Brachypelma Auratum – Mexican Flame Knee Tarantula
Widely popular as the Mexican Flame Knee, Brachypelma Auratam is tarantula indigenous to the Guerrero and Michocan regions of Mexico. In terms of appearance, this spider holds striking resemblance to the classic red-kneed spider of Mexico. The only aspect that distinguishes it from the former specie is its relatively darker and discrete red stripes along the carapace.
Scientific Name
Brachypelma Auratam.
Geographical distribution
The Mexican Flame Knee is native to the Guerrero and Michogan regions of Mexico.
Preferred natural habitat
This tarantula widely charters along the Savannah and Scrublands of Mexico. Certain scientists also believe them to be natives of the Guerrero and Michoacan regions.
Preferred food in the wild
The Mexican Flame Knee thrives on a diet of earthworms, crickets and grasshoppers in the wild. They are typically known to be casual eaters.
Personality
Unlike other tarantulas from the Brachypelma species, this spider is relatively docile in nature. But since they do kick urticating hairs as and when they are agitated, we would suggest you to, avoid holding them close to your body.
Brachypelma Auratam might also rupture their abdomen when they fall from a huge height. So, if you’re planning to pet them, we would suggest you to, do that on a proper surface like couch or bed.
In order to pick this tarantula, you’ll have to simply hold your hand before them. In almost every case, they will walk up to your hand on slight coaxing. Once they do that, you can gently pick up and pet them.
Feeding as a pet
Since these tarantulas have a medium to slow growth, they don’t really eat much. Most of them usually thrive on a meal of one insect once in 5 to 7 days. However, you can always feed them more frequently if they appear to be starving.
For the food, you can use any moderate sized insect like crickets, locusts or cockroaches. If your tarantula hasn’t finished their food, try to remove it by the morning.
Lifespan
While the male Mexican Flame Knee spider has a lifespan of 4 to 5 years, females can live up to 15 years in captivity.
Pet enclosure type
The Mexican Flame Knee tarantula is one of those rare species that do not require consistent care. For an adult spider, a cage of 10” X 8” will suffice. The juveniles, on the other hand, can be easily housed in relatively small containers. Typically, the size of the cage won’t really matter as these tarantulas are usually happy with whatever they end up with.
Pet enclosure habitat layout
Since the Mexican Flame Knee tarantulas aren’t known to be avid burrowers, a substrate of 1 to 3 inches will perfectly work for them. For the temperature, however, you will need a heater or heating pad. This is because the Mexican Flame Knee is habituated with living in the warm regions of Mexico. If you’re not comfortable using a heater, you can also swap it with a heating pad. For the humidity, we would recommend you to, spray your spider’s cage at least once every week. This will raise the level of humidity before it naturally drops.
In addition to this, you should also have proper provision of fresh water for your larger tarantulas. For best results, always ensure these bowls are consistently cleaned and sterilised.
Mating / reproducing
Since these tarantulas are usually docile in nature, mating them won’t be a major hassle. After the female has completed a successful course of mating, she might take several months before successfully coming up with an egg sack. Although the females have the capacity of storing sperm for a significant period, if they shed post mating, there isn’t any possibility of getting fertilised eggs. The eggs will hatch within 8 to 9 weeks after the egg sack is created.
Development rate
Like we already mentioned, the Mexican Flame Knee spider has a moderate to slow growth.
