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The African Horned
Tarantula (Ceratogyrus darlingi)
This
is a large fawny-brown spider first described by
Pocock in 1897. It has a very distinct 'hump or
'horn' that is rear-facing which has black lines
radiating from the horn across the carapace.
A native of Mozambique and
Zimbabwe, it lives in deep burrows from which it
emerges at night to hunt small vertebrates and
insects.
This is a very aggressive
species, certainly not for those new to the
hobby, and this spider should not be handled as a
bite from this species would be very painful,
although their venom is believed to be no more
than mildly toxic to humans.
The requirements in captivity
are:
As for keeping them as pets, many
people keep these in large 12x12x12 (inches)
tanks.
Like the other African species
they require high humidity levels (above 75%) but
you must be careful to avoid the air in the tank
becoming stagnant as this appears to be the cause
of some deaths in captivity.
As these are deep burrowers, the
ideal substrate is peat or peat/vermiculite mix,
this must be at least 4 inches deep.
An open water dish is a must, as
is regular mistings to keep that humidity level
high!
Food: All standard invertebrates
or pinkies (pre-killed NOT live!)
Geographic Range: Mozambique and
Zimbabwe (East Africa)
Aggressiveness: Generally
considered *very* aggressive.
Temperature range: 75-78
farenheit.
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