# HELP! MALE OR FEMALE CURLY HAIR TARANTULA? AND AGE GUESS



## Peachloser (Jan 22, 2018)

The place I got it from said they were 80% sure it was female but they didn't seem too educated. Also, can you help me guess the age? It's around 3 and a half inches. I was only handling it in the images because we were changing the substrate and moving her from her terrarium.


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## Sarkhan42 (Jan 22, 2018)

Well, I can tell you it’s not a MATURE male but that’s about it. I don’t know from your ventral photo, but with a clear close shot sex can be gathered with some accuracy by a trained eye. For absolutely positive determination of sex, you’ll probably want to wait on a molt. Age will vary heavily with temperature/Sex/individual.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Ant (Jan 22, 2018)

Peachloser said:


> I was only handling it in the images because we were changing the substrate and moving her from her terrarium.


Catch cup not an option then? What do you think people with old worlds do when they're transferring? And I'm pretty sure there's a separate subforum for sexing queries . . . http://arachnoboards.com/gallery/categories/tarantula-sexing.3/

Reactions: Agree 1 | Love 1


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## Peachloser (Jan 22, 2018)

Ant said:


> Catch cup not an option then? What do you think people with old worlds do when they're transferring? And I'm pretty sure there's a separate subforum for sexing queries.


 dont be a jerk dude, she got out of her cup because she was quick and afraid, i took a few quick photos. It's only my second day with a tarantula. This is my first one. I'm trying my best and want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I'm sorry.

Reactions: Dislike 3


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## Ant (Jan 22, 2018)

Peachloser said:


> she got out of her cup because she was quick and afraid


If someone can use a catch cup on an old world species that essentially teleports it's so fast, I'm pretty sure you can do it with a curly. If you want to make sure you're doing everything right, then take advice. 
Speaking of advice, judging from the first photo, it doesn't look like you have enough substrate in the enclosure, could just be the camera angle though . . .

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Sarkhan42 (Jan 22, 2018)

Ant said:


> If someone can use a catch cup on an old world species that essentially teleports it's so fast, I'm pretty sure you can do it with a curly. If you want to make sure you're doing everything right, then take advice.
> Speaking of advice, judging from the first photo, it doesn't look like you have enough substrate in the enclosure, could just be the camera angle though . . .


+1 for the substrate. As a general rule you only want around 1.5x the diagonal leg span of the Tarantula between the lid and the soil.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Peachloser (Jan 22, 2018)

Ant said:


> If someone can use a catch cup on an old world species that essentially teleports it's so fast, I'm pretty sure you can do it with a curly. If you want to make sure you're doing everything right, then take advice.
> Speaking of advice, judging from the first photo, it doesn't look like you have enough substrate in the enclosure, could just be the camera angle though . . .


Nope! We definitely didn't. It was only 2 inches of substrate, That's why we had to change it. Now its 4 inches & I added some above her hide and around it to make it more like burrow instead of just sticking the hide in there  Thank you for the help! Not only did we not have enough substrate, it was too wet and she kept climbing up the walls and not using her hide. Now that we added more substrate, damp NOT wet, and created the burrow hide thing for her, she hasnt been climbing at all and seems to be more comfortable.

Reactions: Like 4


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## Ant (Jan 22, 2018)

Awesome, just remember its not necessarily the depth of the substrate that counts, it's the distance between substrate and ceiling as @Sarkhan42 said above .

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as rude/blunt.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## boina (Jan 22, 2018)

As @KezyGLA already stated on the pic you posted in the Gallery and as @Sarkhan42 stated here it's pretty impossible to tell from the pic if it's male of female. The pic is simply too dark and not clear enough. 

And it's completely impossible to tell age from size of a tarantula. It depends on feeding schedule, temperature it was kept at and moreover internal factors we don't know anything about. I've two G. pulchra from the same egg sac that are 3 years old now, both female, and one is 2" and the other is 3.5" - don't ask me why. Growth rate really can vary wildly. And with a species that lives as long as a Brachpelma albopilosum a couple of years more or less are pretty irrelevant anyway. Yours is still a juvenile, so I'd say it's between 1 and 4 years old .

RE handling: Most people around here discourage it because of the serious risk it poses for the tarantula - not for you. You can get bit, the tarantula can fall and die. And a tarantula should not be able to get out of a catch cup - that's the whole purpose of the thing . If it got out you did something wrong...

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4 | Helpful 1


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## Peachloser (Jan 22, 2018)

boina said:


> As @KezyGLA already stated on the pic you posted in the Gallery and as @Sarkhan42 stated here it's pretty impossible to tell from the pic if it's male of female. The pic is simply too dark and not clear enough.
> 
> And it's completely impossible to tell age from size of a tarantula. It depends on feeding schedule, temperature it was kept at and moreover internal factors we don't know anything about. I've two G. pulchra from the same egg sac that are 3 years old now, both female, and one is 2" and the other is 3.5" - don't ask me why. Growth rate really can vary wildly. And with a species that lives as long as a Brachpelma albopilosum a couple of years more or less are pretty irrelevant anyway. Yours is still a juvenile, so I'd say it's between 1 and 4 years old .
> 
> RE handling: Most people around here discourage it because of the serious risk it poses for the tarantula - not for you. You can get bit, the tarantula can fall and die. And a tarantula should not be able to get out of a catch cup - that's the whole purpose of the thing . If it got out you did something wrong...


I’m not afraid of her, I know it’s dangerous for them to handle them. She got out because we have an exo terra and we opened it from the front and she got scared so she climbed out and climbed on the top and we tried to push her into the cup with a paintbrush from there but I was afraid she would fall so I picked her up instead. Thanks though.


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## EulersK (Jan 22, 2018)

Peachloser said:


> I’m not afraid of her, I know it’s dangerous for them to handle them. She got out because we have an exo terra and we opened it from the front and she got scared so she climbed out and climbed on the top and we tried to push her into the cup with a paintbrush from there but I was afraid she would fall so I picked her up instead. Thanks though.


In the future, to catch a spider with a cup, don't try to encourage them in there with a paintbrush. In other words, don't ask their permission. Literally place the cup over them, slide a piece of cardboard under the cup, and then you have a trapped spider. Simple. 

But to directly answer your question, just try to get a photo with better lighting. But I wouldn't bother if I were you, vent sexing isn't terribly reliable anyway.

Reactions: Like 3 | Helpful 1


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## jaycied (Jan 22, 2018)

Regardless of whether you are afraid of her or not, if she bites you, or makes any sudden moves that startle you, you WILL throw her/him. It's a knee jerk reaction

Reactions: Agree 1


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## cold blood (Jan 22, 2018)

Peachloser said:


> . She got out because we have an exo terra and we opened it from the front


This type of enclosure is an arboreal enclosure, not suitable for a terrestrial, such as your albopilosum.    The problem is that the front opening doors _prevent_ one from adding sufficient substrate to create a safe environment.

Now that _can_ be used, but it needs to be modified.  You need to lay the enclosure essentially on its back, so the front doors are not opening at the top.   Now you replace the screen top (which is a good idea regardless as ts can get their tarsal hooks caught in them and lose limbs, or worse, fall) with acrylic or plexi...hardware store cut it to measurement.   When replacing the top, you would only ventilate part of it, as it will now be acting as a dam for your substrate.   Now you can fill the enclosure 3/4 of the way full with sub and you've created a safer and improved home for a terrestrial.

Reactions: Like 2 | Helpful 1


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## Peachloser (Jan 22, 2018)

cold blood said:


> This type of enclosure is an arboreal enclosure, not suitable for a terrestrial, such as your albopilosum.    The problem is that the front opening doors _prevent_ one from adding sufficient substrate to create a safe environment.
> 
> Now that _can_ be used, but it needs to be modified.  You need to lay the enclosure essentially on its back, so the front doors are not opening at the top.   Now you replace the screen top (which is a good idea regardless as ts can get their tarsal hooks caught in them and lose limbs, or worse, fall) with acrylic or plexi...hardware store cut it to measurement.   When replacing the top, you would only ventilate part of it, as it will now be acting as a dam for your substrate.   Now you can fill the enclosure 3/4 of the way full with sub and you've created a safer and improved home for a terrestrial.


Thank you!! I am new to this and want to be the best tarantula mom I can be. So any suggestions and tips are more than appericiated.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Tilly123 (Sep 19, 2019)

Just came across this statement and i fully agree. I have two Ts now and always have wanted to give handling a go at some point just to gain confidence a little. But i have to say i know my first reaction to anything moving a little quicker than im used to would result in me probably killing my Ts. Its just natural response. Plus ive come to know they dont like it so why bother them. Jusrt admire from afar


jaycied said:


> Regardless of whether you are afraid of her or not, if she bites you, or makes any sudden moves that startle you, you WILL throw her/him. It's a knee jerk reaction


TS NOW


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