Venezuelan Suntiger (Psalmopoeus irminia) Care Sheet

Scientific Name: Psalmopoeus irminia

Common Name: Venezuelan Sun Tiger, Sun Tiger Tarantula

Type: Arboreal

Category: New World

Endemic Location: Venezuela, North Guyana, North Brazil, Paracaíma

Body length: 2.25” (6cm)

Diagonal Leg Span (DLS): 5.5”(14cm)

Urticating Hairs: No

Growth Rate: Fast

Life Expectancy: Females 12 years / Males 4 years

Recommended Experience Level: Intermediate - Advanced

Psalmopoeus irminia, commonly known as the Venezuelan Suntiger, is a New World, arboreal tarantula first  small , by F. Saager . This tree dwelling tarantula has a deep black color with bright orange chevrons on the legs and a tiger striped pattern on the abdomen. This species is indigenous to the area of Venezuela and Guyana but was also observed in 2016 in Brazil. Unlike most New World tarantulas, this species does not have urticating hairs, but makes up for this lack of defense mechanism by being very fast and agile and having a venom stronger than most NW species. The Venezuelan Suntiger is sexually dimorphic, meaning you can tell the females and males apart by their appearance.  Males of this species are smaller than the females and have grayish brown color instead of deep black coloration of the mature females. These T’s are fast growing and once mature, females are generally around 5-6“ for an adult female while males are usually around 4-5”. Females typically only produce 50-200 eggs per sac, but are able to double clutch, or drop another egg sac without mating a second time. 

Even though this species is technically arboreal, meaning they live above the ground in trees, in captivity they usually are more semi-arboreal. I keep my spiderlings in an acrylic or clear plastic arboreal spiderling enclosure with more height than width. I fill the enclosure up ⅓ with substrate and put in a sliver of cork bark, small stick, or large plastic leaf. I put a small water dish on the floor of the enclosure or superglue it to the side of the enclosure about an inch off the ground. At this size, the suntiger will spend a lot of time burrowed into the ground or will web up the area where the cork bark and ground meet making a dirt curtain with substrate or moss and stay well hidden. I keep the substrate somewhat damp, but not swampy or over saturated. As they grow into juveniles, usually over 2-2.5 inches, I move them into acrylic arboreal enclosures with more height that width. I put glue a piece of vertical cork bark to the side of the enclosure, or just lean it at an angle and provide about 2.5-3 in of substrate. Again I provide a water dish at ground level or glues to the side of the enclosure just off the ground. I don't put it to high in the enclosure, because this t will spend a lot of time near the bottom of the enclosure, and I usually don't put it right on the ground as it will most likely get webbed over constantly. I over flow the water dish so the substrate retains a little moisture, but avoid overdoing it as it could lead to a stuffy environment and mold growth, I provide plenty of side ventilation and put sphagnum moss or broken up leaf litter on the ground so the T can use this in building its dirt curtains. And for adults, I keep mine in the exo terra nano tall or nano small enclosures and give them about 3-4” of substrate and hollow cork bark or a few branches leaned against the side of the enclosure with fake plants hanging down. I try to give this Tarantula plenty of places to hide in hopes it will spend more time out of his burrow. 

  As far as feeding, I give my spiderlings FFF or small roaches or crickets til they over 0.5” and then just drop in a small cricket twice a week until they are premolt and wait about 3-4 days after a molt before i try to feed them again. Juveniles over 2.5”  I feed 2-3 medium crickets every 5-7 days depending on the size of the abdomen and avoid feeding them any prey larger than the T. And for adults I feed 6-10 large crickets every 7-10 days and occasionally switch it up with meal worms. I avoid feeding them for about 10-14 days after a molt to give there fangs plenty of time to harden back up.

 Of all the T’s in this genus, the irminia is the most defensive in my experience. They are very fast and will teleport from one side of the enclosure to the other before I can even react. That coupled with the fact their venom is stronger than most NW, this isn’t the best beginner tarantula, but makes an excellent species for anyone with some experience with NW t’s to begin to make the transition to keeping OW tarantulas. I find that if you provide ample places for your T to hide and feel secure, they are more likely to retreat out of sight than to give a threat pose. And i Usually tap on the glass a few times before opening their enclosure to give them time to retreat as opposed to just opening it up and startling them. Reports online state their venom has reactions like vomiting, sweating, lightheadedness and muscle-spasms for a couple days. However, most say that aside the pain of the extremity the bite happened on, all symptoms were gone the next day. Again, a bite is something you really don’t have to worry about if you have a proper set up, warn the tarantula before crossing into its space, and have a catch cup handy and use tongs when dropping in prey or removing a water dish. As long as you are mindful and respect the Ts space, there is little to no chance of a bite. This T can be very secretive, spending weeks in hiding and only venturing out late into the night. Which makes it even more amazing when you catch this species out and about in full display.