Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Care

The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula is one of the most beautiful tarantulas you might ever come across and are pretty straight-forward to care for.

If you are thinking of keeping one of these beautiful tarantulas, this is the article for you. If you want to house one properly, you must learn how to care for one correctly.

They are known as good beginner-friendly spiders, but it does not mean that their needs are just like all other tarantulas. Each species has its own specific needs for survival and comfort.

Read on to find out more about how to care for a Green Bottle Blue Tarantula!

Bioactive Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Setup Product List

• Enclosure: Exo Terra Glass terrarium kit
• Soil: Zoo Med Reptisoil
• Moss: Zoo Med terrarium moss
• Hide: Zoo Med cork hide
• Leaf Litter: Sungrow leaf litter
• Hygrometer: Zoomed hygrometer
• Cleaners: Springtails & Isopods
• Water Dish: Zoo Med small water dish

Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Facts

• Experience Level: Beginner
• Family: Theraphosidae
• Scientific Name: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
• Alternate Name(s): Greenbottle tarantula
• Size: 4.5 to 6 inches
• Diet: Carnivore
• Lifespan: 5 years
• Average Price Range: $40 to $80 per spider
• Where to buy: joshsfrogs.com, backwaterreptiles.com, myhomenature.com

Appearance

In their burrows, they create webbing that looks like a funnel of string.

They will also use this funnel to catch any prey that tries to enter their burrow.

They are known as “bird spiders” because they will sometimes eat smaller birds or baby birds.

These have to be some of the most beautiful tarantulas. They have metallic blue and green legs, a bright orange abdomen, and a spectacular blue-green carapace.

Their vibrant colors can range from darker greens to brighter greens with metallic blue illumination. You might see some with more orange coloration as well, depending on the spider.

These guys are about medium-sized, so they don’t take up that much space. Female spiders will be a bit larger than the males, though.

Natural Habitat

Green Bottle Blues are native to the Paraguaná Peninsula, near Punto Fijo of Venezuela. They can be found in burrows under bushes or tree roots and other local foliage in northern Venezuelan deserts.

Their intricate funnel-like webbing allows them to shelter themselves from the harsh, dry climates of the desert and can double as an insect-catching net.

Coming from an arid, tropical desert means you will have to mimic that environment as accurately as possible for their enclosure.

It is said that keeping them in captivity can be a little difficult since they come from an arid climate with temperatures of anywhere from 73 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit and practically no rainfall throughout the year.

Diet

These tarantulas typically feed on insects, bug hatchlings, scorpions, worms, and mice. They will essentially eat anything that they can grab.

Baby Green Bottle Blues will feed on pinhead crickets and other smaller bugs, whereas adults will eat a wide range of prey.

Check out this video of a beautiful pet Green Bottle Blue feeding in its enclosure:

Lifespan

While females can live from anywhere up to 12 to 14 years, males have a significantly shorter lifespan, only living for around 4 years. This means that if you are taking care of your female tarantula properly, you will be able to enjoy her for a very long time.

In captivity, sometimes females can live up to 20 years, depending on their husbandry and environment.

If you are watching their temperatures and feeding them well, they should grow pretty fast. Some may molt every 3 to 6 months, depending on their growth rate, which will depend on feeding and environment temperatures.

In the wild, they are said to eat more to rush their way into adulthood in order to defend themselves from predators.

Most tarantulas should be fully matured when they reach a leg span of 4.5 to 6 inches. All their colors will have also come in fully and vibrantly.

Breeding

Green Bottle Blue Tarantulas will lay around 100 eggs, which they will wrap in a silk-spun ball to protect.

The male tarantula weaves a pre-packaged silk ball with their deposited sperm, saves it in their pedipalps, finds a female mate, and then will attempt to deposit it into the female’s spermathecae, where she will store it.

However, this process may or may not happen if the female does not find the male worthy, to which she will then cannibalize him. If she finds a mate or worthy suiter, she will allow him to deposit his sperm web ball into her spermathecae, and copulation will commence.

If the male is successful, he has a few minutes to run away since female tarantulas will be entranced with chemicals right after fertilization. If he is unable to escape her during that short time, he might be her dinner.

Tarantulas mating is more like an aggressive transaction rather than a sexual experience and it is life or death for the male.

She will then guard her protected clutch of eggs for a span of about 6 to 8 weeks, which is the average incubation period until they hatch.

Watch this keeper’s first attempt at breeding their Green Bottle Blue:

If you are going to attempt to breed your spiders, you need to be fast and ready to remove the male after he fertilizes her.

Legality

In most states, tarantulas are legal to keep. Although there may be local laws that restrict captivity, breeding, and such. Check out your local laws to find out what is and is not allowed in your state or city.

You can find them at pet stores easily, but we recommend you also try to look for a rescue group or at least make sure you buy from a licensed, reputable breeder.

Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Care Sheet

Enclosure

You will want to keep your Green Bottle Blue in at least a 5 to 10-gallon tank or a terrarium with dimensions of at least 18 x 18 x 18 inches. This can be either a glass terrarium or plastic container with adequate ventilation.

A good rule of thumb to follow when finding the correct size enclosure for your pet tarantula is to get one that is at least three times the length of its leg span. Just make sure that it is a secure and well-ventilated enclosure.

Green Bottle Blues are semi-arboreal but do not typically dwell in high heights. They enjoy sticks and branches for a little bit of anchorage.

You should give them a good amount of foliage and cork.

You must keep a water dish in the enclosure for them as well.

Substrate

Since these tarantulas like to burrow, you want to give them something that is firm, dry, and similar to foliage they would find in the wild. They are also extensive webbers, which is something to keep in mind as well.

A good mix for the substrate can consist of vermiculite, dirt, peat moss, and coconut fiber. Give them at least 4 inches of substrate to allow natural burrowing habits.

Accessories

Due to their burrowing and webbing needs, placing a piece of bark in their enclosure can be a great way to give them a little hide or burrow under when they are not making their intricate webs.

Temperature

Just like their natural habitat of tropical deserts, this species of tarantulas like temperatures between 78 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. You can acheive this by placing a heating pad under one side of their tank, also giving them the option of a cooler side.

Humidity

Tropical deserts will have drier climates, so when it comes to humidity, they prefer lower levels around 40% to 60%. This amount of humidity can be achieved just by having a small, shallow water dish in their enclosure.

These tarantulas are sensitive to dampness so it is important that you keep their enclosure dry by checking the humidity levels, allowing good ventilation, and removing any leftover or uneaten food as soon as possible.

Lighting

Tarantulas do not need any lighting in their enclosure. Actually, it should be avoided because not only are their bodies highly sensitive to sunlight and could burn, but it can also mess with their sleep schedule.

You can use LED lighting shortly, but it is not recommended for prolonged periods.

A heating pad should be used instead to keep temperatures regulated.

Feeding

When keeping Green Bottle Blues in captivity, you can feed them grasshoppers, crickets, small roaches, and superworms.

A good rule of thumb when it comes to feeding slings or spiderlings is to feed them as often as they will accept the food since they are trying to grow. Juveniles, or when they reach around over an inch, can be fed every three days or so.

Adult tarantulas can be fed once or twice a week.

Temperament

While these species of spiders are very docile, they do still have venom and urticating hairs as self-defense. Of course, they will not use these defensive methods as long as you don’t give them a reason to.

While they are beginner-friendly and rarely show aggression, they can sometimes be a little bit easily startled. They don’t usually have the tendency to bite and would probably show signs of discomfort first.

They are easily scared and will be skittish, causing them to move faster, which can sometimes result in self-injury.

If you do aggravate your spider, even after seeing signs to leave it alone and get bitten, their venom will only cause slight irritation to your skin, but it will not kill you.

This is a super rare case since they do not typically bite humans.

Handling

While these spiders are beautiful, they are known for being too defensive as pets. They can be very nervous as you try to handle them, which might cause them to jump off you or dart around quickly, which could cause them to end up accidentally injuring themselves.

This is why it is best to handle these spiders while on a carpeted floor and only while sitting.

Since they are nervous creatures, you should be very aware of their reactions to your handling them. If they are flicking their hair or acting defensively, moving quickly, you should probably take it easy on them.

They also don’t like when anyone or anything invades their turf, so keep an eye on their reaction, even while you’re not handling them.

You may need to take a while to get them accustomed to you, and they might never. It really depends on your spider.

Some keepers say that when they are younger, they are more skittish and that they will eventually grow out of it over time.

It is important that you try to not handle them too much if they do seem easily stressed. So pay attention to your tarantula’s actions.

Conclusion

These beautiful spiders can be a really great display spider due to their flashy, brilliant colors and unique movements. They are really entertaining to watch, are great for beginners due to their docile nature, and don’t require too much effort to care for.

Although they aren’t the most cuddly pets due to their defensive behavior, they will most likely not bite you if you try to handle them.

Green Bottle Blue Tarantulas can be the perfect pet for you and if you want one, you should make sure you can provide it with all its needs and wants.

A happy tarantula and a healthy terrarium make for a beautiful display for your home filled with love and care.