Amazon Sapphire Pinktoe
Ybyrapora diversipes
The Amazon Sapphire Pinktoe (Ybyrapora diversipes) is a smaller Brazilian arboreal that glows iridescent sapphire-blue and violet, with vivid red-orange sling highlights — a dazzling, jewel-toned tree spider. Split from Avicularia into Ybyrapora in 2017, it keeps the pinktoe playbook (tall, humid, ventilated) but is faster, more skittish, and a touch more defensive than a classic Avic, plus it's a champion faeces-flicker. A stunning, active display arboreal for a keeper ready for a bit more speed.
Photo Credit: Exotics Unlimited
- Temperature75–82°F (24–28°C) — warm, with a gradient (top warmest). A normal warm room suits this Brazilian species. No hot basking lamps.
- Humidity70–80% with strong ventilation — same pinktoe rule: humid but airy. Keep the lower substrate lightly damp and the top dry, overflow the dish or mist lightly, and ventilate hard. Do not saturate the substrate; slings especially fail in wet, stagnant conditions. It's sensitive to breezes, so ventilate without a direct draught.
- Adult sizeA medium-sized tarantula: adults reach 4.5–5.5 inches across the legs (diagonal leg span). A steady grower at a moderate pace.
- LifespanFemales roughly 12–14 years; mature males 3–4 years.
Enclosure
Tall arboreal with excellent cross-ventilation — vertical cork, branches and plants for its heavy webbing, height over floor. It builds silk-tube retreats anchored to leaves and bark. Secure it well (it's fast and jumpy); a front-opening, well-ventilated arboreal enclosure. Slings in airy tall vials.
Substrate & water
1–2 inches of coco/topsoil at the base, lower layer lightly damp, top dry, with a water dish. Do not saturate. Vertical structure is the priority. Ventilate the base.
Feeding
A keen, quick feeder that ambushes from its silk. Prey to abdomen size — fruit flies/pinheads for slings, crickets/small roaches for adults; slings every few days, adults weekly. Remove uneaten prey promptly.
Temperament & defenses
Intermediate: fast, skittish, and semi-defensive — quicker and jumpier than a classic Avic, prone to bolting and to launching faeces up to a few feet at a perceived threat. Type II hairs present but rarely used. Venom mild. A display-and-observe species; handling risks a startled leap.
Keeper’s notes
A dazzling step up for a keeper who's kept a pinktoe and wants more colour and a bit more spice — that sapphire iridescence is breathtaking, and it's an active, web-building show. Same humid-but-ventilated rule as all Avics, just with more speed to respect at maintenance. Give it height, airflow, and a dry-topped damp base, and enjoy one of the prettiest small arboreals in the hobby.