Poecilotheria vittata (Ghost Ornamental Tarantula) (ESA NC SALES ONLY) 1”

Poecilotheria vittata (Ghost Ornamental Tarantula)

The Ghost Ornamental Tarantula, or Poecilotheria vittata, is an Old World arboreal tarantula with a white base carrying the iconic Poecilotheria banding and patterning in black across the legs, carapace, and abdomen, with a white underside to match. Spiderlings hatch out gray bodied like every young pokie before that black and white patterning starts coming in. P. vittata reaches a max diagonal leg span of about 6 to 7 inches, and females live 12 to 15 years while males live 2 to 3. This is an ESA listed species, so the Endangered Species Act prevents us shipping or selling it outside North Carolina. Grab one of the more striking old world arboreal tarantulas for sale today. This is about as small as this confident old world pokie comes, which makes it the way to raise one from the very start and watch its color develop over time, offered here as a spiderling.

Why do hobbyists keep the Ghost Ornamental Tarantula?

• Stunning Coloration: A white base carrying the iconic Poecilotheria banding and patterning in black across the legs, carapace, and abdomen, with a white underside to match, a clean, striking look unlike any other Pokie's palette.
• Large Arboreal Species: Poecilotheria is known for having some of the largest arboreal tarantulas in the hobby, and vittata reaches 6 to 7 inches of that same reputation.
• Confident and Visible: With enough room, vittata does not spend its life tucked away. It hunts actively after dark, is comfortable being out and visible during the day, and tends to be stubborn rather than skittish compared to a lot of other Asian arboreals.
• Great Feeding Response: Pokies take prey larger than most arboreals bother with, and vittata feeds readily and reliably in captivity from the earliest spiderling stages on up.
• Easy To Raise: Starts larger and eats better than a lot of the more timid arboreal species, giving real survivability, and comes from a region with a wet season and a dry season, so it tolerates real-world humidity swings better than its reputation suggests.
• Rare ESA Species: Vittata is protected under the Endangered Species Act, so it can only be sold and shipped within North Carolina, which keeps it out of most collections nationwide.

How should this Poecilotheria be kept?

• Adult Size: This species hatches at around 0.75 to 1 inch and grows toward its adult max from there. Adults reach a max diagonal leg span of about 6 to 7 inches.
• Enclosure: A 5 by 5 by 8 inch enclosure with at least one and a half inches of substrate and a piece of cork bark set on an angle or a cork tube for it to climb into, plus a few silk or artificial plant anchors so early webbing has somewhere to start, sized ahead of the animal, simple spiderling housing that will not need a move any time soon.
• Setup Tips: Real cork bark or driftwood pieces make a real difference for vittata, giving it natural climbing surfaces and webbing anchor points that help it settle in faster, at every size from spiderling on up.
• Rehousing: From here it moves up to a 10 by 10 by 14 inch enclosure, then a final 14 by 14 by 24 inch enclosure as an adult, each one lasting roughly twelve to sixteen months before the next move at this species' medium to fast growth rate.
• Temperature: Keep this species between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit for its optimal range, matching the warm tropical range it comes from. Room temperature works fine too and most animals do just fine there, but it can also lead to slower growth or molting issues, so we want every keeper aware of that and matching the native range when they can, which helps the animal thrive.
• Humidity: Keep humidity high with good, ideally cross, ventilation. That combination matters far more than hitting any single humidity number.
• Water: Provide a shallow water dish placed in an elevated position if possible. This is more natural for arboreal species and helps prevent crickets from falling in and drowning. A weekly misting is suggested as well, so the animal can drink off the side of the enclosure or its own webbing if it prefers that to the dish, as long as you are wetting surfaces rather than soaking the substrate.
• Diet: Feed crickets sized around 1/4 inch, roughly the size of the carapace, offering two to three prey items per feeding at this size rather than one, at least once a week.
• Temperament: Fast and defensive when it feels truly threatened, bolting into its tube rather than standing its ground. Given real space, though, vittata does not just hide: it is confident enough to be out and visible during the day as well as after dark, stubborn rather than skittish, and noticeably calmer than a lot of other Asian arboreals.

Are there any additional notes or considerations for the Ghost Ornamental Tarantula?

• Medically Significant Venom: Ghost Ornamental Tarantula carries medically significant venom, but it is not deadly to humans. Just something to consider before you purchase.
• Loves to Stretch Out: Like every Poecilotheria, vittata spends most of its life vertically oriented on bark, and it loves to stretch out flat with its legs in that same iconic vertical position to blend right in, whether that is on bark or any other surface in the enclosure. That is part of why generous space on all sides matters so much, not just for Poecilotheria but for Asian arboreals in general: give it room and you get to see the whole leg span and pattern stretched out at once.
• More Forgiving Than the Reputation: Every Poecilotheria comes from rugged, sometimes unforgiving parts of India and Sri Lanka, and vittata carries that same toughness into captivity. Poecilotheria tolerates real-world humidity and temperature swings better than its reputation suggests, with more margin for error day to day than most keepers expect from an old world arboreal.
• ESA Reminder: As a reminder, vittata is ESA protected and available for North Carolina sales and shipping only. ESA listed species cannot be imported, so in-state captive breeding is the only way we can keep them established in the hobby long term.

Looking for similar species?

• Browse our Old World Tarantulas and Arboreal Tarantulas collections to explore related care profiles and species groupings.

Listing Notes

• This listing is for a Poecilotheria vittata Ghost Ornamental spiderling measuring around one inch (1 inch) in diagonal leg span, which is the size given in the title, unsexed, with roughly a 50/50 chance of male or female. This is about the size the species hatches at, the smallest size we currently offer this species.
• Looking for other sizes? This species is also available as a 3.5-4" FEMALE Juvenile.