Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula (Caribena Versicolor): Care Guide And Species Profile

Table Of Contents

Origin And Natural Habitat Scientific Classification Species Overview Appearance And Size Housing Enclosure’s Decorations Substrate Water And Humidity Heating And Temperature Diet And Nutrition Compatibility Behavior And Temperament Handling Health And Lifespan Price References And Further Reading

Origin And Natural Habitat

The Antilles pinktoe tarantula is an extremely popular species in the tarantula pet trade. This species originates in the Caribbean, specifically from the close-lying islands of Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique. Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are also frequently called the Martinique red tree spiders due to their distinctive coloring and the fact that most of them are found explicitly in Martinique.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Subphylum	Chelicerata
Class	Arachnida
Order	Araneae
Infraorder	Mygalomorphae
Family	Theraphosidae
Genus	Caribena
Species	Caribena Versicolor

Species Overview

Common Name	Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula
Other Names	Martinique Pink Toe Martinique Pinktoe Martinique Pink Toed Tarantula Martinique Pinktoed Tarantula Martinique Red Tree Spider Martinique Red Tree Tarantula Antilles Pink Toe Antilles Pinktoe Antilles Pinktoed Tarantula
Origin	Caribbean
Category	New World
Lifestyle	Arboreal
Temperament	Nervous
Minimum Tank Size	Length: 12 inches (30 cm) Width: 12 inches (30 cm) Height: 18 inches (38 cm)
Temperature	75°-85° F (23°-29° C)
Humidity	75-85%
Diet	Carnivorous
Leg Span	Up to 6 inches (15 cm)
Urticating Hairs	Yes
Venomous	Yes
Growth Rate	Fast
Lifespan	Females: 12 years Males: 2-3 years
Experience Required	Beginner

Appearance And Size

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are very distinctive and easy to notice due to their unique color. Spiderlings are steel blue-black before their color changes as they get older. On the other hand, adult Antilles pinktoe tarantulas’ abdomens are covered with red hair, their carapace is metallic green, and their legs are red, pink, and brown. Male antilles pinktoe tarantulas are usually leaner and hairier than the females. However, both usually have a leg span of about 6 inches (15 cm)

Housing

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are arboreal, so they are frequently found on trees, mid-sized plants, or cracks in buildings (when available) in the wild. It’s essential you get an enclosure for them that replicates their natural habitat in the wild. So ensure you house them in a sizable enclosure with enough space to make them comfortable.

The enclosure should also be well-ventilated and tall enough to make placing some plants and cork barks easier. You might not need to worry about ventilation if you buy an enclosure since most store-bought enclosures are already adequately ventilated. However, make sure you drill enough holes if you’re building a custom enclosure for your antilles pinktoe tarantula. Just ensure the holes aren’t too big so they can’t escape.

The ”well ventilation” rule still applies to the enclosures you use to house spiderlings. Spiderlings can be kept in smaller containers since they don’t require much space like adults. So feel free to use deli cups or any other small container to house them. Just ensure the container has enough ventilation holes or an opening so air can always get inside.

Enclosure’s Decorations

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas require structures in their enclosure to hide and spin their webs. That’s why some cork barks, any sturdy decorative material, and plants must always be in their enclosure at all times. You can decide to go for artificial or natural plants to place in their enclosure. It doesn’t matter which you choose as long as the plants are sturdy enough to hold an Antilles pinktoe tarantula’s weight. Cork barks and plants also act as anchor points for Antilles pinktoe tarantulas webs. So it’s best to place them close to each other, so the tarantula has an effective way of building its home.

Substrate

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are not burrowers, so you don’t need to make the substrate in their enclosure too deep. Just ensure the substrate is a bit moist to help with the humidity level inside the enclosure. You can build the substrate in their enclosure with a layer of semi-damp sphagnum moss or coco fiber.

Water And Humidity

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas require a well-ventilated enclosure and a fair amount of humidity to be comfortable. So you always need to ensure the substrate in their enclosure is neither too dry nor too wet since wet substrates can attract mold and other nasty stuff that can harm the tarantula. You should also keep the humidity level in the enclosure between 75% – 80% since that’s precisely how they like it. Getting a hygrometer to calculate the humidity level in the enclosure should be one of your priorities if you want your antilles pinktoe tarantula to live a long life.

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are arboreal, so they frequently spend their time on the cork barks and plants in their enclosure. As such, they might hardly come down to get a drink if you place the water bowl on the ground level of their enclosure. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put a water bowl in their enclosure, though, because placing it in their enclosure is the simplest way to ensure your caribena versicolor always gets a drink. You can stick the water bowl to a plant or cork bark in the enclosure to elevate it. That way, your caribena versicolor can always get a drink even when it’s up top. Having a water bowl and misting the enclosure also helps to regulate the humidity levels. Just ensure you don’t use too much water while misting and wait for the droplets to dry off before misting again.

Misting your caribena versicolor’s enclosure is more vital when they are still spiderlings. Spiderlings are too small to use water bowls, so misting their enclosure is the easiest way to ensure they always have some water available whenever they want a drink. Feel free to also use a bottlecap to store water for them if you don’t want to mist their enclosure often.

Heating And Temperature

The temperature of the natural habitat of antilles pinktoe tarantulas is usually around 80 – 84 F. So ensure the temperature in their enclosure is also within this range. Utilizing a heat mat or a non-light-emitting heat lamp is the easiest way to ensure the temperature in their enclosure is within the desired range. That’s why you need to get either of them as soon as possible once you have an antilles pinktoe tarantula.

The best way to heat an antilles pinktoe tarantula’s enclosure is by placing the heat source at one end of the enclosure and regulating the heat source, so the other end is relatively cooler. Creating a heat gradient ensures your caribena versicolor always has the opportunity to pick which part it’s more comfortable with at all times. You can also easily keep track of the temperature of the enclosure with any handy thermometer. So make sure you also have one of those lying around too.

Diet And Nutrition

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are voracious eaters who only turn down meals when they are completely full or molting. Feel free to feed them a variety of feeders whenever you can. Nutritious feeders like crickets, dubia roaches, and mealworms should be the bulk of their meals. However, you can also add some small mice to spice up their diet once in a while. Antilles pinktoe tarantulas frequently eat small animals like mice in the wild. So mice are a natural food source for them. Ensure you feed them only store-bought feeders, though. You never know where the animals you catch in the wild that you want to feed your caribena versicolor have been and what parasites they have on them. So it’s best to stick to feeders primarily raised as food.

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas should feed every 5 to 10 days if they are adults and every 4 to 7 days if they are spiderlings or juveniles. So ensure you stick to these schedules as closely as possible. Nevertheless, you might have to increase or decrease their meals if they get too thin or obese. Ensure the live food you feed your caribena versicolor is always smaller than them, so they will find it easier to subdue it.

Compatibility

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are solitary creatures, so make sure you house them alone. Only place two antilles pinktoe tarantulas in the same enclosure if you want to breed them.

Behavior And Temperament

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas might look slow and calm when you watch them from afar. However, they are also very nervous but remarkably fast when threatened. They also tend to leap a lot too.

Handling

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are not the easiest tarantulas to handle, which is no surprise since they are pretty large and have urticating hairs. They are usually relatively slow but are also not as docile as other tarantulas their size.

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas should be treated as exhibition animals. So only buy them if you’re comfortable watching them from outside their enclosure. Only handle them when necessary, and be sure to keep an eye on them whenever their enclosure is open.

If you have to move your caribena versicolor, perhaps when cleaning its enclosure or transferring it to another one. Then ensure you wear a long-sleeved shirt and some gloves if you decide to hold it, especially if you are allergic to insect bites. Make sure you also wash your hands thoroughly, so you don’t get their urticating hairs on your eyes and face. You can also use a pen or any elongated tool to guide them to the new enclosure instead of holding them.

Health And Lifespan

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas will live long and healthy lives as long as they eat well and live in a sterile environment. They hardly have any health-related issues but are also frequently prone to dehydration and mites. That’s why it’s important they always have a constant water source to drink from and a clean enclosure to live in.

Maintaining their enclosure is relatively easy too. All you have to do is change the substrate in their enclosure anytime it starts smelling funny, remove remnants of food once they are done eating, and completely clean the enclosure once in a while.

Providing antilles pinktoe tarantulas only healthy feeders and maintaining the proper temperature and humidity they require also goes a long way in keeping them healthy.

Female antilles pinktoe tarantulas can live up to 12 years, while males can live up to 3 years.

Price

Antilles pinktoe tarantulas are popular in the tarantula pet trade, so prepare to spend a couple of bucks when you want to get one. Their asking price can be as low as $70 or sometimes higher than $300, depending on their sex and age.