Sangihe Black Tarantula (Lampropelma Nigerrium)
The Sangihe Black is a moderately sized arboreal tarantula that is native to the Indonesian Island, Sangihe. While the species was initially presumed to be extinct, it was later revived from the same island in November 2007. As evident from its name, this tarantula features a black carapace which has a slight brownish tinge to it. However, unlike the other tarantulas from the ornithoctoninae subfamily, the Sangihe Black doesn’t have any tiger pattern along the abdomen of its adult females.
At first glance, they appear to be fuzzy little creatures with robust legs and clustered fringes. While their male species feature an ash colored carapace with a slight yellowish striation along the legs, the females do not display any such coloration. The Sangihe Black tends to grow pretty fast and within just two years you’d find them maturing into full grown adults.
The Sangihe Black is indigenous to the Indonesian island, Sangihe.
Preferred natural habitat
These tarantulas are arboreal in nature and are primarily found in lowlands and rain forests. While most of them inhabit the hollows and corks of trees, there are many others who prefer taking refuge in the creeks of rocks. When you visit an Indonesian rain forest, you’d find the adult females lining up in the big, mature trees. Alternatively, the younger species are found around loose barks, board walks or along the crevices of rocks.
Preferred food in the wild
The Sangihe Black is usually shy. But once it gets accustomed to its surroundings, it’ll immediately start devouring its prey. Typically, these spiders thrive on small crickets, cockroaches, earthworms and katydids.
This tarantula is semi-aggressive in nature. Although they tend to be shy in the beginning, they won’t think twice before biting you if you end up annoying them. Their bite is much more toxic than your regular tarantula. So we wouldn’t recommend beginners to pet this species.
Feeding as a pet
If you’re planning to pet a Sangihe Black, start feeding it baby crickets and small earthworms. Once it starts maturing, introduce medium sized cockroaches and grasshoppers. This tarantula is usually a slow eater in the beginning. But once they start liking their food, they’d voraciously devour it in a minute.
Life span both male and female
Both the male and female species are likely to have a lifespan of more than five years.
Pet enclosure type
Since this tarantula is arboreal in nature, you should make it a point to create a small hide-away for it. Your hide-away can feature a hollow log or small bark which is installed to their entrance hole. Since they prefer living a quiet, stress free life- it is really important to create this hiding spot. These species tend to thrive in a temperature around 22-26 degree Celsius during the day and around 20-22 degree Celsius at night. The humidity level should be moderate.
If you need help buying an enclosure why not check out our enclosure review. Click here for the article.
Pet enclosure habitat layout
Fill the vial of your tarantula with plenty of loose substrate. Once you do this, the spider will team it up with silk for making a small, snuggly home. The substrate should be at least five to ten cms deep. Likewise, you should also make it a point to keep it moist.
Mating / reproducing
The ideal time for mating your Sangihe Black tarantula is during the Spring or the Summer. Like most cases, the female will immediately devour the male right after the mating. Don’t be intimidated by this behavior because it indicates a proper, successful mating.
Once you’ve mated your spiders, dry the cage for a couple of months. You can then follow this up with proper flooding. This will automatically induce the egg laying behavior in the female. Usually, the female tarantulas lay their eggs after fall. Their egg sac is going to hatch after two to three months and one sack will contain around 120-150 spiderlings.
Like I already mentioned, the Sangihe Black grows pretty fast. Within just two years, you’d find them maturing into full-grown adults. However, their entire growth depends on your frequency of feeding. If you manage to be patient and feed them well, these fuzzy little beings can assume a legs span of around 15-17 cm.