Lasiodora parahybana

Lasiodora parahybana – Majestic giant from Brazil

With a body size of up to ten centimeters, Lasiodora parahybana is one of the largest spiders in the world. It reaches leg spans of up to 30 cm. The spider has a shaggy appearance with longer and thicker hairs. The coloration of this tarantula varies greatly. Shortly after moulting, the basic coloration is a reddish brown, as can be seen in the photo. After a few weeks, however, it changes color strongly and becomes darker and darker. So don’t be surprised if you see a completely different spider in the terrarium after a moult.

The ground-dwelling Lasiodora parahybana lives in burrows or hides under roots, pieces of bark, stones or leaves. In colder months and during moulting and brood care, it withdraws into its burrows, which it lines with spider silk for protection. Don’t be fooled by its country of origin and think about setting up a tropical terrarium for it. In Brazil, it lives in the eastern part and can be found there in dry forests and steppes. A humidity of 60 to 70 % is therefore perfectly adequate.

As with any tarantula, a water bowl for water intake should not be missing. The terrarium for an adult animal should measure 60 × 40 × 40 cm. The substrate height should be 20 cm so that it can dig itself a nice burrow and live out its natural behavior. The behavior of Lasiodora parahybana can be classified as calm. If disturbed, it withdraws rather than going into attack mode. Nevertheless, you should be careful when handling it, but that goes without saying.