Pterinochilus lugardi — Fact Sheet

Pterinochilus lugardi · Pterinochilus lugardi

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Indoor secure enclosure only; outdoor keeping is not appropriate
• Display-only Old World species; do not handle and treat a bite as potentially medically significant
• Keep singly; routine communal housing is unsafe
• Secure fossorial enclosure with more usable floor and substrate than empty height
• Practical adult size: about 30 x 30 x 30 cm
• Substrate depth: 12-15 cm of firmly packed soil/coco mix with a little clay or fine sand
• Avoid loose pure sand, high fall space, and frequent burrow destruction

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Started burrow beneath angled cork bark
• 12-15 cm of compact, tunnel-holding substrate
• Fresh shallow water dish
• Low, stable web anchors and minimal decor

💡 Lighting

• No special lighting required; normal room day-night cycle is enough
• Avoid bright basking lamps; they dry small enclosures and increase stress
• Photoperiod: roughly 10-12 h ambient room light; no night light

🌡️ Temperature

• Heat focus: 24-27 °C

• Day: 22-27 °C

• Cooler area: 20-23 °C

• Night: 18-22 °C

• Measure ambient temperature with a digital thermometer near the retreat

• Warm the room or one enclosure side if needed; avoid heat mats under the floor

• Avoid heat rocks, hot bulbs over small boxes, and overheating

💧 Humidity & water

• Fresh shallow water dish always available for juveniles and adults
• Reference room humidity: about 50-65%; do not chase the number by soaking the enclosure
• Keep the upper substrate mostly dry with a small moisture reserve lower in one corner
• During premolt, support hydration rather than forcing a whole-enclosure humidity spike
• Strong cross ventilation; no stagnant wet substrate or routine heavy misting

🪳 Feeding

Feed regularly:

• Appropriately sized crickets
• Roaches
• Locusts where legal/available

In moderation:

• Mealworms or superworms as occasional variety
• Adults every 7-14 days depending on abdomen condition
• Slings every 3-5 days in small portions

Avoid:

• Wild-caught insects, vertebrate prey, oversized feeders
• Leaving prey in during premolt or molt
• Overfeeding to an extreme abdomen
• Remove uneaten prey within 24 h and immediately if a molt is expected

Supplements:

• No calcium or vitamin powders; feeder insects should be healthy and appropriately sized

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Wrinkled abdomen → dehydration or long fasting
• Weak movement → overheating, dehydration, or illness
• Persistent wall climbing → enclosure, moisture, or stress problem
• Failed molt → humidity, hydration, or disturbance issue
• Leaking fluid or fall injury → urgent specialist help
• A tarantula on its back is usually molting; do not touch it
• Never handle this fast Old World species; use long tools and a catch cup
• After a bite, wash the wound and contact a poison centre or medical service; urgent symptoms include breathing difficulty, severe or spreading pain, repeated cramps, weakness, or vomiting

Seek an exotic-animal vet or experienced arachnid keeper for severe injury, failed molt, or prolonged decline.