Gold Banded Sunburst Dwarf Tarantula (Neischnocolus sp. Panama / formerly Ami sp. Panama) Care Sheet

Scientific Name: Neischnocolus sp. Panama (formerly Ami sp. Panama)

Common Name:Gold Banded Sunburst Dwarf

Type: Terrestrial

Category: New World

Endemic Location: Panama

Body Length: 1.25” (3cm)

Diagonal Leg Span (DLS): 3” (7.5cm)

Urticating Hairs: Yes

Growth Rate: Medium-Slow

Life Expectancy: Females 12 years / Males 3 years

Recommended Experience Level: Beginner

Neischnocolus sp. Panama (formerly known as Ami sp. Panama), which in the hobby is often referred to by the common name Gold Banded Sunburst Dwarf Tarantula, is a new world terrestrial tarantula that is endemic to Central American country of Panama. This species was most recently observed around the La Chorrera area where the weather is described as hot and oppressive year round. With temperature between 75-89f rarely dropping below 72f or going over 92f. . The temperatures remain fairly constant in this range year round and the Humidity in the region varies throughout the year but averages around 70-80% This is a slow growing, dwarf tarantula that is relatively new to the hobby. Until recently they were somewhat rare in the us though they are beginning to grow in popularity. N. sp Panama is a gorgeous and unique looking tarantula and information on this species is not easy to come by. This species recently went through a taxonomic change as Ami was discovered to essentially belong to a genus already described as Neischncoclus. There is still a a lot of research going on regarding the species in this genus and hopefully more detailed information will come out about these t’s in the near future and undoubtedly there will be further name changes as researchers learn more and more accurately identify these species. Being a dwarf tarantula, this species will not grow very large. Females only grow to about 2.5-3” in size with males being a little smaller. As slings these spiders are extremely small and take a while to grow into their adult size. And with the lack of information readily available online, the husbandry of this species has been difficult for many people to figure out. As with most new species introduced into the hobby, we will have to adapt our husbandry as more information comes out from either scientific research or through the cumulative knowledge of fellow keepers sharing their experiences keeping this T in captivity. I have combed the internet and talked to many other keepers that have this species in their collections and combined that with my own experiences to detail the ideal husbandry for this species at this time. But bear in mind this may change over time as more details regarding this tarantula come to light. 

 I keep my slings in a small dram vial filled at least ⅔ the way up with substrate and keep the substrate damp, but not swampy and overly moist. I put in a little bit of sphagnum moss to help maintain a higher humidity level and for the sling to use as a hide when it wants to retreat to safety. I use a thumb tack to make some holes in the lid of the dram vial so there is some air circulation, which helps lower the risk of mold, but am very mindful to not make the ventilation holes too large as the sling could escape if you're not careful. I keep the enclosure in my spiderling climate controlled set up that keeps the ambient room temperature at about 78f (25c), which is slightly warmer than I keep the majority of my tarantulas. 

 When they have outgrown that enclosure, I move them into a basic spiderling acrylic enclosure and provide more width than height. Again, I fill the enclosure up with at least ⅔ substrate and occasional pour some water down the corner of the enclosure to keep the bottom layers of substrate damp while allowing the top layer to stay dry which provides ample humidity without making the enclosure swampy. I provide a hide and small water dish and place some sphagnum moss in the enclosure to help maintain a little added humidity. 

 Once they have outgrown that enclosure, I will move them into an acrylic juvenile enclosure with more width than height. Again I provide a water dish and hide, some fake plants and sphagnum moss. I still keep the bottom layers of substrate more damp and allow the top level to stay mostly dry. And for my adult female, once she was beginning to look a little too cramped in her juvenile enclosure. I moved her into a nano wide exo terra enclosure which seems to provide more than enough space for her. I provide a hide and some fake plants as well as a large water dish and sphagnum moss. I keep the bottom layer of substrate damp and allow the top to remain dry. As a juvenile and adult I keep this tarantula at the same room temperature i keep most my tarantulas, 70-75f (21-24c) This is a slightly shy tarantula and mine spends half the time in her hide though she doesn't do much burrowing. When approaching a molt I have observed her webbing up the mouth of the hide and using a little substrate and moss to make a dirt curtain, but she hasn't really dug down and created a wall of substrate like some species will do when sealing off their burrow. Once she has molted and hardened up she emerges from her hide and spends most of her time out on display, usually relaxing around the water dish or on top of her cork bark hide. I have tried wetting down one half of the substrate to see if she prefers the dry substrate or the damp substrate and she seems to go back and forth between the two with no observable preference for one over the other. For the most part this species is docile and relaxed, but when constantly annoyed or startled, they are capable of bolting and quickly moving across their enclosure, up the side and escaping before you have much time to react. When prodded to move in one direction using a paintbrush or plastic straw from behind, this species is very stubborn and will slowly move forward and sometimes just refuses to move at all. Though anytime I try to direct her movement from the front, using a straw gently on her front legs to coax her into moving to the side or backwards, she is very quick to attack the straw and has even given me a threat pose once or twice. I don't handle my tarantulas, but if I ever had to pick her up for any reason, I would be very cautious trying to handle her coming from the front. Usually this T has an amazing feeding response but not a huge appetite. She usually quickly attacks the first feeder I drop into the enclosure, but if I try to feed her a second one, it usually goes ignored and I remove it the next day. 

 As far as feeding, I feed my spiderlings Flightless Fruit Flies when they are under 0.5” (1cm) about twice a week. The trick is to place your container of Flightless Fruit Flies in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes prior to feeding the sling. Then when you remove them the flies are very lethargic and barely moving at all. I knock a few of them out into a cup and quickly drop them into the spiderling enclosure. Once the flies warm up they become very active again and are quickly taken down by the sling. If you do not have access to FFF you can also rip of cricket legs and drop them in for the slings as they are scavengers at this size. You can also prekill small crickets and roaches by cutting them in half and dropping in a little piece for your sling. If you use this method, I suggest not dropping in the head of the cricket, meal worm, or roach as sometimes the head part of the body will still move around and can possibly bite your smallest slings. Also be sure to check on your slings the next day and remove any uneaten leftovers to avoid mold and mite infestations. 

 For juveniles over 1.25” (3cm) I feed 2 or 3 small crickets once a week. This spider can be finicky, so if they don't eat the crickets with in 24 hours, I remove any uneaten prey and try again next week. Sometimes all I can get them to eat is one or two small crickets every week or two. As the size of crickets can be somewhat relative, I typically feed tarantulas at this size crickets or roaches about ½-⅔ ‘s the size of the spider.

For my adult, I feed her about 2 or 3 medium crickets, or one large cricket every 2-3 weeks. Again, she isn't the biggest eater, so sometimes she will go 2-3 months without taking a cricket but it is usually because she is premolt. Once she has molted I wait about 10 days for her to harden up before offering her any prey.

  This is one of my favorite New World tarantulas and i expect it to become much more popular in the hobby as time goes on. Dwarf tarantulas are fascinating to me because they are so small when full grown but still have all the characteristics of larger tarantulas like intricate and colorful markings and powerful feeding responses. Being a New World tarantula, this little species does have Type 1 urticating hairs, but in all my interactions with mine, even when I have irritated her to the point she bolts, or attacks the paintbrush, mine has never kicked any hairs at me and I have never noticed any itching or discomfort after rehousing or interacting with her. Dwarf tarantulas are also nice because it gives me the ability to have multiple full grown adult tarantulas in my collection that don't take up a whole lot of space. This species will never really need any enclosure larger than an 8x8 setup like I have her in now and some may even get away with keeping theirs in something slightly smaller. This is a gorgeous tarantula that I am always quick to show off with the gold bands on the legs which fade from black by the body to more of a deep dark blue at the ends and the spattering of colors on the abdomen really make this species one of a kind.