Species Profile & Temperament

Safety Information

Venom/Defense: If startled, their first instinct is to run at lightning speed into their burrow. If they cannot escape, they will kick itchy urticating hairs.

First Aid: If you get hairs on your skin, wash with warm 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: Do not handle this species. They are a "dwarf" species, making them very light and incredibly fast. If they bolt out of your hands, you may never catch them, and a fall to the floor could easily kill them.

Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Terrestrial / Opportunistic Burrower / Heavy Webber.
• Minimum: Because they are a smaller species, a 2.5 to 5 gallon tank (or an acrylic enclosure of similar size) is plenty of space for a full-grown adult.
• Ventilation: Good cross-ventilation is required to prevent mold when keeping the substrate slightly damp.

Substrate

• Recommended: Coconut fiber (Eco Earth), peat moss, or organic topsoil.
• Depth: Provide deep substrate. They love to dig and will often construct elaborate burrows that connect to their surface webbing.

Décor & Enrichment

• Hides & Anchor Points: Provide a curved cork bark hide as a starting point for their burrow. You should also add a few fake plants or small twigs around the hide—they will use these as anchor points to build massive webs across the surface of the dirt.
• Water Dish: Provide a small, shallow water dish. (They will likely fill it with dirt or webbing, so you will need to clean it often).

Temperature

• Heating: Room temperature is usually fine, but they do appreciate slightly warmer temperatures than some other species. If your house gets cold, use a small heat pad on a thermostat, mounted on the SIDE of the tank, never underneath.

Humidity

• Target Range: 60–70% (Medium).
• How to Maintain: Do not keep the enclosure bone dry, but do not turn it into mud. The best method is to keep one half of the enclosure (the side with the water dish) slightly damp by overflowing the dish now and then, while letting the side with their hide remain dry.

Diet & Nutrition

Davus pentaloris has a fantastic feeding response and grows very quickly compared to other New World tarantulas.

Primary Diet

• Live crickets, dubia roaches, or mealworms. Ensure the prey is smaller than the spider's abdomen, as they are a smaller species.

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 they seal the entrance to their burrow with heavy webbing and dirt, they are in pre-molt. Do not dig them up. Leave them completely alone until they emerge on their own.

Molting

During the Molt

• DO NOT disturb the spider. They will molt safely inside their webbed-up burrow.
• Remove any live crickets from the enclosure immediately.

Post-Molt Care

• Wait until the new fangs have hardened before offering food. Ask us in store if you are unsure when to feed again.

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 Guatemalan Tiger Rump Tarantula at 60-70% by using a deep moisture-retaining substrate bed (ReptiSoil + Coco Fiber + Sphagnum Moss), overflowing the water dish slightly into one corner, and maintaining cross-ventilation.
• Safe Room Heating in the Willamette Valley: If your house gets cold 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 Guatemalan Tiger Rump Tarantula warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?

Target 72°–80°F room temperature with no heat lamp and 60-70% humidity. Keep the lower substrate slightly damp and the top dry by letting the water dish overflow a little. Never mist the spider directly. Never put a heat mat underneath the enclosure.

What size enclosure does a Guatemalan Tiger Rump Tarantula need?

An adult Guatemalan Tiger Rump Tarantula thrives in a 2.5 to 5-gallon terrestrial tank with deep substrate 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 Guatemalan Tiger Rump Tarantula bioactive enclosure?

Around molting tarantulas and scorpions, skip big, hungry isopods and stick to springtails, so a soft, newly molted animal is never nibbled.

Where can I find Guatemalan Tiger Rump 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).