| Subfamily | Theraphosinae |
| Origin | Venezuela |
| Popularname | Greenbottle blue tarantula |
| Size | ca 6cm bodylength, ca 15cm legspan |
| Temperature | 27-28c |
Entymology
Chromatopelma (greek), colored + sole (of the foot)
cyaneopubescens (greek), cyan, green blue + (latin), hairy
Introduction
You will find this beautyful species in dry bushy semidesert areas in Paraguana, Falcon State, Venezuela. C.c. have been in the hobby since the mid 90′s and are bred frequently. This is a nervous spider that are more then willing to flick the urticating hairs and rush down in its burrow at the slightest disturbance. They don’t readily bite but cant be considered a good first tarantula for a beginner in my opinion because of it’s nervous behaviour.
In the terrarium
Keep C.c. more or less like a Grammostola rosea – in a normal sized terrarium around 30x30x30cm with dry peat as substrate and a piece of cork bark for shelter. Often they dont burrow deep in the cage, they seem to prefer to spin themself a burrow under a piece of cork or similar. This species spins huge amounts of webbing, often covering the entire cage including the water bowl. Mist once a week.
Breeding
I have tried mating them but unsuccessful. A number of different males to choose from seems to be the trick with this species. The female I tried to breed was willing to mate but the male didn’t know what to do, despite I prepared him carefully. Around 100 spiderlings are produced in a eggsack and they are relatively large in size and very beautiful in color. Males reach maturity in approx 2 years and the females somewhat longer time.
Food
Crickets and zoophobas larvae, most insects are grabbed hard and eaten. Contrary to G. rosea – that lives in a similar habitat, this species eats ferociously and doesn’t have the periods without eating like rosea.
Above: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens juvenile with a molt
Handling
This is a nervous hairflicking species. Use a plastic box for transfer.
In the wild
A female in the wild. Photo: © Rick C. West
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens habitat, north Venezuela
cacti and scrub, 29% humidity and 35c in the shades. Photo: © Rick C. West
