An unpleasant surprise!

[Arachtis]

Hey all, haven't posted here in awhile. I was feeding my P. Murinus last night, and when it came up out of it's burrow for the cricket (hadn't seen it in a few weeks), I noticed the dreaded tibial spurs. I couldn't believe it, I was absolutely convinced that it was a female!

Oh well, I guess now I will loan him out for breeding, and provide him with comfort for the remainder of his life.

 

[Teal]

Uh oh! Sorry to hear bout that

 

[Bill S]

..... I noticed the dreaded tibial spurs. I couldn't believe it, I was absolutely convinced that it was a female!

I guess I just don't see the problem here. Yes, it's a male and you wanted a female. Yes, it's going to have a shorter life than a female would. But that's part of life and part of keeping tarantulas. Enjoy it for what it is and stop whining that they can't all be females. It's not like P. murinus aren't readily and cheaply available - buy a few more and watch them grow. And accept that some of those too will be males.

 

[paul fleming]

I have a MM H.gigas.....more than happy with him and he is getting on now so it's pipe and slippers for this old man.
As Bill said,just enjoy what you have and make the most of of it.
Paul

 

[WelshTan]

I have a MM H.gigas.....more than happy with him and he is getting on now so it's pipe and slippers for this old man.
As Bill said,just enjoy what you have and make the most of of it.
Paul

Has your H.gigas come out of hiding yet? Or was that only a one-off special appearance he made when I was there? lol

 

[paul fleming]

The male and female H.gigas come out in the night normally.
The elusive spider that made a guest appearance for you was my E.pachypus.......the stout leg baboon.

 

[Ariel]

While ending up with a male isn't a terrible thing, sometimes when it happens to be one of the Ts you've really grown attatched to, it really sucks. Especially if you're on a limit like I am. I just found out my B. smithi is male (though not mature) and my parents arn't letting me get anymore Ts, so once it matures and dies off, I can't just, go out and get another one.

so, sorry he turned out to be male. hope you find him a girlfriend though!

 

[LeilaNami]

I guess I just don't see the problem here. Yes, it's a male and you wanted a female. Yes, it's going to have a shorter life than a female would. But that's part of life and part of keeping tarantulas. Enjoy it for what it is and stop whining that they can't all be females. It's not like P. murinus aren't readily and cheaply available - buy a few more and watch them grow. And accept that some of those too will be males.

Excuse me Bill but there is no whining going on in this thread. At least there wasn't until your post.

Arachtis, I'm glad you're making the most of it when you were betting for female.

 

[Teal]

I guess I just don't see the problem here. Yes, it's a male and you wanted a female. Yes, it's going to have a shorter life than a female would. But that's part of life and part of keeping tarantulas. Enjoy it for what it is and stop whining that they can't all be females. It's not like P. murinus aren't readily and cheaply available - buy a few more and watch them grow. And accept that some of those too will be males.

and here is Bill, the Sensitivity Police!

Some people actually get attached to individual Ts and it's sad when they turn out to be male because then you know the clock is ticking.
That doesn't mean anyone is whining or didn't know that it was a possibility :wall:

 

[gumby]

Sorry to hear you were not happy with having a MM pop out. for me I dont really care if they are male or female. Seems like you have a better chance of endding up with more slings if they mature out male because you could potencially end up breeding him to several females and getting a cut from each breeding.

I have a male H. gigas that I suspect will mature here fairly soon. They come out with no tibial spurs right? I seem to remember H. gigas having no spurs but Im not 100%.

 

[paul fleming]

Sorry to hear you were not happy with having a MM pop out. for me I dont really care if they are male or female. Seems like you have a better chance of endding up with more slings if they mature out male because you could potencially end up breeding him to several females and getting a cut from each breeding.

I have a male H. gigas that I suspect will mature here fairly soon. They come out with no tibial spurs right? I seem to remember H. gigas having no spurs but Im not 100%.

They don't.
Honestly,listening to most of you here is like listening to business men.
I got into this hobby because I love spiders.....not to breed and make money.
If you are unhappy with having a male,I say you have no right to be here.
We are all here for our love of spiders......males and females.
Paul

 

[Ariel]

They don't.
Honestly,listening to most of you here is like listening to business men.
I got into this hobby because I love spiders.....not to breed and make money.
If you are unhappy with having a male,I say you have no right to be here.
We are all here for our love of spiders......males and females.
Paul

so what? we can't be a little upset because one of our Ts, perhaps one of out FAVORITE Ts turns out to be male, knowing we won't have them for as long as we'd hoped???

I just found out my B. smithi is male, he was my first T, I love him, and seeing as I'd been misleaded and thought he was female, I'm pretty upset that I won't have him for nearly as long as i thought I would.

YOU have no right to say we don't belong here because we love our Ts, and are saddened knowing we won't have them as long.

 

[Hobo]

I think it's all relative really.

Some people keep tarantulas in the double, triple, quadruple digits, and have the freedom (well as much as their pocketbook allows anyway!) to buy as many slings as they can to ensure a female.

There are also some people, particularly the up and coming young hobbyists (but not always!), that either cannot get a whole lot of Ts or prefer to only keep one or two.

See where this is going? Now I can't speak for everyone, but if I kept only a couple of tarantulas, just as pets, and not as a "hobbyist", I'd be a bit disappointed if I found out my dear tarantula hooked out and left with a year to live.

Not saying the opposite would be true for the other camp, or that hobbyists somehow love their tarantulas less (take a look at this for a shining example... you might want to get a tissue ready!) but I'd wager if you have a lot of Ts, you also have more experience with shipping them, probably have close relationships with other keepers, or probably have a female yourself to pair it with anyway... and less reason to be disappointed with a male!

 

[Mack&Cass]

I recently posted a thread complaining that all of the 6 pokies we got last summer turned out to be male, however, as much as this is going to probably sound bad - sending them away does free up space for new T's, and we get babies without having to do the work! I'm just half-kidding about that last part. When we saw that our P. metallica was male, I wasn't disappointed at all, I was actually really glad because I want someone with more experience to breed him - we're starting our first breeding project in about 3-4 weeks (just waiting on our female B. albo to molt) and so by the time the metallica matures (this summer I'm guessing), I wouldn't feel all that comfortable breeding him myself if he were a she.

The only male of ours that really upset me when he matured is our B. albopilosum. He was my first and when he matured, I wasn't even expecting him to molt, let alone mature. I cried for a while.

I see where you're coming from, I understand that you can't expect to get a female everytime, however, when you have a T that you really think is female and then it matures out to be a male, I can see how that would be disappointing. We think our H. maculata is female, so if she matured male, then I would be disappointed because I believed she was female this whole time.

Cassandra

 

[Teal]

They don't.
Honestly,listening to most of you here is like listening to business men.
I got into this hobby because I love spiders.....not to breed and make money.
If you are unhappy with having a male,I say you have no right to be here.
We are all here for our love of spiders......males and females.
Paul

:wall: :wall: :wall:

First you tell Tommy he shouldn't be in the hobby because you think he doesn't care about his critters, now you're telling the OP and others they don't belong in the hobby because they DO care about their critters!

You just want to start crap, all the time

 

[gumby]

i like the way you put it hobo! I can see your point about the number of Ts you own making a difference. I also feel that there are a few people who would really like to think of their Ts as an investment rather then just a hobby and so I can see the money making end of things too.

 

[Mack&Cass]

Personally I think if a T matures male that holds a strong sentimental value to you, you have every right to be disappointed. A lot of people don't want females just so they can "breed and make money", they want females because they live longer and so the owner has more time with them instead of watching them slowly deteroriate and then die. I'm upset that my albo is male because I know that I've only got a year give or take left with him, and that I have to watch him slowly get worn down until I find him dead one day, or until our female eats him. Even if we didn't have a female to breed him with, I wouldn't be upset that I couldn't make money off of him. Not everyone who breeds Ts is in it for the money. I couldn't care less if I make money off of the albo slings we're going to have or not. All I care about is getting his offspring out there.

Like I said in my previous post, when we find out a T is male, I'm fine with it. It sucks that all 6 pokies we have are male, because that means that they're all getting sent away and we don't actually get to have any of those 6 for that long, not because I only want females so I can make money.

Cassandra

 

[Bill S]

Well, just to add a thought or two - when someone describes the appearance of "the dreaded tibial spurs", as the OP did, I'd say they have less than mature appreciation for their animals. I admit it's not a cheerful thought knowing that your pet is reaching the end of its life - but it's a natural part of keeping animals, and if you dread it, you may not be ready to keep animals. And if you are posting to the world at large that something dreadful has happened when your tarantula turns out to be a male - then yes, you are whining.

A couple people here have tried to relate the acceptance of male maturity with the raising of tarantulas for profit. I think that's a rather bigoted view - trying to dismiss/insult people with other viewpoints by saying "they're only doing it for the money". Same mentality that insults and name-calls anyone who challenges their viewpoint.

I have a few dozen tarantulas, haven't done much breeding, and have no commercial interest in tarantulas. I've never sold one, though if I ended up producing a lot of babies I'd probably trade them off for something new. I almost always get my tarantulas as small slings and enjoy raising them and fussing over them. I recognize and accept the natural patterns of male tarantulas having shorter lives. I'm disappointed at seeing them die, but do not "dread" the natural sequence.

I do think there's a segment of the population here who, while claiming to "love" their tarantulas, actually are more devoted to "having" tarantulas. Possession rather than appreciation. They want more for their money, so they feel cheated if a tarantula turns out to be a short-lived male. Not everyone who feels the pending loss of a mature male falls in this category, but some obviously do.

 

[jebbewocky]

I'm interested in my tarantulas, and am attached to them as individuals.
I have a hard time loving something that doesn't love me back, personally.
*shrug*

 

[Pociemon]

Well i DO love all my T´s, even that they dont love me, actually 90% of my T´s will rather take a bite at me. But it is ok with me though, as long as they look good they will be in a loving environment here;-)