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Togo Starburst Baboon

Heteroscodra maculata

HeteroscodraTheraphosidae

advanced
Togo Starburst Baboon (Heteroscodra maculata)
Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

**Togo Starburst Baboon** — A beautiful but extremely defensive West African arboreal species with a distinctive starburst pattern on the carapace. Old World arboreal with no urticating hairs and no medically significant venom recorded, but will bite readily and is extremely fast. Not a beginner or even intermediate species — the combination of speed, defensiveness, and arboreal habit makes husbandry operations (rehousing, cleaning) genuinely risky. Requires a tall, cross-ventilated enclosure with cork bark for anchoring webbing. Keepers should have a solid containment protocol before acquiring this species.

Husbandry Requirements

Temperature & Humidity

Temperature

75-84°F

Humidity

65-75%

Enclosure Sizes

Sling:Small arboreal vial, cross-ventilated
Juvenile:6x6x10" vertical
Adult:12x12x18" tall vertical enclosure

Substrate

Type:dry to slightly moist coco fiber
Depth:2-3 inches

Feeding Schedule

Sling:Every 3-4 days
Juvenile:Twice per week
Adult:Once per week

Prey size: Appropriately sized prey (up to 2/3 body length)

Quick Stats

Type

arboreal

Adult Size

5-6 inches

Growth Rate

fast

Native Region

West Africa (Togo, Ghana, Nigeria)

Temperament

extremely defensive, fast

Behavior

Webbingheavy
BurrowingNo
Water DishRequired

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