Brazilian Jewel

The Brazilian Jewel (Typhochlaena seladonia) is one of the most extraordinary tarantulas alive — a tiny, jewel-toned arboreal from Brazil's Atlantic Forest that builds a camouflaged bark TRAPDOOR and ambushes prey from behind it, a behaviour almost unique among tarantulas. Dazzling greens, blues and pinks on a spider barely 2". It's advanced not for venom but for cost and delicacy: it needs a precise humidity/ventilation balance and porous bark it can cut a door into. A living gem for the dedicated arboreal keeper.

Photo Credit: Exotics Unlimited

Temperature75–82°F (24–28°C) — warm, humid Atlantic-forest temperature. Steady warmth; no hot lamps. Stability matters to this delicate species.
HumidityPrecise: damp and humid (70–80%) but impeccably ventilated — this balance is the whole challenge. Keep a lightly damp base, mist gently, and ensure constant fresh airflow; it tolerates neither drying out nor stagnant wet air. Get the equilibrium right and it's stable; swing either way and it's fragile.
Adult sizeA true dwarf: adults reach 2–2.5 inches across the legs (diagonal leg span). A relatively fast grower — expect visible progress between molts when well fed.
LifespanFemales roughly 8–12 years; mature males 3–4 years. Slow-growing and delicate.

Enclosure

A small, tall arboreal enclosure with excellent ventilation and — critically — a piece of porous cork/bark it can excavate a trapdoor into and hide behind. Height over floor, vertical structure, secure and airy. It's tiny and delicate; a nano arboreal suits it. Escape-proof (small and quick).

Substrate & water

1–2 inches of lightly damp coco/topsoil at the base for humidity, with the real habitat being the porous bark it cuts its trapdoor into. Keep damp-not-wet and impeccably ventilated. Provide bark it can work.

Feeding

An ambush trapdoor hunter — it snatches small prey that passes its door. Small prey to abdomen size — flightless fruit flies/pinheads; slings and adults alike take small items. Feed near the trapdoor. Remove uneaten prey promptly.

Temperament & defenses

Advanced by delicacy and cost, not venom — it's tiny, fragile, and expensive, and its defence is hiding behind its door rather than biting. Type II contact-transfer hairs present. Not a handling animal (far too small, quick and delicate). Observe and marvel; disturb it as little as possible.

Keeper’s notes

A holy-grail display piece for the experienced arboreal keeper — nothing else in the hobby builds and ambushes from a camouflaged bark trapdoor, and the jewel colouring is unreal. We stock it only for keepers who understand it's advanced through fragility and price, not danger: nail the humidity-ventilation balance and give it workable bark, and you have one of the most remarkable animals in all of tarantula-keeping.