5 Pulchras. Tough Investment Question

[Tjohns]

Ok I kinda dipped into this subject a little bit on a recent post but I'd like to go into more depth since it kinda caught my curiosity. I really need the expertise of this board since I'm still new to this hobby. Kind of a what would you do question also.


Assuming I bought 5 Grammostola Pulchra slings at $40 a piece. That comes out to $200 (minus shipping).

I could buy a guaranteed 4" pulchra female for $235 right now (minus shipping). But what's the fun in that? (rhetorical question)



1) The chances of one of those five slings being a female should be great right?
Anyone ever buy five slings and have none of them turn out to be females?



2) How much would they be worth at 2" 4" and finally 6"?
What is the price difference between males and females of same size?



3) Do you think breeding the Pulchras (which I've heard is difficult) is something that I should attempt when they get large enough? Would I owe it to the hobby to attempt breeding by taking 5 Pulchras off of the market?



4) Do you estimate Pulchras becoming even more rare in the future? Staying the same in availability and price, or do you think they will become common enough and cheap.



5) Is there a way to profit from spending $200 or so on five slings? After feeding, housing etc. I am not talking about becoming ridiculously rich obviously but making enough money that it would have been worth it in the end.

 

[gride225]

5 Pulchra slings would be worth $200 IMO. Even if none turn out to be female, you will still have them for a long while since they grow fairly slow. If all matured as males sell them for $40 and you would have your initial investment back plus the experience of keeping some awesome T's. If they turn out to be females well mini jackpot if you chose to sell them. Either way i dont see how you could lose.

 

[Talkenlate04]

1) The chances of one of those five slings being a female should be great right?
Anyone ever buy five slings and have none of them turn out to be females?

I have bought more then 5 slings and had them all be male, but that is just bad luck. Odds are you will have 1-2 females. More if you are lucky.

2) How much would they be worth at 2" 4" and finally 6"?
What is the price difference between males and females of same size?

They are worth what someone will pay.

3) Do you think breeding the Pulchras (which I've heard is difficult) is something that I should attempt when they get large enough? Would I owe it to the hobby to attempt breeding by taking 5 Pulchras off of the market?

You do not "owe" anyone anything by buying them. A large population of this hobby chooses to not breed. It would be nice to see more breeding, but it is not some club requirement.

4) Do you estimate Pulchras becoming even more rare in the future? Staying the same in availability and price, or do you think they will become common enough and cheap.

They will be harder to find if cb efforts do not stay steady yes. But they are long lived Ts so that is at least one plus.

5) Is there a way to profit from spending $200 or so on five slings? After feeding, housing etc. I am not talking about becoming ridiculously rich obviously but making enough money that it would have been worth it in the end.

Money should never be in you're deciding factors when you want to buy a T. It is pretty well assumed that IF you are successful you will make a chunk of money. But that is a big IF.
I breed Ts just for the love of it, I do make money off breeding them, but it is enough to continue with my ridiculous addiction.

 

[SNAFU]

Arrrghh,too may questions with MATH!
If I had two bills laying around I'd buy'em! But- I have this wife and kids, house note, two car payments, high priced utilities, American dream I'm living... Why not just get a couple each payday, say $80.00 + $25.00 for shipping express. Even a slave to the grind like me could afford that (maybe).
End up with a nice round # of six. Your odds for a female would go up and you could always sell the extra even if five turned out to be male.

 

[Arachnobrian]

Easy, the time it takes to raise one to small juvi stage will be be approx. 4 + years. It will be very entertaining as you cannot power feed these spiders, they eat that much, and grow that slow.

So consider it a time investment more than anything, with a payout later. If you choose. You might, but you won't. They are that adorable.

 

[aluras]

First of all, Its always worth it if you like the species. I just bought 5 pulchra slings @ 2nd instar. Its going to take some time for them to get any size on them and then Yes we all should attempt to breed them. They probably wont make you alot of money. I got them to raise them, and to breed them once they get large enough, and just to enjoy watching them grow.

 

[seanbond]

simply put: if you like them b/c of what they are, act, look etc get them. who cares about how much money you can make off them, how much your going to spend on them etc. these kind of q's, maybe you dont even really like them if your going into all this detail. if i like something, i buy it. if you wanna make some profit, look into another field.

 

[Tjohns]

Well money isn't really the deciding factor in this decision. It would be more like a perk as an end result.

What I want from this whole outcome is a female G. Pulchra but a young one that I can raise from sling-hood or whatever. Which is why I won't buy a guaranteed 4" inch female since half her life or at least a good portion of it is gone.

What I figured is that if I bought five at least one being female sounds reasonable.

The problem is what to do with the other five? I don't need five Pulchras but perhaps I could turn it to my advantage which is why I ask about finances.

I know I'm not obligated to breed if I bought five but it just seems selfish not too considering how rare they are. More than likely I would "donate" at least one male or female to a breeder if I could profit or come out even on the other three and keep the one female I want.

**edit** just so you know the G. Pulchra is always been on the top 10 list of T's I want to own, just not five of them.

 

[seanbond]

dude just get the t's
:wall:

 

[Tjohns]

dude just get the t's
:wall:

lol very insightful. Thanks for the advice man.

 

[Arachnobrian]

Donate? If there is profit to be made somewhere and they are your spiders, get a piece of that action, especially with G. pulchra. Very popular species, always short in supply, and always in demand male or female.

But you won't see that for a very long time from a .33 sling. They grow that slow. lol

Being new to slings, buying mulitiples eases the risk of losing one, of a not always available spider (it happens). Increases the odds of getting a female for a decent price, and the remaining can be sold, traded, breeding loans. You get to watch a variety of behavior from one species, and get to pick your favorite/s.

I am currently doing this with B. smithi.

 

[Hamburglar]

The variables are far too random to guess how many females you might or might not get. I bought a three pack of brachys once and 2/3 turned out to be female, however, I believe all of the pokies I have are male. I would say the chances are good you would get at least one. However, it seems to me that you would be extremely disappointed if you didn't get one. Just something to think about..

 

[Arachnobrian]

The more you buy, the better the odds. I ask, are you a gambling man?

 

[Tjohns]

I know that mathematically you can't predict the odds of getting a female but I was wondering if anybody had been "screwed" before. I probably would be upset if at least one was not female however since it takes a long time for them to grow big enough to sex who knows if I care then.......

The slings are 1/2 to .66" in growth now. I was wondering is it possible for a dealer to sex them at that age and send you all males just to "screw" you? Ever heard of this happening at this size?

 

[Tjohns]

The more you buy, the better the odds. I ask, are you a gambling man?

lol to be honest not really. I'm working on getting my Engineering degree so I try to rationalize my "impulses" if possible. Trying to explain why I need pet spiders though has never yielded any kind of reasonable answers though. All the Engineers I work with shake their heads and talk smack behind my back about it. Their loss.

 

[Sooner]

Your odds of getting a single gender only for 5 tarantulas is about 6%.

Also, tarantula slings at that size are too hard to tell for sex unless you're an expert with a great microscope or if you have genetic information. So go ahead

 

[BCscorp]

Im with seanbond on this one....JUST BUY THEM.....and enjoy. The personal fulfillment you will gain makes any monetary considerations moot. just give'r

 

[Arachnobrian]

Still the price of mulitple babies in a species you want, is similar to the price of a large spider you want.

IMO - I'd raise the slings.

 

[dantediss]

i understand where your coming from. pulchras are expensive and its hard to justify paying 2 bills, but trust me their worth every penny and after caring for them for about a month you wont even care about recouping any money.. if you have the cash id buy em

 

[Tjohns]

I have the money and I am for sure going to buy them I think I might even get a little discount too if I go bulk.