I've been a lover of Tarantulas for some years now and recently decided to start a BLog to record my notes. I have had a number of common species over the years but recently decided to specialize in Brachypelma smithi (Cambridge, 1897), more commonly known as Mexican Red Knee, and try my hand at breeding them. I arleady owned one juvenile BS but he/she is a while of maturation. My only other current spider up until recently was a one year old Brachypelma albopilosum or Curly Hair Tarantula.

I made the descision to try to breed Smithi's as I have heard how docile they are as pets and not listed amongst the hard spiders to breed. The are very common (even though endangered and listed under CITES) in the Pet Trade, if a little over priced, and seem readily available in forums such as the British Tarantula Society.

I trawled the internet for Brachypelma information and was amazed to find the genus had its own dedicated website right here in the UK: www.brachypelmas.co.uk.