Confirmed female seller etiquette

[Aryia Reptiles]

Hi everyone,
I was curious what hobby etiquette regarding confirmed females is. If one of those were to turn out to be male instead, how do things generally proceed?

I purchased a 3.75" P. metallica about a year ago which finally gave me a molt in one piece and it looks male to me.

 

[cold blood]

Hi everyone,
I was curious what hobby etiquette regarding confirmed females is. If one of those were to turn out to be male instead, how do things generally proceed?

I purchased a 3.75" P. metallica about a year ago which finally gave me a molt in one piece and it looks male to me.

Looks like male just isnt good enough...you will need to confirm via a molt. If you can do this, or if it matures, any seller should make an attempt to make it right

 

[Aryia Reptiles]

Well yes of course, I confirmed from the molt it gave me. At 4" I'd expect to be able to see a prominent spermatheca in P. metallica? It's my first time with this species which is why I said "looks male". Picture of molt is attached.

Image-20230622001916 hosted at ImgBB

Image Image-20230622001916 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Well yes of course, I confirmed from the molt it gave me. At 4" I'd expect to be able to see a prominent spermatheca in P. metallica? It's my first time with this species which is why I said "looks male". Picture of molt is attached.

Image-20230622001916 hosted at ImgBB

Image Image-20230622001916 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

It should be easily visible 1.5-2” and above without any special tools not that they hurt to use .

 

[viper69]

Hi everyone,
I was curious what hobby etiquette regarding confirmed females is. If one of those were to turn out to be male instead, how do things generally proceed?

I purchased a 3.75" P. metallica about a year ago which finally gave me a molt in one piece and it looks male to me.

Contact seller, how’d you pay?

 

[Dry Desert]

Well yes of course, I confirmed from the molt it gave me. At 4" I'd expect to be able to see a prominent spermatheca in P. metallica? It's my first time with this species which is why I said "looks male". Picture of molt is attached.

Image-20230622001916 hosted at ImgBB

Image Image-20230622001916 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

One of those things in the invert world I'm afraid.
100% guarantee of sex can be difficult unless specimen is a juvenile or pretty much mature.
If the seller said it was female I don't think anything verbal is a binding contract, and after a year you'll be very lucky anything will be done.
From the sellers point of view, they could say there is no guarantee it's the same t.


It's a pay your money and take a chance thingy.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Been there, done that unfortunately it was a craigslist deal. I still enjoyed that male T though. Was quite the entertaining tarantula.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Been there, done that unfortunately it was a craigslist deal. I still enjoyed that male T though. Was quite the entertaining tarantula.

Yeah tough luck although any I’ve gotten here were as advertised. You can never be too sure I did get one with a tumor/cyst once.. , I prefer raising slings anways.

 

[cold blood]

Well yes of course, I confirmed from the molt it gave me. At 4" I'd expect to be able to see a prominent spermatheca in P. metallica? It's my first time with this species which is why I said "looks male". Picture of molt is attached.

Image-20230622001916 hosted at ImgBB

Image Image-20230622001916 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

honestly, i do think i see one of the spermatheca.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

honestly, i do think i see one of the spermatheca.

Maybe you’re right it was too blurry for me to tell from zooming into the pic . Maybe op should try and get some closer pics ?

 

[Aryia Reptiles]

I dried the skin, scraped with tweezers, and looked under a microscope, nothing. My phone can't really do better pics.

I told the seller about it, will get a second shed to confirm. Anyway, I feel like we are going a bit off topic as I was mostly just curious what the etiquette in cases like these are. Do people generally make up for the difference with refund, replacement T, etc. Didn't want to be unreasonable about my demands.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I dried the skin, scraped with tweezers, and looked under a microscope, nothing. My phone can't really do better pics.

I told the seller about it, will get a second shed to confirm. Anyway, I feel like we are going a bit off topic as I was mostly just curious what the etiquette in cases like these are. Do people generally make up for the difference with refund, replacement T, etc. Didn't want to be unreasonable about my demands.

Reputable sellers/dealers make good on it. Only if they sold it as a confirmed female. Confirmed as in sexed the molt not ventrally guess.

Always read/ask their terms. Most offer LAG which covers dead on arrival and within a certain time frame.

With females that are sold at 1.5 inches dls it's usually best guess. I've seen those for sale before and a reputable seller tells you up front.

You should contact the seller and see if they are open to working something out. If not then I would go back and reread their terms and/or descriprion on females they sell.

Reputable sellers always have something in their terms and I would bet they would replace with a sling or something.

Food for thought for the future. Always double check that stuff out first.

I contacted a reputable seller on a 3 inch dls confirmed female B. emilia. My question was it captive bred or WC. Something else to consider when buying sub adult to adult females.

 

[Aryia Reptiles]

Thanks.

Yes I asked whether sex was guaranteed before that, but I probably should have asked the Ifs & Hows considering it's hard to sex Ts on arrival and it can take months before getting a shed on larger ones. Sometimes feels a bit intrusive when asking so many questions on an assumption that the seller messed up.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Thanks.

Yes I asked whether sex was guaranteed before that, but I probably should have asked the Ifs & Hows considering it's hard to sex Ts on arrival and it can take months before getting a shed on larger ones. Sometimes feels a bit intrusive when asking so many questions on an assumption that the seller messed up.

There's nothing wrong with asking questions. It's your money you're spending. Not to mention the cost of shipping if that's how you purchased it.

A buyer has every right to ask when dealing with any sub-adult to adult tarantulas if WC or CB or if female is it confirmed.

A good seller/breeder has the capability of sexing down to 2 inches dls of non-dwarf T's. 1.5 inches while not impossible for them would be highly questionable from a fly-by-night seller, (shady).

 

[Aryia Reptiles]

There's nothing wrong with asking questions. It's your money you're spending. Not to mention the cost of shipping if that's how you purchased it.

A buyer has every right to ask when dealing with any sub-adult to adult tarantulas if WC or CB or if female is it confirmed.

A good seller/breeder has the capability of sexing down to 2 inches dls of non-dwarf T's. 1.5 inches while not impossible for them would be highly questionable from a fly-by-night seller, (shady).

Yeah it's a bit funny. In my recent hunt for a larger P. metallica females which all go for $400+, I haven't really been getting straightforward answers as to how their gender guarantees would play out. A couple sellers don't even have pictures of the Ts in question despite being pretty decent/trustworthy looking sellers. Another one told me their store can only extend their 7 day gender guarantee to one-month for me. Kind of a shame. I can see sellers being worried about not being scammed in this matter too. Luckily managed to find some from someone I worked with before that I trust, hopefully I can breed this sp. some day.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Yeah it's a bit funny. In my recent hunt for a larger P. metallica females which all go for $400+, I haven't really been getting straightforward answers as to how their gender guarantees would play out. A couple sellers don't even have pictures of the Ts in question despite being pretty decent/trustworthy looking sellers. Another one told me their store can only extend their 7 day gender guarantee to one-month for me. Kind of a shame. I can see sellers being worried about not being scammed in this matter too. Luckily managed to find some from someone I worked with before that I trust, hopefully I can breed this sp. some day.

I mean pokies grow quick enough i always bought slings. Maybe a few Juveniles under 3” too. P met cost so much because it’s blue , and highly sought after .
Ridiculous they don’t guarantee anything at most places . And most I find in pet store I get are males, which I rarely buy from.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Yeah it's a bit funny. In my recent hunt for a larger P. metallica females which all go for $400+, I haven't really been getting straightforward answers as to how their gender guarantees would play out. A couple sellers don't even have pictures of the Ts in question despite being pretty decent/trustworthy looking sellers. Another one told me their store can only extend their 7 day gender guarantee to one-month for me. Kind of a shame. I can see sellers being worried about not being scammed in this matter too. Luckily managed to find some from someone I worked with before that I trust, hopefully I can breed this sp. some day.

I only recommend sticking to highly reputable sellers when purchasing sub-adult to adult female T's. If I wanted to buy a female it has to be a minimum of 3 inches dls.

I reputable seller will confirm and guarantee it's a female starting at that size. A guarantee at that size and up should never have a time frame. I mean it's either a female or it's not at those sizes, no guessing.

A female at 3 inches dls will never turn into a male at 4 to 5 inches dls.