Monocentropus balfouri-mature male?????

mikeinla

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 25, 2015
Messages
11
Monocentropus balfouri-mature male?????? This one molted about a week ago. I have 4 Balfouri and I have not seen them in 8 months, they are always hiding. I decided to open a few cages today. The first pic the balfouri seems to have REALLY long legs compared to the second one I uncovered. I cannot see hooks but then again I really do not know what to look for. IMG_0957.JPG IMG_0960.JPG
 

sdsnybny

Arachnogeek
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
1,330
Even if you cant see the hooks, they will be under the second segment (knee) it does look as though I see MM palps swollen emboli. They are easier to see than hooks
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
In a couple dozen genera adult males don't have tibial spurs. In some, spurs are hard to see. I'd advise against looking for hooks on any adult tarantula, and look at the palps instead. A short distal segment and red emboli are definitive.

After you've done this a while, you can tell at a glance if a spider is an adult male. Their build is different, unusually slender and leggy. Looking at yours, the legs are much longer than the one in the pic below it. Obvious male without even seeing palps or spurs.
 

creepa

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
260
Thats a male for shure....!

Breed him with the female..., females dont have to be mature to breed.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
No they dont..., you can breed balfouri females 1 or 2 molts before maturity.:)
Maturity does not mean they have reached their full size. It means they are old enough to have mature parts. Which they need to breed and have offspring. :)
 

chanda

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
2,229
No they dont..., you can breed balfouri females 1 or 2 molts before maturity.:)
That sounds like a biological impossibility. Perhaps you are confusing sexual maturity with full size? A female may reach sexual maturity relatively young, but continue to grow and molt for years - or even decades. She cannot, however, reproduce until she is sexually mature because she is not capable of producing eggs. Also, she cannot retain sperm and "save it for later" until she is ready to begin producing eggs. Every time she molts, she will shed the linings of her spermathecae - and any sperm they might contain. A mature spider, on the other hand, can produce multiple fertile egg sacs from a single mating, as long as she does not molt between laying them. (I know this is true of some spider species, but don't know if it applies to all of them. As with everything else, I'm sure there are exceptions.)
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
The recommendation that I have heard for the best possible scenario is not to attempt breeding a female until they have reached their full size. It makes sense as the division of resources between growing and producing eggs seems like it would put a lot of stress on the tarantula and possibly create complications. I would rather be patient then risk the potential issues of breeding a female too young.
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
No they dont..., you can breed balfouri females 1 or 2 molts before maturity.:)

Do you understand what maturity is? You cannot breed spiders one or two molts before maturity. Their reproductive organs aren't functional. You can breed females before they hit their maximum size.
 

creepa

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
260
Maturity does not mean they have reached their full size. It means they are old enough to have mature parts. Which they need to breed and have offspring. :)
Thats true indeed..., than let me rephrase myself...:

You can breed the females before they reach adult size...
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
let me rephrase myself...You can breed the females before they reach adult size...

Wrong again. Best 2 out of 3? When they're mature, they're adults, their reproductive organs are fully functional. But it doesn't mean they've reached their full size potential. With females, growth will continue with each molt after they're sexually mature, slowing down until it's negligible.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
Wrong again. Best 2 out of 3? When they're mature, they're adults, their reproductive organs are fully functional. But it doesn't mean they've reached their full size potential. With females, growth will continue with each molt after they're sexually mature, slowing down until it's negligible.
Now your just splitting hairs. ;) You and I both knew they meant full size. I myself have often heard full size or max size referred to as a tarantula's adult size on here and other tarantula info places. They understood the mistake and was willing to correct it. To me that says a lot. :)

I knew they continued to molt, abet it occurring slower, after reaching full size but I didn't know about the exponential slowing of their growth after adulthood. Good Info.

i also keep m. balfouris, both housed together as i heard they are good species to house communally. one just molted and seems to be very leggy then the other one i have. first pic is the suspect male who recently molted. second pic im hoping to be female, they both seem to be 2.5in now.
I have been doing the same thing with my 3 M.balfouris slings since I got them the other week. They are working together really well to settle in and setup a home for themselves. So far I've been pretty pleased with how well it is going.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

creepa

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
260
Wrong again. Best 2 out of 3? When they're mature, they're adults, their reproductive organs are fully functional. But it doesn't mean they've reached their full size potential. With females, growth will continue with each molt after they're sexually mature, slowing down until it's negligible.
Then what about teen moms?, there not adult size so you dont have to be adult to reproduce and neither do spiders have to be adult.

You know what i mean but now you are just beeing a wiseass...
 
Last edited:
Top