Tico
Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula (Theraphosa blondi)
About me
| Basic Info | Home: | Where ever there's a rainforest in South America, you'll find us creeping and crawling. |
|---|---|---|
| Size: | From our front leg to our back leg we can measure around 12 inches, pretty big in the spider world I'm sure you'll agree. In fact we're the second biggest spider on the planet, only the giant huntsman beats me on leg span – raging! | |
| Favourite foods: | Now, many may presume that being a golaith bird eating tarantula I would enjoy a bit of bird eating – wrong! Insects and the like are the way forward, although I'm quite partial to a rodent, lizard or a venomous snake if the mood takes me – not so venomous now, eh snakey boy? Yum yum! | |
| Environment: | You can't beat a marsh, a swamp, a marshy swamp or a swampy marsh. | |
| Sounds like: | HISSSSSSSSSSSS! |
| Further Info |
Like most tarantulas, goliath bird eaters are quite harmless to humans. They possess fangs with venom which can break human skin. If it were to do so, however, the effects of the venom would be comparable to a wasp’s sting, because humans are simply too large for the venom to have any really dangerous effects. A bite from a tarantula tends to be the last resort when threatened. First, they tend to use a method of defence whereby hairs are flicked towards the predator from the abdomen using the back legs. This method of defence is designed to cause eye and skin irritation so that the tarantula can then escape the distracted itchy eyed predator. Although these forms of defence are not particularly harmful to humans goliaths are known for their aggression, i.e. they utilise these defences often. Unlike some other spiders, tarantulas do not weave webs or jump any distances in order to catch their prey. Instead, they are formidable predators, using their stealth and strength to pounce on potential prey and killing them with their venomous fangs. Having paralysed their meal, the tarantula will then inject juices to soften the tissues so that the meal can be drunk rather than chewed! This is because they don’t have the teeth to do so. Females always mate, but eventually kill their mates. Females almost always outlive males, with a lifespan of up to 25 years; males have a lifespan of up to 6 years. |
|---|---|
| Useful links |