Maturation of Ts

[AmberDawnDays]

I have quite a few questions regarding the maturation of tarantulas. Is there a good source to use to find out lifespans and maturation info on Ts?

Below is what I know (or think I know) and follow up questions.

Males:

Penultimate molt is the molt before maturity. Correct? How do people know when their male is penultimate?

Ultimate molt is the last molt for males and makes them a MM. People know this by the bulbs on pedipalps and tibial spurs. The male usually doesn't molt again after the ultimate molt. Correct?

Females:

I feel like I don't know very much about female maturity. How do I know when a female is mature? Do females still get larger with molts after reaching maturity or are they mature once they reach their adult size? Once I know the answer to this I have follow up questions about MF, but my questions depend on the answer, so I'll wait to ask.

Thanks

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Males:

1. Penultimate molt is the molt before maturity. Correct?
2. How do people know when their male is penultimate?

3. Ultimate molt is the last molt for males and makes them a MM. People know this by the bulbs on pedipalps and tibial spurs. The male usually doesn't molt again after the ultimate molt. Correct?

1. Correct
2. Presumably if it hasn't already matured and is reaching the maximum size for its gender/species then it could be considered a penultimate male.
3. Not all species possess tibial hooks but they do all have the bulbous pedipalps/emboli, males do sometimes attempt a post-ultimate moult but it's pretty rare that they survive the process and I think they usually tear off their emboli if they do survive which means they won't be able to mate anyway.

Females:

I feel like I don't know very much about female maturity. How do I know when a female is mature? Do females still get larger with molts after reaching maturity or are they mature once they reach their adult size?

Females generally become sexually mature at around 75% of maximum size for the species, you can tell if they are sexually mature by examining the moult, if the spermathecae are sclerotised (darkened) then she is sexually mature, if they are still clear/white then she isn't sexually mature.

I think that covers everything, if I've missed anything then I'm sure someone else will chime in.

 

[darkness975]

With regard to age (as in the number) you will not be able to tell the age (in years) unless you know when it was hatched.

Regarding maturation , @The Grym Reaper covered that, but you can see how it would be confusing for someone to grasp at first.

 

[viper69]

tibial spurs. The male usually doesn't molt again after the ultimate molt. Correct?

Not all species have a change in morphology as quoted above.

Some males do try and molt again. I had a Rose Hair that molted, and died shortly after molting. I'm unaware of anyone (always an exception) whose T molted after it's final molt and lived to eat about it

 

[awiec]

Not all species have a change in morphology as quoted above.

Some males do try and molt again. I had a Rose Hair that molted, and died shortly after molting. I'm unaware of anyone (always an exception) whose T molted after it's final molt and lived to eat about it

There was someone on the facebook page that had a male Avic (think she called him Bilbo) keep a bulb from a post maturation molt and he managed to father another viable sac, I only remember it due to how unusual it was.

 

[AmberDawnDays]

2. Presumably if it hasn't already matured and is reaching the maximum size for its gender/species then it could be considered a penultimate male.

Sizes are usually given in a range (like 7 -8 inches). So if a certain species is known to reach 7 or 8 inches and the male reached 7 inches without producing bulbs, is it the penultimate molt?

3. Not all species possess tibial hooks but they do all have the bulbous pedipalps/emboli.

I didn't know this. How do I know which species have hooks and which ones do not?

Females generally become sexually mature at around 75% of maximum size for the species

Do people pair their females when they reach maturity or do they wait for a certain time period or until they reach a certain size?

Sidenote:
I'm not planning on pairing any of my Ts anytime soon, but the process does interest me. I am just gathering this info for my own education and maybe one day, when I feel experienced enough, I may attempt pairing.

Edit: to fix what I wrote...

 

[cold blood]

Females generally become sexually mature at around 75% of maximum size

Id say its smaller than that...like maybe 60% of max size.

Do people breed their females when they reach maturity or do they wait for a certain time period or until they reach a certain size?

Some people wait, some don't. I have always had very high success rates with young females.

 

[Olan]

No one is ever sure if their male is penultimate. Experience can give you a pretty good idea but it will never be a sure thing

 

[AmberDawnDays]

No one is ever sure if their male is penultimate. Experience can give you a pretty good idea but it will never be a sure thing

Yeah I was wondering about that.