Brachypelma emilia

The Brachypelma emilia, also known as red-legged tarantula or Mexican red leg, is native to Western Mexico. These spiders with dark-colored bodies have a close resemblance to the Mexican redknee tarantula. They also have a light-colored carapace at the front of which a slight black-colored triangle is present. Besides this, these Brachypelma emilia slow-moving animal species are also very famous for their use in different pet shows. Like all other tarantula species, they also have urticating hairs that they use to defend against many threats. Here, we are going to discuss many exciting facts and information about these spiders.

Brachypelma emilia habitat

These animal species have pink, red, or orange-colored second joints of their legs. The Brachypelma emilia natural habitat includes that they like to be left alone become very active at night time. Although these are the desert and dry land-dwelling spiders, they also require a small amount of water to remain hydrated during the extremely dry conditions. They are also present near the west of Sierra Madres mountain range and Mexico.

Brachypelma emilia size

These tarantulas have an average weight of about 0.03 to 0.04 pounds only. If we talk about the Brachypelma emilia male vs female, the females have a legspan of 4.9 inches and a body length of about 2.55 inches. In comparison, the males with much smaller abdomens appear to have a smaller body length than females. Their colors also become more expressive after carrying the moulting process, during which they regenerate or further develop their body parts. 

Brachypelma emilia lifespan

Like all other animals, they also possess a specific lifespan after which they die. For example, these terrestrial bird spider females have an average lifespan of up to twenty to twenty-five years, while males live a much shorter life of about seven to eight years. However, the Brachypelma emilia life expectancy in males can also increase up to nine to ten years. But they mostly appear to be dead within two years after a spermweb formation.

Brachypelma emilia diet

Like all other animal species, these terrestrial bird spiders also require a proper diet to survive. Their diet includes mammals, small birds, frogs, and reptiles, mealworms, roaches, insects, scorpions, and other spiders. They appear to be very active at night when they start hunting and searching for their food. But there are many threat chances to them as well; for example, they are also eaten by other animals.

Brachypelma emilia predators

The Brachypelma emilia spiders are eaten by other animal species in the wild as well. As we know, the spider-eating birds, snakes, lizards, moths, and hunting wasps are the natural enemies of most of the tarantulas, and they are the predators of these spiders as well. These animal species use their urticating or irritating hairs to threaten their enemies.

Brachypelma emilia behavior

These animal species’ behavior is not much different than other tarantula spiders. They have sharp bristles on their abdomens or urticating hairs, which they use during the territory conditions. These terrestrial spider birds also appear to be very calm and docile during handling situations.  

Brachypelma emilia handling

If we talk about the Brachypelma emilia temperament, they are not so aggressive but will bite during anger. These Mexican redleg tarantula spiders do not like human socialization. Due to their docile and calm nature, they are very easy to be handled. It is said that these spiders like to be handled gently and carefully, otherwise they will lose their temperament on applying much stress to them.

Brachypelma emilia growth rate

These animal species with orange or red-colored legs or a black carapace have a medium growth rate. Researches have shown that the Brachypelma emilia female spiderlings that are ¼ in size can grow up to the length of one and a half-inch in one year. They can even reach the length of three inches in three years if provided with constant temperatures, feeding, and proper care.

Brachypelma emilia as pets

These terrestrial spider birds are also kept as pets because of their calm and docile nature. In addition to this, they are very famous among the arachnid keepers, which use them for different purposes. For example, people use them in several pet shows; these spiders are also used for various pet trade purposes. The Brachypelma emilia also becomes angry about applying too much stress; otherwise they are very peaceful and do like to be handled.

Brachypelma emilia care

If people want to keep these spiders as their pets, they must take proper care of them. Following are given some of the care tips for these animal species:

1. It would help if you keep them in an enclosure that is as small as five gallons and a secure screen top to avoid escape chances
2. It would be helpful if you feed them with silkworms, waxworms, mealworms, crickets, and other insects twice a week
3. It would be helpful if you keep a shallow dish in the enclosure for drinking them well and avoiding any dehydration
4. These Brachypelma emilia spiders like to hide in dark places, so it would be helpful if you use bamboo tubes, cork bark, or driftwood
5. You should also not feed your terrestrial spider birds during the moulting process because it may lead to severe problems 

FAQ’s

Sometimes the people get confused even after reading the exciting information and facts about these terrestrial spider birds and raise some questions to make their minds clear. So, the following are given the answers to some of those raised questions:

Are there tarantulas in Mexico?

Yes, there are present many tarantulas in Mexico. For example, the Brachypelma emilia, Brachypelma vagans, and others are also present in Mexico and other nearest countries. These are all known as burrowing and terrestrial spiders.

Are Mexican redknee tarantulas aggressive?

These tarantulas depend upon their strong and powerful legs to catch and kill their prey and hunt mostly in search of food. However, they sometimes become aggressive and start biting. Their bite is seldom deadly to humans, and they like to live in the scrublands of Mexico and deserts.

Is it safe to hold a tarantula?

Some tarantula species like to be handled while most of them do not. Sometimes, people apply so much stress on them or handle them tightly that they become aggressive, thus leaving a painful bite. So, you must treat them carefully and gently.

What happens if a tarantula bites you?

If a tarantula bites a person, it will not cause much harm to him. The tarantulas’ bites are only deadly to their prey, not to humans. However, their bites will leave severe pain, irritation, itching, and redness.

Do pet tarantulas recognize their owners?

Although these animal species have unique characters due to which they are kept as pets, they can still not recognize their owners. They even do not know who is handling them.

How do you know if a tarantula is a male or a female?

The undersides of mature males’ front legs have a hook that keeps the females’ fangs away from them during mating. This is because the females can kill or eat them after having a breeding process. Furthermore, the sex organs of male spiders are known as bulbs that are present on their pedipalps.

Conclusion

As we have discussed many exciting facts and information about these Mexican red leg spiders, there are also threats. Some predators eat these animal species due to which their overall population is about to decline. That’s why they are listed in the category of critically endangered species. Instead of this, many people love to keep these spiders as pets. They are also widely used in the different pet sows, but you must take good care of them to keep these pets. For example, it would be helpful if you keep them in an enclosure of about five gallons. It would be best to take good care of these Brachypelma emilia animal species by feeding them with crickets, mealworms, and other small insects.