A light olive-green/fawny-brown spider first described by Pocock in 1895. Distinctive black chevrons on the upper part of the abdomen give rise to part of it's common name. It has been know for this spiders abdomen to change to almost jet black at times. Long legged and very fast moving when roused, don't be fooled by the long periods of pretending to be a pet rock! According to Ann Webb, this spider will fight with it's own moult!
A native of Trinidad in the West Indies, it lives in silk tubes built in trees and/or folded leaves. This is an aggressive species, certainly handling is not advised!
The requirements in captivity are:
As for keeping them as pets, many people keep these in large 12x12x12 (inches) tanks.
Like the other arboreal (tree living) species they require high humidity levels (above 80%) but you must be careful to avoid the air in the tank becoming stagnant as this appears to be the cause of some deaths in captivity.
As these are tree-living spiders, you must make provision for climbing and web building, steralised branches or twigs are ideal. Substrate for the cage should be of peat/vermiculite mix, this must be at least 1 inch deep.
An open water dish is a must, as is regular mistings to keep that humidity level high!
Food: All standard invertebrates
Geographic Range: Trinidad (West Indies)
Aggressiveness: Generally considered aggressive.
Temperature range: 75-78 farenheit.
Londevity: Males once mature (2-3 Years) Females (upto 12 years).
The following links will take you to pictures of this spider.
hereand
here
The Tarantula's Nest: one of the most comprehensive caresheets on the internet on this species
Lelles Tarantula Page (English version): A picture and a good intro
Mike's overview of Psalmopoeus in general (with the help of Rick Blauman)
Tarantula Terrain: housing and habitat
