Typhochlaena seladonia (Brazilian Jewel Tarantula)

Typhochlaena seladonia (Brazilian Jewel Tarantula)

The Brazilian Jewel Tarantula is argued by some to be the pinnacle of tarantula keeping, and whether or not you land there yourself, there is no debate that Typhochlaena seladonia, T. seladonia to most keepers, is the most colorful tarantula known to science. Adults carry blue and green legs, a blue and green carapace (head) with a cream outline along the sides, and an abdomen that displays every color of the rainbow at once. Here is the part most people miss: all of that color is camouflage. On bark in nature the sheer abundance of color can appear to be any number of things, water droplets, running sap, or the texture of the tree itself, breaking up the outline of the body completely from a distance and making them much harder to spot. Up close the effect may work the opposite way. Nobody has proven why the colors are this loud, but a startle display as the animal bursts out of its trapdoor is one reasonable idea, and mimicking something toxic while being nothing of the kind is another. This is also one of the only tarantulas in the hobby that builds a trapdoor on trees, grabbing chunks of bark and web into a door that matches the surface in both color and texture, then ambushing insects that walk across it and pulling them back inside. If you want the most visually striking new world tarantula for sale anywhere, this is it.

Why do hobbyists keep Typhochlaena seladonia?

• Most Colorful Tarantula: No tarantula described by science carries more color than this one, with green, yellow, red, pink, blue and orange all present across the abdomen and blue green legs to match.
• Camouflage Master: Every one of those colors is doing a job. Against bark the pattern reads as water droplets, running sap and tree texture, and the trapdoor itself is built to match the surface it sits on.
• Unique Trapdoor Behavior: Builds a camouflaged bark trapdoor flush against the surface, ambushes prey from the entrance, then actively maintains and re-textures it over time. Genuinely rare behavior in tarantulas.
• Colorful Spiderlings: Even the babies are stunning, showing bright emerald green and pink abdomens with blue legs and pink femurs, small versions of the adults rather than the drab brown slings most species start as.
• Docile Temperament: Calm and easygoing, relying on camouflage and retreat rather than reacting.
• Rare in the Hobby: Still relatively new to captive breeding and one of the most sought after species among collectors. This is our specialty species, and we have produced several hundred of them.

Which size should I choose?

• 3/8 to 1/2 inch: Spiderling, right around the size they hatch at. Our entry point into the species and the most affordable way in. You raise it through every stage yourself.
• 1/2 to 3/4 inch: Well started sling, a few molts along, past the earliest stretch. Colors brightening and often already building a trapdoor.
• 3/4 to 1 inch: Juvenile. Jewel toned abdomen filling in, trapdoor behavior established, the tier most keepers are happiest with.
• 1 inch and up: Juvenile past its first rehouse. Full colour showing, and the size where a planted bioactive build stops being risky.

Every size ships in a hand cut Pro Complete Setup, ready to use. Full care detail, exact enclosure dimensions, prey sizes and rehousing timelines are on each size page above, because those genuinely differ by stage.

Are there any additional notes or considerations?

• Warmth Matters: Keep them at 80 to 85 degrees F. This species grows very slowly and does noticeably less when kept cool, so if your home sits in the 60s plan on a heat source. Get the temperature right and everything else gets easier.
• Cork Bark Is Essential: This species will not behave naturally without proper flat cork bark to build its trapdoor on. It is not optional decor here, it is the animal's entire world.
• Success Formula: This genus is delicate, and three things carry it: consistent moisture, correctly sized prey, and minimal disturbance. Anyone who has raised Avicularia or Caribena slings already has the skill set. The keepers who thrive with this species are the ones who ask questions, and we are here for exactly that.
• Hard to Spot: Once the trapdoor is built it can be genuinely difficult to find, which is the point. Finding it and then watching an ambush is one of the best payoffs in the hobby.
• Captive Bred: All Tarantulas are 100% captive bred.