• A female Aphonopelma hentzi, a Texas brown tarantula, poses on sandy clay.
1 1

Buddha Bugs

Aphonopelma hentzi (Texas brown tarantula) 0.33"

Aphonopelma hentzi (Texas brown tarantula) 0.33"

$25.00 USD
$25.00 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.

Before ordering: Unless marked “exact animal pictured,” photos are representative; refer to the product title or selected option for the size or sex offered. Shipped live-animal orders require a $50 cart subtotal and are normally held for pickup at an authorized FedEx Ship Center. Please review our Shipping & Live Arrival and Refund & Cancellation policies before purchasing.

Species Overview

Aphonopelma hentzi, commonly known as the Texas brown tarantula and regionally called the Oklahoma brown tarantula, Missouri tarantula, or Colorado brown tarantula, is a medium-to-large terrestrial tarantula native to the central and south-central United States. Freshly molted specimens typically possess dark brown to black legs, a copper, brown, or tan carapace, and a dark abdomen clothed in short black hairs interspersed with longer reddish to orange hairs. These colors may fade substantially between molts, leaving individuals later in the molt cycle much paler and more uniformly brown. Coloration and proportions also vary considerably across the species’ exceptionally broad range. Adult females are robust and heavy-bodied, while mature males are slimmer and proportionally longer-legged, commonly retaining a contrasting copper-colored carapace and dark legs.

In captivity, A. hentzi is a slow-growing, long-lived species that commonly excavates beneath cork bark or enlarges a provided starter retreat. Spiderlings and juveniles may spend substantial periods underground, while larger specimens often remain visible at or near the entrance of an established retreat. Individuals may also refuse food for extended periods, particularly before molting or during seasonal changes in activity. This species is generally calm and deliberate, usually retreating when disturbed, although defensive individuals may flick urticating hairs. Its hardiness and straightforward environmental requirements make it suitable for keepers of any experience level.

  • Common Name: Texas brown tarantula, Oklahoma brown tarantula, Missouri tarantula, Colorado brown tarantula
  • Native Range: United States: Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona
  • Life Habit: Terrestrial burrower
  • Adult Size: 4.5–6.5 inches in diagonal leg span
  • Lifespan: Males approximately 7–10 years; females 20–30+ years under optimal conditions
  • Temperament: Generally calm and slow-moving; may flick urticating hairs
  • Care Difficulty: Easy

Aphonopelma hentzi Care

Aphonopelma hentzi adapts well to captivity when maintained in a well-ventilated enclosure with ample substrate and a secure retreat. A mostly dry setup with localized moisture provides an appropriate humidity gradient without keeping the entire enclosure continuously damp. Spiderlings typically burrow readily, while larger juveniles and adults may occupy either an excavated burrow or a shallow retreat beneath cork bark.

  • Enclosure: 1 oz condiment cup or similar for spiderlings, upgraded as needed with growth; 14” x 10” x 8” or larger terrestrial enclosure for adults.
  • Substrate: Coconut fiber, peat moss, topsoil, or a similar moisture-retentive substrate with sufficient depth to permit burrowing. Provide a partially buried piece of cork bark or similar enclosure décor as a starter retreat.
  • Temperature: 72–82°F.
  • Humidity: Low to moderate ambient humidity is generally sufficient. Approximately 25–50% of the substrate should retain slight moisture to provide a humidity gradient while allowing the remaining substrate to stay dry. Avoid continuously damp conditions and inadequate ventilation.
  • Diet: Fruit flies, crickets, cockroaches, and other appropriately sized feeder insects.
  • Feeding: Spiderlings can be offered appropriately sized prey once or twice weekly. Juveniles and adults are typically fed every 7–14 days, with feeding frequency adjusted based on prey size, growth rate, and the condition of the individual animal.
  • Water: Lightly moisten part of the substrate as needed and provide water droplets on the enclosure walls for spiderlings; juveniles and adults should have access to a water dish.
  • Routine Maintenance: Remove uneaten prey, monitor moisture levels, and spot-clean when necessary.

Natural History

Aphonopelma hentzi was described by Charles Frédéric Girard in 1852 under the name Mygale hentzii. The type specimen was collected during Randolph B. Marcy’s expedition to explore the Red River, and the type locality has since been traced to the vicinity of the Wichita Mountains in Comanche County, Oklahoma, where the expedition camped in May 1852. It was the first tarantula species formally described from the United States. The species epithet honors Nicholas Marcellus Hentz, a pioneering French-American arachnologist whose work contributed substantially to the early study of North American spiders.

A comprehensive revision of the United States members of Aphonopelma, published in 2016, showed that A. hentzi encompasses considerably more geographic and phenotypic variation than earlier classifications recognized. Combined morphological and molecular analyses did not support Aphonopelma clarki, A. coloradanum, A. echinum, A. gurleyi, A. harlingenum, A. odelli, A. waconum, and A. wichitanum as separate evolutionary lineages, so they were placed in synonymy. Because A. hentzi closely resembles several related species and can occur alongside other members of the genus, reliable identification requires consideration of morphology and geographic origin rather than coloration alone.

Aphonopelma hentzi is the most widely distributed tarantula species in the United States and is probably also the country’s most abundant. Its established range extends from the Mississippi River west through portions of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and eastern Arizona. Across this range, it occupies environments ranging from prairies, grasslands, and open woodlands to rocky hillsides, semiarid scrub, and Chihuahuan Desert habitats. It also persists in human-modified environments and has been documented in residential lawns, cemeteries, parks, and other maintained landscapes within major metropolitan areas.

Retreat structure varies with local conditions. Individuals may excavate freestanding silk-lined burrows in suitable soil or inhabit shallow scrapes beneath rocks, fallen wood, and other natural cover. Tarantulas from lower-elevation plains habitats tend to be larger and more robust, while populations occupying rocky or higher-elevation areas may have smaller bodies and proportionally longer, thinner legs. This variation historically led to several regional populations being described as separate species.

Wild females are highly sedentary ambush predators that spend most of their lives within or immediately beside an established retreat. At one intensively studied Trans-Pecos site, females were primarily nocturnal and rarely moved more than a few centimeters from their burrow entrances. They positioned themselves in contact with the surrounding silk and waited for passing prey, retreating rapidly when confronted with unfamiliar ground vibrations. Burrow entrances may be sealed with silk during inactive periods and are commonly plugged throughout the winter. The diet consists primarily of arthropods, including beetles, cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, other spiders, scorpions, and solifuges.

Mature males abandon their retreats and travel in search of females during breeding periods that vary geographically. Some populations display spring and summer activity from April through August, while others breed primarily during September and October; both periods may occur at the same locality. These conspicuous seasonal appearances are often described as tarantula “migrations,” but radio-tracking found males moving in multiple directions without a consistent directional pattern. Individual males nevertheless covered substantial distances, with one study documenting movement of up to 1,300 meters. The activity is therefore better understood as widespread seasonal mate-searching rather than a coordinated migration.

Shipping

Shipping method for live animal orders:

Orders containing live animals must have a subtotal of at least $50 to qualify for shipping.

For orders containing live animals, we ship throughout the continental U.S. (48 states) via FedEx Priority Overnight. Orders containing both live and non-live products may be shipped together or separately, depending on the items in the order, their sizes, and whether everything can fit safely in one shipment. When non-live products must be shipped separately by USPS, additional shipping charges will apply.

Live-animal packages are normally dropped off on Tuesdays or Wednesdays for next-day arrival. By default, packages are held for pickup at the nearest reasonably accessible FedEx Ship Center authorized to accept the shipment and must be collected in person.

Home delivery is available upon request. When a reasonably accessible authorized FedEx Ship Center is available, customer-requested home delivery is not eligible for our live arrival guarantee and is sent at the customer’s risk.

FedEx Ship Center availability varies by destination, and not every FedEx location is authorized to accept live-animal shipments. If no reasonably accessible authorized FedEx Ship Center is available, we will contact the customer and arrange home delivery. In this circumstance, home delivery remains eligible for LAG, provided all other LAG requirements are met.

Checkout shipping rates and free-shipping offers are based on FedEx Ship Center pickup. Any additional amount charged for home delivery is the customer’s responsibility and must be paid before shipment. For qualifying orders, free shipping covers standard Ship Center service but not any additional home-delivery cost. If no reasonably accessible authorized Ship Center is available and the customer declines the additional charge, the affected portion of the order—or the entire order when necessary—may be canceled without the standard cancellation fee.

We also offer expo pickup and a DFW local-meetup option. Please see our Expo Schedule for additional information.

Shipping method for non-live orders:

For shipments containing no live animals, shipping is available to all 50 states via USPS Ground Advantage or USPS Priority Mail. We will ship non-live orders directly to the address listed on the order, typically the day the order is placed or the following day. 

What to expect after placing an order:

If your order contains live animals that will be shipped, we will contact you within 12 hours with a proposed delivery date and, when applicable, the FedEx Ship Center pickup location. If home delivery is requested or required, we will provide the delivery arrangements and any additional shipping charge. We will not ship the package until you confirm the arrangements and any outstanding shipping balance has been paid. Tracking information will be provided on the day of shipment.

Shipping may be delayed because of weather, carrier conditions, our schedule, or if an animal has recently molted or appears likely to molt. We will notify you if a delay is necessary and arrange another suitable date.

Carrier delays can occur. Customers remain responsible for meeting the applicable pickup or receipt requirements on the day the package actually arrives, even if it arrives later than originally scheduled.

Live Arrival Guarantee (LAG):

Buddha Bugs offers a live arrival guarantee only when all of the following conditions are met:

  • Freebies are not covered by LAG.
  • When a reasonably accessible FedEx Ship Center authorized to accept the shipment is available, the package must be held for pickup at that location.
  • If no such location is available, we will arrange home delivery. In this circumstance, home delivery remains eligible for LAG, provided all other requirements are met.
  • Packages held at a FedEx Ship Center must be picked up on the day they arrive. Pickup at any time during the location’s regular opening hours is acceptable. Please bring valid identification.
  • In the unlikely event of a DOA, the customer must contact us and provide clear photographic or video evidence within three hours of FedEx Ship Center pickup—or within three hours of delivery when an LAG-eligible home delivery applies.
  • Shipping costs are not refunded, and replacements may not always be available.

ANY DEVIATION FROM THESE REQUIREMENTS MAY VOID THE LAG.

Home delivery is available upon request. When a reasonably accessible FedEx Ship Center authorized to accept the shipment is available, customer-requested home delivery is not eligible for LAG and is sent at the customer’s risk. When no such location is available, home delivery arranged by Buddha Bugs is eligible for LAG, provided all other requirements are met.

For animal safety, we do not ship live animals for home delivery when temperatures are 90°F or higher or 35°F or lower, regardless of whether the shipment would otherwise qualify for LAG.

FedEx does not reimburse Buddha Bugs for lost packages or the loss of live animals. We take every reasonable precaution to give each shipment the best chance of arriving safely.

Returns & Refunds

Returns & Refunds:

We DO NOT accept returns on live animals.

You may return non-live animal products for a refund within 14 days of delivery. The product must be unused and in its original packaging. After we receive your return, we will process refunds within 5-10 business days. Refunds will not include shipping costs. We will reject used products and, when possible, ship them back to the customer. 

If an animal arrives deceased, contact us within the required three-hour period and provide clear photographic or video evidence. When all live arrival guarantee requirements are met, we will provide the applicable refund or arrange a replacement when available. Multi-count products are handled according to the number of live animals received. Shipping costs and freebies are not covered. Please review our Shipping & Live Arrival Policy for complete requirements.

For online purchases with local pickup, pickup at a show, or for purchases made at a show, the customer is responsible for inspecting the purchased items and verifying that they are to their satisfaction. If they are not, they must express any dissatisfaction before the sale is completed, as all sales are final. We are not liable for damages after the customer receives their items due to issues including but not limited to the customer mishandling transport and/or overheating animals. 

Cancellations:

Customer-requested cancellations are subject to an approximately 3% cancellation fee. For card payments, the fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; different payment methods may have slightly higher or lower fee amounts. This reflects the nonrecoverable payment-processing cost charged when the order is placed and not returned to us when a refund is issued. Canceling an order also creates additional labor and temporarily removes inventory from availability, so please make sure you are committed before placing an order.

If a product is unavailable because of an inventory error, we will contact the customer and offer to cancel the affected product or the complete order without a cancellation fee.

If we determine after an order is placed that no reasonably accessible FedEx Ship Center authorized to accept the shipment is available, we will contact the customer with any additional cost required for home delivery. If the customer declines that additional charge, the affected portion of the order—or the entire order when necessary—may be canceled without the standard cancellation fee.

Certain ESA-listed Poecilotheria species cannot be shipped across state lines and are clearly marked “TX SALES ONLY” in their product titles and descriptions. If a customer outside Texas purchases one of these animals, the restricted portion of the order—or the entire order when necessary—will be canceled. The approximately 3% cancellation fee will be deducted from the refund because the restriction was disclosed before purchase. Refunds will be issued to the original payment method, but the time required for the credit to appear depends on the payment provider.

View full details
  • 5 stars: 1 (100%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
A
Adolph

Great prices and quick delivery. Recommend this shop for arachnid keepers and exotic pet owners.