Tarantula 1" “Antilles Pinktoe- THE PRAYING MANTIS” (Caribena versicolor)

Caribena versicolor or you may be more familiar with its common name the Martinique or Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula. This species was known for a long time as the Avicularia versicolor but was recently reclassified to the genus Caribena. This is a gorgeous species that starts off as a bright blue spiderling until it molts into its Adult coloration of greens and reds. This is a New World, arboreal tarantula that is endemic to the areas of the Caribbean, Martinique, Lesser Antilles. This is a medium growth tarantula with females living around 12 years and reaching a size of 5 - 6 inches while males live around 2 -3 years and are an inch or 2 smaller. This is a fairly docile species that is known to have mild venom, but can be fast and has a tendency to jump. For many years this species was considered to be difficult to keep and was know to fall to victim to what was called Sudden Avic Death Syndrome, which was a general term used to explain a higher rate of this species randomly dying in captivity. At that time, it was believed that humidity was key to the husbandry of this species based on the environmental conditions of the area this T comes from. So in an attempt to keep the humidity in their enclosures up, ventilation was usually reduced or keepers would mist the inside of the enclosure daily, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. What was not fully taken into  consideration at the time was that these Ts lived in the trees and even though the environment was traditionally a humid one, these Ts made there home in the trees where the coastal winds were prevalent and provided excellent air circulation and they take refuge inside tree trunks, in crevices, or under building or large leaves during downpours. So the key to keeping this species wasn’t so much the humidity you provide as it was making sure this T had excellent ventilation. 

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