Description
Another of the world’s heavyweight tarantulas when it comes to size, only trumped by Theraphosa Blondi – Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula and Theraphosa Strimi – Burgundy Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula.
Scarlet Bird Eaters are very similar to Lasiodora parahybana (Salmon Pink Bird Eater) and are often confused and incorrectly inter-bred by irresponsible breeders. The body colouration of Lasiodora klugi is much more black with a lot more red in their abdomen setae/hairs than Lasiodora parahybana. Lasiodora parahybana is more of a dark chocolate brown in body colour with a salmon pink coloured fringe around it’s carapace and the hair covering it’s body and legs is very much salmon-pink in colour. Lasiodora klugi has dark to black femurs (the part of the leg between the carapace and the “knees” of the tarantula), and the setae/hairs covering it’s body are not so pink in colour. Lasiodora klugi also does not have the salmon-pink coloured fringe around it’s carapace.
Starting at a few millimetres as a sling, they can grow up to 25cm (10 inches) and more. This is a true MONSTER when it comes tarantulas. The Scarlet Bird-Eater can be skittish and nervous when young, but usually become mellow as they age. Some hobbyists even consider handling them. However, with females getting so large and heavy, great care should be taken because any significant fall will injure or cause fatal internal damage to your spider.
The fangs on a fully grown Lasiodora klugi are enormous, measuring over 2.5cm which is another reason to be cautious if you intend to handle your bird-eater, because a bite would be mechanically painful indeed.
These tarantulas have great feeding responses and eat extremely well from sling to adult, growing a fair amount with every molt and just with normal feeding. Slings will eat anything from crickets to roaches and mealworms. Adults will need bigger feeder prey and can easily eat two large Dubia roaches at a time. We don’t encourage the feeding of invertebrates like mice or lizards because there is always a chance that they can bite or fatally injure your tarantulas.
Lasiodora klugi make impressive display tarantulas at full size and spend most of their time out in the open. A pleasure to own and care for.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.