The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula is a species of New World Tarantula. They are native to parts of Northern Venezuela. The scientific name for these spiders is Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens and they are often referred to as the GBB Tarantula for short.
In this article, if we reference the Green Bottle Blue Tarantula, Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens or GBB Tarantula, just know that we are referring to the same species of spider.
Some of the other commonly kept species of New World Tarantulas include the Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula, Guyana Pink Toe Tarantula, Mexican Fireleg Tarantula, Pumpkin Patch Tarantula and the Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula.
Taxonomy
The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula belongs to the Family Theraphosidae. This essentially means that the spider is a tarantula and over 1,000 different spiders have been identified as part of the family Theraphosidae.
Theraphosidae belongs to the infraorder Mygalomorphae. While many of the other species in this infraorder are often referred to as tarantulas or ‘false tarantulas’, the species in the family Theraphosidae are considered the ‘true’ tarantulas.
Tarantulas can be found throughout the American Continent (excluding Canada), Africa, parts of Mediterranean Europe, South-East Asia and Australia.
The GBB Tarantula was first described in the early 1900’s under the name Eurypelma cyaneopubescens and later classified under the genus Aphonopelma.
However, in 1997 the species was again reclassified as Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, resulting in the creation of the genus Chromatopelma. The GBB Tarantula is the only species in this genus.
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Description
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens is a vibrant multi-coloured tarantula with a green carapace and metallic blue legs. The abdomen of the spider is generally bright orange.
Even the spiderlings have a very attractive appearance, boasting a golden carapace with gold legs. They tend to have a gold/black striped abdomen. As they mature, they develop their typical adult colors.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula is native to the Paraguana Peninsula of Northern Venezuela. This peninsula is located in the North West of the country. The island of Aruba is located just 27km to the North.
They are generally found in the arid regions of this peninsula where they live in webbed burrows under bushes and tree roots. The entrance to their burrow is typically extended with funnel shaped webbing.
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula as Pets
The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula is a great species to keep as a pet. If you are looking for a display spider, there are very few species that can compare to the vibrant colors of a GBB Tarantula.
While these tarantulas are considered to be quite docile, they can spook easily. This can result in them flicking hairs or fleeing, although they prefer to flee. It is not recommended to handle this species regularly. They have a very good feeding response and will lunge at prey as soon as it is offered.
It is believed that the venom of this species is mild but not enough scientific research has been conducted on it yet.
As they are a fast species that spook easily, they are ideal for someone looking for a display tarantula as opposed to a pet they can take out and handle regularly. The speed of these spiders can be a little intimidating for beginners or keepers used to slower spiders.
Other than speed and tendency to spook, these spiders tick many of the boxes you want in a beginner level spider such as feeding response, ease of care, setup requirements etc.
Feeding a Green Bottle Blue Tarantula
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens is renowned as being an excellent feeder. The elaborate, dense webbing in the enclosure allows a GBB Tarantula to feel the vibrations from its prey as soon as it is dropped into the enclosure.
Slings can be fed flightless fruit flies or pinhead crickets every 3-4 days. As they grow, you will need to increase the size of the prey you offer. Juveniles can be offered one medium or large cricket, 2 times a week depending on their size.
You can feed a large GBB Tarantula 2 large crickets or roaches, once per week or continue feeding one cricket, two times a week, whichever you prefer. A good rule of thumb is to feed insects that are slightly smaller than the size of the spiders abdomen.
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Housing
It is vital to keep your Green Bottle Blue Tarantula in a dry, well ventilated enclosure. When these spiders were first kept as pets, they were considered a fragile species and difficult to keep alive.
This isn’t the case as these spiders thrive in captivity. The problem was that in the early days, they were kept in humid, heavily misted enclosures which proved fatal for many GBB Tarantulas.
These spiders typically live-in burrows so you should provide enough dry substrate to accommodate this. Others will construct elaborately webbed dens on the surface of the substrate.
Dried coco fibre tends to be the substrate of choice for many Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens keepers but they will do well on a variety of other substrates also.
They are often considered to be a semi-arboreal species, but they are more of a terrestrial species that will venture off the ground. They don’t need excessive height but will utilise a bit of depth.
You should include some cage furnishings. Your spider will use these more as anchor points for their dense webs as opposed to climbing on the furnishings themselves. Coco bark and fake plants work well for this.
A very small fresh water dish can be offered but care must be taken not to raise the humidity too much. Ventilation is the key here, especially with spiderlings that are typically kept in small poorly ventilated setups. You should aim for a humidity of 30%, making sure it doesn’t rise above 50%.
Temperature
You can keep your Green Bottle Blue Tarantula at room temperature. If the temperature is comfortable for you, it will be comfortable for them. This adds to their ease of care as you don’t need any special heating equipment.
However, if you live in a cold climate, you may want to add some supplemental heat during the winter months. You typically want to keep them between a temperature range of 70F-80F.
Substrate
The Green Bottle Blue Tarantula is known to burrow from time to time. This should be taking into consideration when choosing a suitable substrate. This is particularly true for a juvenile GBB Tarantula.
They like to live in a more arid climate so this makes choosing your substrate a lot easier. Simply add a layer of substrate deep enough to allow your spider to burrow and ensure it is not too densely packed.
You can use a variety of different substrates with many keepers having great success with dried coco fibre.
Green Bottle Blue Tarantula Handling
It is not recommended to handle the Green Bottle Blue Tarantula regularly. While they are not an aggressive species, they do tend to spook very easily. This can result in them fleeing in any direction.
They are a very fast species of tarantula that can be difficult to handle, especially when they are trying to flee. They may also flick hair if they feel threatened.