So my first tarantula is a male, now what?

[Tarantularanch2014]

It's been a a little over a year since I bought my first T (a subadult B. Albo) And a few months ago he molted and I noticed that he had hooks and emboli meaning that this was his ultimate molt. The reason I haven't done anything yet is because I have been debating on whether I should send him out to a breeder or not. I'm not interested in caring for tons of small spiderlings but it does make me kind of sad to see him wandering around his enclosure in circles all day to no avail. (Once or twice I even caught him trying to scratch the side of the enclosure with his fangs). I know he probably won't live for long but he still eats and I think I would be more at peace knowing that he had a full life when the time comes. One thing I'm worried about though is shipping and also having him get eaten by the female because of him being paired too agressively or carelessly. Should I bother risking it or would it be better to just let him be? Is paring him with someone locally an option?

 

[BoyFromLA]

1. Breeding loan.
2. Sell.
3. Keep it till it’s last day on the Earth.

Your call.

 

[Michael Guirov]

A trade for some new slings is a nice option?

 

[Goopyguy56]

Maybe you can put a stuffed animal in his enclosure. He might not know the difference. I have seen it done with rabbits. He just does his deed on the stuffed animal and dies a happy man.

 

[korg]

Sounds like you're already aware of all the options... shipping is not that daunting if you do end up wanting to send him out, there are videos online that explain how to do it perfectly. You'd just need to buy a few supplies. I'm sure you could also sell or give him away locally as well if you're in a populated area.

 

[EtienneN]

Brachys and Grammys can last quite a while after maturing. My G. pulchra lasted for 28 months after his ultimate moult. He won't be 'upset' if you just decide to keep him since you're clearly attached to him. But it is sad to see them wander and tap. I kept my male G. pulchra because I couldn't bear the thought of him getting eaten by a female (even though most of the time they actually do manage to get away).

 

[volcanopele]

Mature males aren’t the end of the world. They can live a remarkably long time after maturing. One of my L. klugi males has been mature for 2 years as of yesterday and he is only now showing signs that he might be on his way out. My P. cambridgei male has been mature for 2 years this Sunday and he’s probably been mature longer than not and he is definitely not showing any signs for slowing down.

 

[Tarantularanch2014]

Wow thanks for all the replies! I'm glad to here that my T still might still have some good time left in him.

Sounds like you're already aware of all the options... shipping is not that daunting if you do end up wanting to send him out, there are videos online that explain how to do it perfectly. You'd just need to buy a few supplies. I'm sure you could also sell or give him away locally as well if you're in a populated area.

I'm generally aware of the options yes but I'm not quite sure how I would actually go about finding a place to take/send him. Would I just try and contact a reputable breeder from their website or something? Or maybe I would just try and find someone on this site? Basically I want to know what is the best way to find people who could use a mature male in my area. I am just not very social normally so I'm not quite sure how that stuff works especially when it's hard to know who to trust when you are on the Internet at times. I know that might sound a bit paranoid but I've heard stories were people would just leave the male in with the female without watching and not giving the male a chance to escape or having them receive the male and just keeping it without sending it back or things of that nature.

 

[Kitara]

I'm generally aware of the options yes but I'm not quite sure how I would actually go about finding a place to take/send him. Would I just try and contact a reputable breeder from their website or something? Or maybe I would just try and find someone on this site? Basically I want to know what is the best way to find people who could use a mature male in my area. I am just not very social normally so I'm not quite sure how that stuff works especially when it's hard to know who to trust when you are on the Internet at times. I know that might sound a bit paranoid but I've heard stories were people would just leave the male in with the female without watching and not giving the male a chance to escape or having them receive the male and just keeping it without sending it back or things of that nature.

Yeah, we are in the same boat. I looked through the forum with the for sale/want/trade and nobody is looking for my species. When we were looking to buy one originally we found nobody at all in our area. So, I really don't know where else we would look and my daughter is terrified to ship her baby so we're just going to let him live out his life and then move on to the next one. She absolutely loves the idea of raising up "Mocha 2.0," but I just don't really know how to make that happen.

 

[Teal]

My recommendations are...

1. Post an ad on here, in the For sale/Trade section or Invertsonals. I personally don't do loans anymore... I do sales/trades only.

2. Post him on Craigslist! If there are spider people in your area, they'll see your ad. Dedicated spider folk keep an eye on CL lol

 

[Aarantula]

A trade for some new slings is a nice option?

That’s what I would do for sure

 

[Vanessa]

It's been a a little over a year since I bought my first T (a subadult B. Albo) And a few months ago he molted and I noticed that he had hooks and emboli meaning that this was his ultimate molt. The reason I haven't done anything yet is because I have been debating on whether I should send him out to a breeder or not. I'm not interested in caring for tons of small spiderlings but it does make me kind of sad to see him wandering around his enclosure in circles all day to no avail. (Once or twice I even caught him trying to scratch the side of the enclosure with his fangs). I know he probably won't live for long but he still eats and I think I would be more at peace knowing that he had a full life when the time comes. One thing I'm worried about though is shipping and also having him get eaten by the female because of him being paired too agressively or carelessly. Should I bother risking it or would it be better to just let him be? Is paring him with someone locally an option?

My mature male lived very happily for over 18 months. Making sure he has water available at all times is key.
You have no control over whether he gets eaten. Yes, the person breeding them could very well not care less and not do much to intervene. People also often don't know what they're doing - just watch some of the idiots over on YouTube with their pairing attempts.
Yes, I have done pairing with local people where we have met up (usually at the expo) and we attempt the pairing there and I have gone back home with my male.

 

[Ungoliant]

I'm generally aware of the options yes but I'm not quite sure how I would actually go about finding a place to take/send him. Would I just try and contact a reputable breeder from their website or something? Or maybe I would just try and find someone on this site?

If you want to find him a date, I would post an ad in our Classified section.

Generally, if you're dealing with someone you don't know, it's less risky to do a straight sale than a breeding loan. You can let the buyer know if you'd like any of his slings. (When my males mature, I don't want scores of slings, but I would like a few to carry on the legacy.)

If you know any other people locally, you can reach out and see if they need him or know anyone who does. You can also go to exotic pet shows to see if anyone there is interested.

 

[viper69]

Sell him

 

[Tessa Clifton]

I would loan him out if you feel comfortable, trade his sperm for a few slings and hopefully get a female out of it. Thats just my opinion though.

 

[Tarantularanch2014]

If you want to find him a date, I would post an ad in our Classified section.

Generally, if you're dealing with someone you don't know, it's less risky to do a straight sale than a breeding loan. You can let the buyer know if you'd like any of his slings. (When my males mature, I don't want scores of slings, but I would like a few to carry on the legacy.)

If you know any other people locally, you can reach out and see if they need him or know anyone who does. You can also go to exotic pet shows to see if anyone there is interested.

So I take it there is a a real risk of getting cheated out on a loan when you are dealing with randoms then. Or atleast there is a good chance that they don't know what they are doing. I'd really rather not sell him though since he is my first T. I'm not really interested in doing this to get money or expand my collection as much as it is just for my peace of mind. I did go to one local exotics show and found someone who wanted to breed their B. Albo but alas they also had just a mature male that was even older than mine is.

What is this about a classified section? I didn't see any sections for breeding ads in the different forum sections.

 

[Vanessa]

So I take it there is a a real risk of getting cheated out on a loan when you are dealing with randoms then. Or atleast there is a good chance that they don't know what they are doing. I'd really rather not sell him though since he is my first T. I'm not really interested in doing this to get money or expand my collection as much as it is just for my peace of mind.

Yes, there is a very real chance of getting ripped off - it's easy to say that they never paired and that a male came from someone else when an egg sac magically appears. Or, they are sold wholesale to a breeder and you never even know.
Giving them away like that is why they are devalued the way they are - people are expecting males for nothing, or almost nothing. The least you should be getting is a 50/50 split, money for your male, or a trade. Don't take nothing.

 

[Ungoliant]

What is this about a classified section? I didn't see any sections for breeding ads in the different forum sections.

https://arachnoboards.com/#classifieds.5

Invertsonals is for breeding loans.

For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy is self-explanatory.