Species Profile & Temperament

Safety Information

Venom/Defense: Like all New World tarantulas, their primary defense is kicking urticating hairs. However, the Chaco Golden Knee is famous for almost never kicking hairs unless severely provoked.

First Aid: If hairs get on your skin, wash with soap and water and keep your hands away from your face. Wash any bite that breaks the skin with soap and water. Ask your doctor about any health concerns.

Handling Precautions: They are very heavy-bodied. A fall can kill them. If you must handle them, sit flat on the floor and let them walk from hand to hand just inches above the carpet.

Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Terrestrial / Opportunistic Burrower.
• Minimum: A 10 to 15-gallon terrestrial enclosure with deep substrate.
• The Height Warning (CRITICAL): Because they are heavy-bodied, you must minimize the vertical height of the enclosure. If a Chaco climbs to the top of a tall tank and falls, it will die. Keep the gap from the top of the substrate to the lid short.
• Lids: Avoid mesh screen lids if possible, as their claws can get stuck in the wire and cause them to lose a leg. If using a screen lid, ensure there is deep substrate so they can't climb high enough to hang from it.

Substrate

• Recommended: Coconut fiber (Eco Earth), peat moss, or organic topsoil.
• Depth: Provide deep substrate. While they often sit out in the open, they do enjoy burrowing, and the deep soil prevents dangerous falls.
• Avoid: ReptiBark, wood chips, or sand.

Décor & Enrichment

• Hides: Provide a large cork bark flat or half-log hide. They will often dig out the soil underneath it to create a den.
• Water Dish: Provide a large, shallow water dish. Keep it filled at all times.

Temperature

• Heating: Room temperature is perfect. Never use a heat pad underneath the tank, as burrowing tarantulas will dig down to escape the heat and cook themselves.

Humidity

• Target Range: 55–65% (Mostly dry with one damp corner).
• How to Maintain: Keep most of the substrate dry, but overflow the water dish a little to keep that specific corner of the tank damp. This provides a moisture gradient, allowing the tarantula to choose whether it wants to be dry or slightly humid.

Diet & Nutrition

Primary Diet

• Live crickets, dubia roaches, or mealworms. They are excellent eaters.

Feeding Schedule

Young spiders eat more often than adults. Ask us in store for a feeding plan that fits your spider's size, and always remove uneaten live prey.

Pre-Molt Fasting

• Chaco Golden Knees are incredibly slow growers. They may enter pre-molt (refusing food, turning dark/shiny, hiding) for a long time before actually molting. This is completely normal. Do not panic if they refuse food for extended periods.

Molting

Molting is the process of shedding the exoskeleton to grow. It is the most vulnerable and critical period in a tarantula's life.

During the Molt

• DO NOT disturb or handle the spider. It will flip on its back to molt. It is not dead. Do not flip it over.
• Remove any live crickets from the enclosure immediately. A live cricket can bite or chew a molting tarantula.

Post-Molt Care

• Wait before offering food. Their new fangs are soft after a molt, and feeding too soon can injure them.

What We Use & Recommend

These are products we use and recommend for this species. Stock varies by store, so ask us what we have in store today.

Last updated: 2026-08-04

How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply

• Oregon Winter Furnace Air vs. Molting Humidity: When Pacific Northwest furnaces kick on from October through April, indoor room humidity drops fast and dries out small enclosures from the top down. Rather than misting the spider or invert directly (which stresses terrestrial species and invites stagnant mold), we keep Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula on mostly dry substrate with a full shallow water dish. We let the dish overflow a little into one corner and keep good cross-ventilation.
• Safe Room Heating in the Willamette Valley: If your house drops below 65°F on winter nights, never stick a heat pad on the bottom of a burrowing invertebrate tank—they dig down to escape heat and will cook themselves. Use a low-wattage side-mounted heat mat on a digital thermostat or warm the room ambiently to 72°–80°F.
• Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, cork bark, substrates, springtails and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.

Common Questions (FAQ)

How do I keep my Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?

Target 72°–80°F room temperature with no heat lamp and 55-65% humidity. Keep the substrate mostly dry, keep a shallow water dish filled, and let it overflow a little into one corner. Never mist the spider directly. Never put a heat mat underneath the enclosure.

What size enclosure does a Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula need?

An adult Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula thrives in a low 10 to 15-gallon tank with secure ventilation. For terrestrial tarantulas and scorpions, floor space and deep substrate matter most (keep open fall height low so a fall cannot hurt your spider); for arboreal species, prioritize vertical cork bark tubes and cross-ventilation.

Can I put isopods in a Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula bioactive enclosure?

Most dry-setup tarantulas do best without a cleanup crew. Remove leftovers with tongs instead.

Where can I find Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula, cork bark, and feeder insects in Oregon?

Ask us what we have in store today at our two exotic animal stores: Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).