wait for risk to omit or per chance run, as an alternative than throw a hazard pose or exhibit any aggression. This doesn’t suggest they’re now not successful of getting protective or turning in a very painful chew so constantly admire them and exercise warning as their chunk is considerably unpleasant.
When it comes to watering my slings, I make sure to keep them moist. Once they reach 2 inches in size, I add a water dish to their enclosure. As for the adults, I still keep them moist but I do allow them to dry out a bit more to mimic the dry season.
Breeding notes : coming soon