Brachypelma hamorii [ventral sexing]

Leaning male, imo.

@Arachnophoric ty for your input. I still my Little Bub. I was just hoping my 1st T would be a girl. Thanks again!

@Arachnophoric if I may ask, what makes you lean male? I honestly can't tell.

@Roxy While it's nice to have a first T turn out female, you're lucky in that Brachypelma are slow growers and you'll still have your boy for many years, and can have him a couple more even after he matures. Males have their own unique charm, imo, where once they mature it feels like they have a goal or purpose if you're intent on getting him the chance to breed. There's no pressure to do so if you'd rather enjoy his twilight years as a beloved pet, but the option is on the table. You have many options once he does mature; keep him until the end of his days, sell him to make your money back, trade him for other Ts, or send him out on a breeding loan to someone experienced with breeding where you in turn will get a cut of the resulting slings if the female manages a good egg sac.

Or, if you feel so inclined to do so years down the road as your T approaches maturity (if it is indeed male, as it should be noted ventral sexing is only guesswork at best and you should ALWAYS verify with a molt rather than rely off answers on ventral sexing) you could invest in a female to pair him with yourself, which would let you breed him without sending him off, land you with a female regardless of how the egg sac goes, end up with a few of his slings for sentimentality's sake if nothing else (I did this with my first mature male), and make a little extra cash in the process. B. hamorii is a very beloved species in the hobby, so you wouldn't have much trouble unloading the slings.

I figure I'll go the route you did. I'll pair him and get a granddaughter or two out of him, as I'm obviously the very sentimental type. Thanks for your help!

@Roxy There's that line that runs between the upper set of booklungs called the epigastric furrow - it is present on both male and females, but between the two there will be some differences. The space between the upper booklungs is very square, where my female's are tilted outwards making the space look more trapezoid in shape. The furrow is not particularly prominent, where a female will normally have a pronounced "lippy" look to it. Lastly, there's that light patch you can just make out at the upper side along the center of the furrow. This could be the early signs of epiandrous fusillae, a cluster of micro-spinnerets that are present on male tarantulas and assist in creating sperm webs after he matures.

Here's a photo of one I'd presume to be female, looking at the furrow. Notice the differences between it and your own T. Keep in mind this is a 2.5-3" specimen though, so at this size male traits would be a little more obvious as well.

@Arachnophoric well I guess only time or an intact molt will tell. Thank you for the explanation, it actually explains it a lot better than my just going by pictures I see. I actually thought female, but my eyes don't differentiate things that well. Thank you so much for your time. Well, hey, the boys need love too. And if my baby is indeed a male then I'll find him a lady of the night and hopefully have some baby bubs. Either way, I'll love and spoil the little booger, like I do the rest of them. Thanks again!