Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty Sapphire Tarantula)

Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty Sapphire Tarantula)

The Gooty Sapphire Tarantula, or Poecilotheria metallica, is a large arboreal tarantula from India. Adults have deep metallic blue legs marked with fine white striping, a metallic blue carapace (head), and the same fine striping across the abdomen, a blue so vivid it borders on electric under the right light, hence the sapphire in the name. The blue starts showing around 2 inches and keeps deepening with every molt after that, so most of that color arrives while the animal is in your care. P. metallica reaches a max diagonal leg span of about 6 to 7 inches, and females live 12 to 15 years while males live 2 to 3. The Gooty Sapphire is fast and defensive, though it would rather bolt into its tube than stand its ground, which suits keepers who want an arboreal with real presence. Grab one of the most requested old world blue tarantulas for sale today, offered here in many sizes, from spiderling to adult female.

Why do hobbyists keep the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula?

• Stunning Coloration: Deep metallic blue with fine white striping over the whole animal. This is the tarantula that stops people who do not keep spiders, and it is most of why the Gooty Sapphire is the first species a lot of people can name.
• Large Arboreal Species: Six to seven inches is a big arboreal. Plenty of tarantulas get larger, but most of the genuinely large ones are terrestrial, so a spider this size that lives its whole life off the ground is a different thing to own.
• Drastic Color Change: A spiderling is not blue yet. The blue starts showing around 2 inches and deepens with every molt after that, so raising one from small is how you watch the color arrive rather than buying it already finished.
• Active Night Hunter: These are high canopy animals and genuinely active hunters after dark, which is unusual for an old world arboreal. You get a lot more out of one than you do from a species that sits in a tube and waits.
• Iconic in the Hobby: Ask anyone outside the hobby to picture a blue tarantula and this is the one they are picturing. It has been one of the most requested species in the trade for years, and it is one of the few we are asked for by name.

How should Poecilotheria metallica be kept?

• Adult Size: Spiderlings hatch out around three quarters of an inch to an inch (0.75 to 1 inch) in diagonal leg span, growing to an adult max of about 6 to 7 inches. A large arboreal, so plan the final enclosure with real height rather than footprint.
• Enclosure: We size every arboreal tarantula enclosure to our standard Three Cage System, ahead of the animal rather than to its current size, built tall with a vertical cork tube as the centerpiece. Cage 1 runs around 5 by 5 by 8 inches, cage 2 around 10 by 10 by 14 inches, and cage 3 around 14 by 14 by 24 inches at full adult size. Pick the size above for that tier's exact setup.
• Rehousing: Two rehouses total across this species' medium to fast growth rate, reaching full adult size in about 2 to 4 years, with each enclosure lasting roughly 8 to 12 months along the way. Males often mature before ever needing that third cage. Pick the size above to see where a given animal sits on that path.
• Temperature: Keep them between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Kept on the warmer side they eat more consistently and grow quicker, and it is much closer to their natural habitat. Kept cooler they will do fine, though it is possible they run into trouble with molts, which is something we have been seeing across tropical species generally.
• Humidity: Never let the substrate dry out completely. This is a tropical species, so keep it slightly damp and top it up before it goes dry rather than after, and keep the air moving through rather than sitting still. Good ventilation is critical. Cross ventilation works best, but ample top ventilation can also be effective as long as the enclosure is not over-misted.
• Water: Provide a shallow water dish placed in an elevated position if possible. This is more natural for arboreal species and helps prevent crickets from falling in and drowning. A weekly misting is suggested as well, so the animal can drink off the side of the enclosure or its own webbing if it prefers that to the dish, as long as you are wetting surfaces rather than soaking the substrate.
• Diet: Prey length should run about a quarter of the leg span, roughly the width of the carapace. Feed at least once a week at every stage. This species has a strong feeding response and takes prey readily. Pick the size above for that tier's exact prey measurement.
• Temperament: Fast and defensive, but it would rather bolt into its tube than stand its ground. This is an old world tarantula, so it moves quicker than a new world arboreal the same size and it does not give much warning, which is typical of the Asian arboreals rather than anything unusual about this one.

Which size should I choose?

Pick the size you want above. Each size still has its own care guidance and its own price behind it, so what you see for that size is exactly what ships.

• 0.75-1": Spiderling, right around the size the species hatches at. Your cheapest way to collect this species, and the whole color change still ahead of you.
• 1-1.25": Spiderling with the most delicate stretch behind it and eating consistently, still a way off the blue.
• 1.25-1.5": Well started and holding a tube, and close enough to 2 inches that the blue is the next thing to happen.
• 2-2.5": Juvenile, and the tier where the blue starts showing. The most obvious change of the whole grow-out happens here.
• 2.5" FEMALE: Confirmed female with the blue arriving. On a species where females live 12 to 15 years against 2 to 3 for a male, having the sex settled is most of what you are buying.
• 5" MALE: Sexed male and a big animal already, with the blue well in. The quickest way to own this color at size.
• 5-5.5" FEMALE: Adult female, the full metallic blue with the white striping at its strongest, and 12 to 15 years ahead of her.

Are there any additional notes or considerations for Poecilotheria metallica?

• Old World Species: Everything about keeping one of these well is decided at setup rather than in the moment. A tube it will actually sit in, a cage you can open without reaching over the animal, and a catch cup within arm's reach on rehouse day. Get the setup right and this is a straightforward species to own, which is why so many keepers end up with more than one.
• Cork Tube Is Essential: A vertical cork tube is not decor for this species, it is the enclosure. A flat-cut piece stood upright with a lengthwise cut makes a natural hollow you can partly see into, which is how you watch one without disturbing it. Real cork or sterile natural wood from the spiderling stage helps them settle and web faster than anything else we have tested, and we stock the same cork we use ourselves on our dry goods pages.
• Success Formula: This is one of the hardier arboreals we raise, and there is a reason for it. These are high canopy animals and active hunters, built tougher than the tube dwellers that spend their lives pressed into bark lower down, which is a large part of why the species stays so popular at spiderling size. Three things carry it: substrate that never dries out completely, correctly sized prey every week, and a tube it can retreat into from day one.
• Captive Bred: All Tarantulas are 100% captive bred.

Frequently asked questions about the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula

• Which name is correct for the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula? All of them, and they are one animal. You will see it listed as the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula, the Gooty Sapphire Ornamental Tarantula, Poecilotheria metallica, and P. metallica for short. Gooty is a town in India and sapphire is the blue, so the common name is really just the place plus the color. You will also hear the whole genus called pokie tarantulas in conversation, and this one shortened to the Gooty tarantula.
• Where does the Poecilotheria metallica tarantula come from? India. The species is named for the Gooty area, which is why a spider from India ended up with a place name for a common name, and it keeps the same build and the same care as the rest of the ornamental tarantulas.
• How big does the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula get? About 6 to 7 inches in diagonal leg span. That is large for an arboreal. A few arboreals do get bigger, but most of the genuinely large tarantulas are terrestrial, so a spider this size that spends its whole life off the ground is an unusual thing to own.
• What temperature does the Gooty Sapphire Tarantula need? 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Kept on the warmer side they eat more consistently and grow quicker, and it is much closer to their natural habitat. Kept cooler they will do fine, though it is possible they run into trouble with molts, which is something we have been seeing across tropical species generally.
• Is a Poecilotheria metallica spiderling a good place to start with this species? It is the way most keepers get one, and it is why we carry it at hatch size. This genus is tougher than its reputation, the spiderlings eat readily, and since the blue does not arrive until around 2 inches, raising one yourself is how you watch that color come in rather than buying it already finished.

Listing Notes

• This is the Species Hub for the Poecilotheria metallica Gooty Sapphire Tarantula, the page that links every size we have of it. Each size we carry has its own listing with its own enclosure guidance, prey size and price, so pick the size below and that page will tell you exactly what the animal in front of you needs. If you came here hunting a Gooty Sapphire tarantula for sale, or a Poecilotheria metallica for sale, this is where every size sits side by side, and everything you need for Gooty Sapphire Tarantula care is on the size page you pick.