Breeding questions from a new hobbyist

[Atmospheric]

Alright, I have been growing my collection for a little under a year now. I finally have a male/female pair and the thoughts of breeding have run across my mind a few times. Just playing with the idea, I haven't made a definitive choice yet. I know the bare minimum on "breeding 101" and it got me curious (along with the reading I do on my own) is there anything special or specific I should know? Any tips or tricks you have learned in your time being a T owner? Is it rewarding? Fun? Tedious? Tell me your success stories and your failures. HELP ME LEARN! Or don't.

 

[Bugmom]

Species makes a big difference. I can't tell you much without knowing if we're talking about an easy to breed species with an eggsac full of 2,000 eggs, or a hard to breed species with a small eggsac. There's a breeding report forum on here, I suggest looking there under whatever species you're thinking of breeding.

Is it rewarding and fun? To people who enjoy it. People who don't like it would say no.

 

[Tfisher]

Breeding is my favorite part of the hobby. I go through sling withdrawal if I wait too long to have another brood to care for. The hardest part is the waiting for everything. I don't even have patience to wait for my pop tart to come out of the toaster..

First you have to wait for your Ts to mature, then you get to do the pairing. The pairing is stressful and could end in the blink of an eye, but let's say everything goes without incident then you get some more waiting. With again more WAITING one of two things will happen. One bring that your T molted which means no sac or eventually you notice a sac within the clutches of a new mother.

Add in some MORE WAITING FOR ABOUT 30 DAYS!!! Then you get to pull the sac away from mom. CONGRATULATIONS you've now become a mother of 15-2500 slings! Then you get to wait till the babies molt. And wait and wait and wait and wait...

Feeding is another one of the things that comes with breeding and depending on the spices you could have some loooooong nights. At any rate it's the most rewarding part of this hobby!

I hope you enjoy and please let us know the species!!!

 

[Marijan2]

Alright, I have been growing my collection for a little under a year now. I finally have a male/female pair and the thoughts of breeding have run across my mind a few times. Just playing with the idea, I haven't made a definitive choice yet. I know the bare minimum on "breeding 101" and it got me curious (along with the reading I do on my own) is there anything special or specific I should know? Any tips or tricks you have learned in your time being a T owner? Is it rewarding? Fun? Tedious? Tell me your success stories and your failures. HELP ME LEARN! Or don't.

Hit us with specifics, as you probably researched all the basics. No need to hold back There's a lot of experienced breeders here who can help with anything.
As @Tfisher said, breeding can be tedious with a lot of wait and anticipation, multiple things need to align to be successful. Always expect the unexpected, always prepare well beforehand. Always expect the double clutching(even if species isn't known for doing that, it can and WILL happen sometimes). Always expect double the slings the species you intend to pair for feeding and housing. Invest in several syringes.

In the end it's very rewarding, especially if you managed to breed harder species with success.
And a tip for counting slings: take a nice sharp picture of all of them, go in paint, and put little dots on counted eggs as you count, it's like playing bingo and putting chips down

 

[Atmospheric]

They are Aphonopelma hentzi. The male is mature but I'm not 100% sure if the female is. She lays down tons of web all day every day. Is there any tell-tale signs she's ready? I'm really excited to start this chapter in my T keeping journey but I'm worried my knowledge is lacking and I'll screw something up.

 

[Marijan2]

They are Aphonopelma hentzi. The male is mature but I'm not 100% sure if the female is. She lays down tons of web all day every day. Is there any tell-tale signs she's ready? I'm really excited to start this chapter in my T keeping journey but I'm worried my knowledge is lacking and I'll screw something up.

Compare her carapace size to his, if hers is bigger than his, she is most likely ready.

 

[Bugmom]

They are Aphonopelma hentzi. The male is mature but I'm not 100% sure if the female is. She lays down tons of web all day every day. Is there any tell-tale signs she's ready? I'm really excited to start this chapter in my T keeping journey but I'm worried my knowledge is lacking and I'll screw something up.

Her webbing has nothing to do with whether she's ready to mate or not. Darkened spermethecae is the only way to tell that a female tarantula is mature. You obviously need a molt for that. But, if she has a 4" DSL or more, she's probably ready. Are you though? Hentzi sacs are HUGE. You could have 800 babies. That's not even close to an exaggeration. What's your plan for the slings?

Are you sure they are both hentzi? Really really 100% sure? Have you read this? http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6264

 

[Austin S.]

They are Aphonopelma hentzi. The male is mature but I'm not 100% sure if the female is. She lays down tons of web all day every day. Is there any tell-tale signs she's ready? I'm really excited to start this chapter in my T keeping journey but I'm worried my knowledge is lacking and I'll screw something up.

I've bred A. hentzi countless of times. I have also had the privilege of viewing them in the wild post and pre mating season. Pictures below for reference.
So, your female needs to be around 4" to be breedable. She also needs to be no more than 4 months post molt.
Make sure your mature male has made a recent sperm web as well. Here is a picture for reference of a sperm web:
MM sperm web remains

This species breeds during the warm, wet season. So 4 weeks before introducing the MM into the females tank, raise the temps for her to be around 80-85. Flood her tank 2-3 times a week. Feed heavily during this time.
Wait for your mature male to make a fresh sperm web before each mating.
Mate her 2-3 times if possible.
After that, feed her a few more times and let the tank entirely dry out. Once it is dry, you will need to cool her down.
Cool her at a temperature from around 50-65. Leave her on cool down for 45 days.
After cool down, bring her back up gradually to 80 degrees and start flooding and power feeding.
You should have a sac in an est. of 4-5 months, avg. 900-1,500 slings.

Best of luck to you!

Natural habitat photos