Consider the Pinky Toe

[Arianji]

Ok, this is probably gonna be a long one, so I hope you make it to the end, but I got a new rose haired tarantula, which just molted, and I was able to sex the molt finding it was a male. Slightly disappointed as the spider was sold to me as female (like so many are) I have decided to get another tarantula. Though I love this spider (now named Aragog) I would like to also have a female, I want to know that I'll have a spider for many many years, not just 4 or 5, I already went through that once recently with the death of my first male rose hair, Arianji, (my namesake on here) so I want a spider that will last. So now comes my questions, I have two.

Question 1 dealing with pinky toes; how long do the females live? I've gotten much conflicting information on this and I really like the idea of owning a pinky toe.

Question 2 where can I purchase QUALITY sexed spiders, I am sick of the local pet store gamble game where I am sold males as females. If any of you have any individuals you are willing to part with that are females I would love that too. I promise I spoil my spiders, I very much love them. I currently only have my young male, Aragog, but i would be happy to own a female rose hair and/or a female pinky toe.

So yeah I'll stop my monologue, the questions comes down to these: How long do pinky toes live? and where can I get quality sexed spiders? Thank you in advance for your responses and your patience in reading my long post.

 

[grayzone]

no way to answer for sure ANY t will live, especially females... you can find QUALITY ts, as well as confirmed ts OF ANY KIND here in the classified section... my word of advice tho is read the reviews of the seller, and the TOS/ conditions first... often buying sexed from a reputable breeder they will offer you a refund or exchange if they were wrong, then again a highly reputable breeder will only sell "confirmed" female if they sexed it via exuvium rather than ventral sexing

 

[Arianji]

Thank you for the prompt reply, I didn't realize we had a classified section on here (still kinda new to the site) but yeah I didn't mean for it to come off as females having a guaranteed life span, but just the higher probability of their longer life I find appealing as a pet owner. So how long do female pinky toes usually live?

 

[jayefbe]

Everything I've read suggests that Avicularia females only live around 8-12 years, and that will vary a lot based upon growth rate, temperature, amount of feeding, genetics. Compared to genera like Grammostola and Brachypelma where a female can live for decades, Avicularia have quite short life spans.

I encourage you to check out the classifieds section on this forum. If a user or seller catches your eye, read their reviews on this forum. Most of the hobbyists and sellers on this forum are leaps and bounds better than the vast majority of pet shops. Just be sure to read the reviews first. There are plenty of female A. avicularia being sold.

 

[Arianji]

thank you for the reply as well, I just read the classifieds and my eye got caught by the feigning beetles, i have never seen them before, but no sexed avicularia's from what I saw, and now female grammastola, or rephrase, any in my price range haha, but I'll keep looking

 

[SamuraiSid]

Another option for you, if the lps is your thing.... I hope its not

Learn as much as you can about sexing. When you go to the store, you ask them, "How do you know this is female?"
You might not get very far, but Ive heard lps dont know how to sex T's, but they do know that females sell for a higher price.

cheers.