In the only long-term lab study of the species, female curly hair tarantulas (Tliltocatl albopilosus, formerly Brachypelma albopilosum) lived about 21 years on average (7,824 ± 741 days) and males about 6 years (2,229 ± 127 days). Males matured at about 4.9 years and then lived about 1.2 years (Criscuolo et al. 2010).
Curly hair tarantula lifespan
Most tarantula lifespans come from zoo fact sheets. The curly hair has something better: a laboratory colony in France in which spiders were raised individually from the egg sac to death. Criscuolo and colleagues (2010) report that females lived 7,824 ± 741 days (about 21.4 years) and males 2,229 ± 127 days (about 6.1 years). That is the basis for the curly hair tarantula lifespan in the calculator: 19.4–23.4 years for females and 5.8–6.4 years for males, the mean plus or minus one standard deviation.
Other sources agree on the shape. Wikipedia, drawing on the ARKive fact file, says males live only about 5 years in captivity while females reportedly live up to 20, and its pet section gives females 8–25 years and males about 4–5. The lab numbers are the more precise, but remember they come from 10 females and 30 males in steady lab conditions.
How long do curly hair tarantulas live at home?
If you keep a female well, how long do curly hair tarantulas live is "about two decades". A home differs from a lab — temperature, food and stress vary — so treat the lab mean as a guide rather than a promise. The Honduran curly hair tarantula lifespan quoted by sellers is the same species; "Honduran curly hair" is simply a trade name.
Female vs male curly hair tarantula lifespan
The same study measured both halves of each life. Males took 1,792 ± 22 days (about 4.9 years) to reach their maturing moult, then lived 437 ± 105 days (about 1.2 years) as adults. Females took 2,034 ± 29 days to mature and then lived 5,790 ± 712 days (about 15.9 years) as adults (Criscuolo et al. 2010).
So a male and female from the same egg sac mature only months apart, but the female then lives roughly thirteen times longer as an adult. The study links this to oxidative stress that rises in males after maturity — explained on the male vs female tarantula page.
Curly hair tarantula growth rate and size
Curly hairs grow at a moderate pace. In the lab colony spiderlings went through four moults in their first year and were moved through three sizes of box as they grew (Criscuolo et al. 2010). Wikipedia notes that the egg sac takes about seven to eight weeks at 24–27 °C, and that spiderlings moult again within a couple of weeks before dispersing.
What the lab study measured — and its limits
The researchers raised curly hairs individually from 20 days after they left the egg sac: first in 1-litre boxes during the first year and four moults, then 8-litre glass boxes through the juvenile moults, then 14-litre containers after the pre-adult moult (Criscuolo et al. 2010). The lifespan table came from 30 males and 10 females kept that way, and a separate group was used to measure oxidative stress.
That design is a strength and a limit. Every spider had the same food and housing, so differences between the sexes are real rather than the result of different care. But ten females is a small sample, conditions in a home vary more, and the colony came from one source. That is why the calculator shows the mean plus or minus one standard deviation instead of a single number, and why your spider may land outside it.
Adults of both sexes have grown to just over 6 in (15 cm) leg span in captivity (Wikipedia). The bristles — the "curly hair" — are lighter in juveniles and darken with age, and males are often a lighter bronze than females.
| Age | Female: % used · stage · time left | Male (not yet mature) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 5% · Juvenile · ~20.4 yrs left | 16% · ~5.1 yrs left |
| 3 years | 14% · Juvenile · ~18.4 yrs left | 49% · ~3.1 yrs left |
| 5 years | 23% · Juvenile · ~16.4 yrs left | 82% · ~1.1 yrs left |
| 6 years | 28% · Adult female · ~15.4 yrs left | 98% · ~0.1 yrs left |
| 12 years | 56% · Adult female · ~9.4 yrs left | 100% · past the male average |
| 20 years | 93% · Adult female · ~1.4 yrs left | 100% · past the male average |
Care that helps a curly hair tarantula live longer
No zoo or vet care sheet for this species was available to us, so these points come from the general care guidance of the University of Kentucky (written for three other ground-dwelling tarantulas of the Americas) and from the species' Wikipedia article. Wikipedia describes curly hairs as highly adaptable to humidity and temperature changes and willing to feed on crickets, superworms and cockroaches.
- One spider per enclosure, with a ventilated, escape-proof lid (University of Kentucky).
- Several inches of untreated soil or coco fibre to dig in, and a water dish that is always full.
- Moderate room warmth: the university's ground-dweller guidance allows room temperature up to about 85 °F (29 °C).
- Remove uneaten insects, especially around a moult, when live prey can injure a soft spider.
- No handling over a hard floor: a heavy ground spider can be badly hurt by a short fall.
Curly hairs flick urticating hairs when stressed, and like all tarantulas they can bite. For any injury or moult problem, see an exotic vet who treats invertebrates.
Curly hair tarantula names: Tliltocatl vs Brachypelma
If your care sheet says Brachypelma albopilosum, it is out of date. The species was described by Carlos Valerio in 1980 as Brachypelma albopilosa; the ending was later corrected to albopilosum. In 2020, Mendoza and Francke revised the Mexican Brachypelma and moved several species into a new genus, Tliltocatl. The World Spider Catalog records the curly hair as transferred from Brachypelma to Tliltocatl by that revision, and lists it today as Tliltocatl albopilosus.
The research behind this page's numbers was published in 2010, so it uses the old name, Brachypelma albopilosa. A search for the Tliltocatl albopilosus lifespan or the Brachypelma albopilosum lifespan should find the same studies. The common names — curly hair, curlyhair and Honduran curly hair — all refer to this one species, which ranges through parts of Central America.
How this curly hair tarantula calculator works
The calculator reads the curly hair's lab figures from the shared tarantula table: females 19.4–23.4 years (average 21.4), males 5.8–6.4 years (average 6.1). A 3-year-old female has used about 14%, a 6-year-old about 28% and a 15-year-old about 70%.
Females become "adult female" at 5.5 years, the study's maturity age. For a mature male, years left come from the measured adult period, 0.9–1.5 years after the maturing moult; a 5.5-year-old mature male has used about 90% of the male average. These results match the main tarantula lifespan calculator and the male maturity timeline exactly, because all three read the same table.
Frequently asked questions
How long do curly hair tarantulas live?
In a lab colony, females averaged about 21 years and males about 6 (Criscuolo et al. 2010).
How long do male curly hair tarantulas live after maturing?
About 437 ± 105 days — roughly a year — in the lab study (Criscuolo et al. 2010).
At what age do curly hair tarantulas mature?
Males matured at about 4.9 years and females at about 5.6 years in the lab colony (Criscuolo et al. 2010).
Is the Honduran curly hair the same as the curly hair tarantula?
Yes. Both names refer to Tliltocatl albopilosus.
Is Brachypelma albopilosum the same as Tliltocatl albopilosus?
Yes. The species was moved from Brachypelma to the new genus Tliltocatl by Mendoza & Francke in 2020 (World Spider Catalog).
How big do curly hair tarantulas get?
Just over 6 in (15 cm) leg span for both sexes in captivity (Wikipedia).
Do curly hair tarantulas change colour with age?
Their bristles start lighter in juveniles and darken as they grow; males are often a lighter bronze (Wikipedia).
Are curly hair tarantulas good beginner pets?
They are adaptable to humidity and temperature changes and feed readily (Wikipedia), but they flick hairs and can bite, so handle them as little as possible.
How often do curly hair tarantulas moult?
Four times in the first year in the lab colony (Criscuolo et al. 2010), then less often; adult females about yearly, and mature males stop.
General information only — no medication advice. For a stuck moult or injury, see an exotic vet who treats invertebrates.