Haplopelma cf. schmidti

This is by far one of the most impressive Asian tarantulas and possibly the largest of all Asian tarantulas.

It is a heavily bodied species and displays different shades of gold and yellow (depending on the color form) and is a real beast. It requires a rather spacious terrarium with deep substrate to establish a burrow in. It is very important to avoid overheating the enclosure. Room temperature is preferable for this species. In nature, at the Tam-Dao (Northern Vietnamese studied population), H. schmidti excavates burrows in clay soil slopes in very humid forest areas at higher elevations, where during the cool period, the night temperatures drop below zero.

Females have been found with egg sacs from the middle of summer months to late autumn. An egg sac usually contains 180 – 200 spiderlings that are surprisingly large (1cm), with huge appetites and are fast-growing. Females reach maturity at about 2 years, and males even quicker. A very interesting feature of this particular tarantula is maternal care, which is rarely seen and recorded among Theraphosids in nature. The females not only defend the offspring but also feed them pre-killed prey (E. Rybaltovsky, 2002).

There are two main color forms of this species: the “Gold” and the “Dark,” clearly separated by color. The “Gold” one is overall yellow/gold/brown, and the “Dark” has some yellow hairs on an overall dark coloration. A closely related species, Haplopelma hainanum from Hainan Island, is sometimes mistaken for the dark form or sold as a “black form.” These are, in fact, different species. This species is a must for any Asian tarantula lover. But be warned, it is a very aggressive and fast spider.