Species Profile & Temperament

Safety Information

Venom/Defense: Their primary defense is kicking urticating hairs.

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

Handling Precautions: Do not handle this species. They are very fast and can bolt off your hand, falling to the floor. A fall can kill a tarantula.

Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Semi-Arboreal / Terrestrial. They need floor space, but also enough vertical height to build their elaborate webs.
• Minimum: A 5 to 10 gallon enclosure with plenty of anchor points.
• Spiderlings (Slings): Must be kept in small deli cups or acrylic sling enclosures. Do not put a baby tarantula in an adult-size tank; it will struggle to find its food.
• Ventilation: Excellent cross-ventilation is required. Stagnant, humid air can make them sick.

Substrate

• Recommended: Dry coconut fiber (Eco Earth), peat moss, or organic topsoil.
• Depth: A modest layer is enough. They rarely burrow; they prefer to build web castles above ground.
• The "Bone Dry" Rule (CRITICAL): The substrate must be kept completely dry. This species originates from a harsh, arid desert scrubland. Do not mist the enclosure. A wet, stuffy enclosure leads to fungus.

Décor & Enrichment

• Hides & Anchor Points: You MUST provide lots of fake plants, cork bark tubes, and branches crisscrossing the enclosure. They need these structures as "anchor points" to attach their heavy webbing to.
• Water Dish: Provide a small, shallow water dish. Keep it filled with fresh water.

Temperature

• Heating: Room temperature is perfect. Never use a heat lamp or under-tank heater. If you ever need extra heat, use one on a thermostat.

Diet & Nutrition

GBBs are famous for their incredibly aggressive feeding response. They rarely refuse meals unless they are in pre-molt.

Primary Diet

• Live crickets or dubia roaches. Ask us in store what size prey to feed.

Feeding Schedule

Feed live prey sized for your spider. Ask us in store how often and what size to feed at each age.

Pre-Molt Fasting

• If your tarantula refuses food, hides in its web, and its abdomen turns dark/shiny, it is in pre-molt. Stop offering food immediately and wait for it to molt.

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, handle, or feed the spider. It will likely flip on its back. 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 until the new fangs have hardened before offering food. A freshly molted tarantula is too soft to eat.

Health & Husbandry

Common Health Issues

1. Dehydration — Symptoms: The tarantula's abdomen becomes shriveled (looks like a raisin), and its legs begin to curl tightly under its body (the "death curl"). / Cause: Lack of a water dish. / What to do: See a vet who treats exotic animals. Do not try a home treatment.
2. Fungal Infection — Symptoms: White, fuzzy patches on the spider's joints or abdomen. / Cause: Keeping the enclosure too wet/humid. / Prevention: Keep the substrate bone dry and ensure good ventilation.

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 Greenbottle Blue Tarantula on dry substrate with a full shallow water dish and good cross-ventilation. We never mist this spider or wet its bedding.
• 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 Greenbottle Blue Tarantula warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?

Target 72°–80°F room temperature with no heat lamp and 50-60% humidity. Keep the substrate dry and keep a shallow water dish filled. Never mist the spider or dampen its bedding. Never put a heat mat underneath the enclosure.

What size enclosure does a Greenbottle Blue Tarantula need?

An adult Greenbottle Blue Tarantula thrives in a 5 to 10-gallon dry terrestrial tank with anchor points for webbing 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 Greenbottle Blue Tarantula bioactive enclosure?

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

Where can I find Greenbottle Blue 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).