Mexican Flame Knee Tarantula

(Brachypelma auratum)

Care Sheet

Scientific Name: Brachypelma auratum

Common Name: Mexican Flame Knee

Type: Terrestrial

Endemic Location: Guerrero and Michogan regions of Mexico

Diagonal Leg Span (DLS): 5.5” (14cm)

Growth Rate: Medium - Slow

Life Expectancy: Females 25-30 years / Males 10 years

Recommended Experience Level: Beginner

The Mexican Flame Knee tarantula, classified scientifically as the Brachypelma auratum, is one of the most popular and beautiful tarantulas in the hobby. Like many other species of Brachypelma, this New World tarantula is favored due to their ease of care and docile temperament. This species is endemic to the Guerrero and Michogan regions of Mexico usually in the savanna and scrubland regions. This species was described by Schmidt in 1992 and before that was considered just a subspecies of the Brachypelma smithi. This New World Terrestrial species has been observed in nature cohabiting with the Eleutherodactylus occidentalis species of frog. There are a few other species of tarantulas that cohabitate with frogs in the wild, like the Poecilotheria ornata, but it is always fascinating behavior. Though more research is still to be done on the exact nature of their relationship, it seems the frog benefits from some protection from predators and the tarantula benefits from the frog eating any small insects or parasites which may attack the tarantula or its egg sac. Though this tarantula does not have medically significant venom, it does possess urticating hairs that can cause irritation and rash if they were to kick them on you. Though typically it will just make you itchy, it can lead to serious issues if you were to get them in your eyes, nose or throat, so don’t have the tarantula on or near your face and always wash your hands well after you interact with any New World tarantulas that possess urticating hairs. As of 2018, the IUCN has this species listed as Near Threatened due to the destruction of their habitat from farming and ranching, the fact many people will kill them when they see them, and the hunting and trapping for the pet trade...though this is declining a lot due to the captive breeding in countries across the world greatly decreasing the demand for wild caught specimens. This species, though similar to the Brachypelma hamorii, has slimmer legs. It also has very bright red knees and contrasting white bands on the legs. They are a very hardy tarantula and very easy to keep. I keep my spiderlings in terrestrial spiderling acrylic enclosures with more width than height. I like to use these shallow rectangle enclosures or square enclosures. I fill the enclosure up at least halfway or more with substrate and provide a hide and small water dish if possible. This species will burrow a lot as slings, so it is a good idea to give them enough depth to make their burrows. If I don’t have the ability to include a small water dish, i will drip water on the webbing or side of the enclosure once or twice a week. I also keep their substrate slightly damp as slings, but take care not to over do it and make it swampy or over saturated. When they begin to outgrow that enclosure, I move them into a juvenile acrylic enclosure, with more width than height. I usually opt for a more rectangular and shallower enclosure, but have kept them in t he square amac boxes successfully as well. I prefer the more rectangle enclosures because they are larger and I don't have to rehouse them as much as they grow. I provide them with a cork bark hide, water dish, a little sphagnum moss and usually keep them on straight coco fiber or a substrate like jungle mix or creature soil which is mainly peat moss, a little soil and a small amount of sand. Coco fiber works very well and is the least expensive, though I do like the way the other substrates look. I keep the water dish full and let the substrate remain dry. And for adults, I keep my specimens in 2.5 - 5 gallon enclosures. Usually an aquarium with a tight fitting lid, but I have recently been using the DreamCo acrylic enclosure that is about 5 gallon size for my Brachypelma and have really liked them. I keep my current Male Brachypelma in a ZooMed creature terrestrial enclosure. It has a lower profile and isn't as deep as your traditional 5 gallon aquarium, but it is wider. As this species doesn't do much burrowing at this size and spends most of the time out in t he open, I really like this enclosure. The drawback to them is that they use the fine screen mesh on the lid which can cause problems as the tarantula can get their feet stuck in them and end up hanging from the lid, and if they are very determined to escape, can even chew through the fine mesh. Luckily these types of lids are easily able to be retrofitted by cutting out the screen and replacing it with a sheet of acrylic with holes drilled in it. I will be making a video very soon showing how i retrofit screen lids with Plexiglas, so be sure to keep an eye for it in the future. As far as feeding, I give my spiderlings under 0.5” FFF or confused flour beetles twice a week. If I don't have those feeders available. I will prekill pinhead crickets or roaches and drop them near the mouth of their burrow. This tarantula will scavenge feed at this size, but I still make sure to remove any uneaten prey 24 hours later. Once they have grown above 0.5” I start to feed them pinhead or very small crickets or roaches once a week. Usually just one or two, depending on the size of their abdomen. I feed more often when they are looking thin, and cut back on the amount and frequency as the abdomen becomes more plump. I wait at least 2 days after a molt before attempting to feed them again. For juveniles I feed 2-3 small crickets or a medium dubia or meal worm once every 7-10 days. If they have recently molted or are looking thin, I will feed more prey more often and adjust to less prey, less often as they fatten up being sure not to over feed the tarantula. Getting a tarantula fat from overfeeding will not cause them to molt or grow any faster. I make sure to remove any uneaten prey 24 hours later, especially if the T is nearing pre molt. After a molt I wait 5-7 days before attempting to feed, and if they are still looking soft and the fangs haven’t hardened to fully look black, I will wait a little longer. And I feed my adults 3-4 large crickets or a large dubia, or even a couple super worms, every 2-3 weeks. I base the amount and frequency on the size of their abdomen. Feeding more prey more frequently when they're thin, but no more than every other week...and i feed less prey less often as the abdomen gets larger...maybe once a month. I use the time frames as a guideline as to when to check on them for feeding. So I check on my adult every other week, but if they are looking very plump, I may skip feeding them that week and wait a week or two before offering food. I wait at least 10 -14 days after a molt before feeding them and spot clean their enclosure 24 hours after feeding to remove any bits of uneaten prey or boluses. This is one of my favorite species of Brachypelma, mainly because of the pattern and colors. I love the contrast of the red and white stripes on the black body. This is definitely a great species for your collection, no matter the level of experience. They are easy to care for, great eaters, and brightly colored..which makes them an excellent display species and it is no wonder they're such a staple in the hobby.