Last updated on July 5th, 2023 at 01:15 pm
The Goliath Birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) is the world’s biggest, heaviest spider. Keep reading to find out where the Goliath tarantula lives and other facts…
Where does the Goliath tarantula live? Its habitat is in the deep rainforests of northern South America. As a nocturnal creature, it lives in deep burrows. The Goliath tarantula eats birds, rodents, bats, and insects. Its huge, hairy body is the source of its name.
Deep rainforests of northern South America
The Goliath tarantula is one of the world’s largest spiders. It measures up to 4.75 inches (12 centimeters) in length, with legs that extend nearly a foot long. The Goliath tarantula lives in the deep rainforests of northern South America. These spiders have silk-lined burrows, and eat birds and other insects in their natural habitats.
The Goliath tarantula is native to old-growth tropical forests, where it lives in deep, abandoned burrows. It does not typically feed on birds, but instead feeds on insects and invertebrates. Though it is not a common, larger specimens have been known to feed on rodents, lizards, bats, and even deadly snakes.
The Goliath birdeater is the world’s largest spider, living deep within the Amazon rainforest. Its length is equivalent to a dinner plate! These spiders live up to 25 years. The Goliath birdeater tarantula is the largest spider on the planet in terms of body mass.
It is nocturnal
The Goliath tarantula is a nocturnal predator, feeding on rodents, frogs, and insects. While this tarantula does not usually feed on birds, it may prey on the eggs of birds and hatchlings of small snakes.
It nonetheless has a reputation as a birdeater, and its fangs are able to inject neurotoxins into its prey. It then drags its dying prey back into its burrow, injecting it with its venom. This venom serves two purposes: it immobises prey, and digests it.
Although the Goliath tarantula occasionally comes into contact with people, it does not attack humans. It typically lives in abandoned burrows dug by rodents. Females spend most of their time inside a silk-lined burrow, where they spend their days resting. A Goliath tarantula is nocturnal and does not venture more than a few feet from its burrow during the day.
It is a deep burrower
The Goliath tarantula is renowned among the tarantula species for its large size and reputation as a bird-eater. It lives in burrows that other insects have dug, or burrows that have been abandoned by rodents. It spends most of its day resting in burrows and emerges only at night to hunt for prey.
The Goliath birdeater is native to the upland rainforest regions of northern South America. This deep burrower can be up to six inches long, with a leg span of nearly a foot. The Goliath birdeater is one of the largest arachnids in the world, and even occasionally eats birds. Its genus name, “birdeater,” comes from an engraving in the 18th century, which gave the spider its name.
Victorian explorers once saw a Goliath tarantula eating a hummingbird. The truth however, is that this is a rare occurrence. These spiders spend most of their time in their burrow or at its entrance, waiting for prey. When encountered in the forest, it on the ground not, in trees.#
In fact, they are quite clumsy and will injure themselves if they fall.
It’s big – but not deadly
The goliath birdeater is considered harmless to humans, but you shouldn’t approach it. Although it has large fangs that can break through human skin, the venom in the spider’s fangs is less toxic than those in wasps.
That said, the venom can irritate skin, causing a painful and sometimes deadly reaction. The tarantula’s hair can also be irritating, and the pet owner needs to keep their environment free of debris.
The goliath birdeater is one of the largest species of tarantulas, with a body length of up to 7.5 cm and a leg span of nearly one foot. It is the largest arachnid on Earth and sometimes captures small avian prey. While the goliath tarantula is not one of the fifty species native to the United States, it is known to catch and eat birds in its natural habitats.
The Goliath Birdeater is now kept as a pet
This may surprise you if you aren’t a tarantula keeper, but the Goliath Birdeater is a great pet. They are hardy, long-lived and easy to feed. In fact, their only drawback is that they are larger than other spiders but an adult can still be housed in a 15-20 gallon tank.
These days, Goliath Birdeaters are kept as pets in North America, Europe and Asia. Though a little more expensive than common species like the Chilean Rose, they are steadily becoming more available.
If you’d like to learn more about keeping this species as a pet, check out my Goliath Birdeater husbandry guide.
