# P. metallica slings - growth rate?



## julesaussies (May 22, 2007)

i just saw an ad in the AB classifieds for Poecilotheria metallica slings!  The price looks very fair for such an awesome, fast growing, hard to find sling. Does anyone know approximately how long it would take for a 1.5" P. metallica sling to mature?:? 

Thanks, jules


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## TheDarkFinder (May 22, 2007)

growth depends on too many things. 
How much you feed them, temperature, humidity. 
What you feed them, and even stress. 

So to answer this question is simple. for males as little as 8 months for females 3-5 years. so 8 months to 5 years.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## david goldsboro (May 22, 2007)

i have quite a few p metallicas grown from slings males take around 14 months to start to mature some take longer females can be ready to mate at 14 month old just short of 5 inch leg span , all mine are kept at 28 degrees fed loads and all the females have grown quicker than the males , our first female bought as a sling from the bts show May 2005 she was mated june 2006 and produced an egg sac containing 123 eggs sadly i took it too early and the eggs never developed


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## Heather (May 22, 2007)

david goldsboro said:


> all the females have grown quicker than the males


Just when I was getting hopeful for another female 

But now I am confused.... which grows faster~ Male or Female?  Or does it really just depend on the above factors?


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## mcy (May 22, 2007)

Heather said:


> Just when I was getting hopeful for another female
> 
> But now I am confused.... which grows faster~ Male or Female?  Or does it really just depend on the above factors?


your not going to get much more clarity than this but it depends on how good of genetics depending how big, small, fast or how slow it grows.

 As far as i know not many have been imported so all the inbreeding people are doing to make a quick buck will eventually take its toll on the adult sizes we will see in captivity and number of broodlings that survive. :wall:


just toss some dice up in the air because thats as good of a guess you will get unless its big enough to sex already or have a high powered microscope


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## syndicate (May 22, 2007)

mcy said:


> all the inbreeding people are doing to make a quick buck will eventually take its toll on the adult sizes we will see in captivity and number of broodlings that survive. :wall:


im gonna disagree with ya there.think you'd be surprised to find out how many tarantulas in your collection are inbred.


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## Heather (May 22, 2007)

Clear... Thanks.

I guess that could easily explain why I have one that is growing so stinkin' slow then.


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## mcy (May 22, 2007)

syndicate said:


> im gonna disagree with ya there.think you'd be surprised to find out how many tarantulas in your collection are inbred.


i wouldnt be suprised because i know most are inbred but not to the degree of a p metallica will be since VERY few have been collected from the wild

ps this species is one of the few that is pricey not because its hard to breed but because how rare it is in the wild


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## omni (May 22, 2007)

inbreeding, if can at all be avoided is the optimum. A common example of long-term inbreeding in the US is the gerbil; there is very little variety, and are the result of 11 pairs being imported in '54. a genetics  article referencing this effect of inbreeding on subpopulations http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/92/1/71


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## syndicate (May 23, 2007)

mcy said:


> i wouldnt be suprised because i know most are inbred but not to the degree of a p metallica will be since VERY few have been collected from the wild
> 
> ps this species is one of the few that is pricey not because its hard to breed but because how rare it is in the wild


i dunno how rare they actually are in the wild but from my understanding there not exactly in the easiest locality for people to reach.also with exporting out of india closed obtaining more wc specimens isnt gonna happen legaly.once more people have sucess here with breeding they will become cheap.for the price u can buy a sling here in the states u can purchase an adult female in the uk.theres a few bloodlines of p.metallica tho.ive heard that all p.rufialata in the hobby are all from one bloodline.the same could be said for other species aswell im sure


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## AlainL (May 23, 2007)

TheDarkFinder said:


> growth depends on too many things.
> How much you feed them, temperature, humidity.
> What you feed them, and even stress.
> 
> So to answer this question is simple. for males as little as 8 months for females 3-5 years. so 8 months to 5 years.


3 to 5 years??? Are you sure about that?


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## TheDarkFinder (May 23, 2007)

carpetpython said:


> 3 to 5 years??? Are you sure about that?


Yes, if you feed the min. amount keep it cool. then yes it could take 5 years. 

Since we are talking about the number of molts not time, it is possible. there are too many variables to this.


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## mcy (May 23, 2007)

syndicate said:


> i dunno how rare they actually are in the wild but from my understanding there not exactly in the easiest locality for people to reach.also with exporting out of india closed obtaining more wc specimens isnt gonna happen legaly.once more people have sucess here with breeding they will become cheap.for the price u can buy a sling here in the states u can purchase an adult female in the uk.theres a few bloodlines of p.metallica tho.ive heard that all p.rufialata in the hobby are all from one bloodline.the same could be said for other species aswell im sure


hm didnt know there as only 1 bloodline of rufilata but i can easily see that happening since they are only found at high altitudes on some mountain top. the metallica was found in late 1800's early 1900s or so then dissapeared until recently was found on a piece of drift wood if there are several bloodlines i have no clue what they have in europe but i know its more than what we have in the united states


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