Darking P. metallica after molt. Possibly male?

[CarrotsBiteBack]

Hi everyone,

I am sorry if this seems such a dull question this is my first poki and it appears so much darker than any general photos I have seen out there of sub adults/mature males.

So my poki decided to throw off its old exoskeleton and provide me with this new gorgeous look. True to poki standards I did not know it was even in premolt as it ate the same night it molted. I was unable to remove the molt and definitely sex it as it decided to shred it and leave me with tips of legs, so thoughtful. It has been about a week now since molting and its colours have darkened but mainly stayed like these colours. The abdomen, I have to say, looks like a dark grey/black strawberry slice. The underside of the legs have a very mild but vibrant blue (as would be expected) but only in certain lighting otherwise it looks this usual dark grey / blackish colour. It was dark but had some vibrant blue tones as expected from this species when I brought it. However, after this molt seems a lot darker all over.
It measures approximately 3.5-4" DLS I am guessing at this stage it would be to young to sex?

Thanks in advance for any provided support and education!

Photos (hopefully in order):
1. Premolt colours
2. Premolt, my attempt at sexing it - failed. The blue colours here are also dark.
3. Taken this morning about a week after molt.

Sorry they are the best but this one is not camera friendly.

 

[Spoodfood]

It does look a little darker in the lighting but that doesn’t necessarily indicate it being a male. If it’s palps aren’t bulbous, you’re just going to have to wait for another molt. As for it being too young to sex, that’s entirely false. If you’re wanting to sex by sexual dimorphism in species that display that, then you can’t until they’re sexually mature but molts you can sex as small as you can see. I’ve sexed 1” Ts with a microscope fairly easily and certainly, but even so 3.5-4” DLS is large enough to sex with the naked eye in most cases. You’d have to post photos in sexing for people who have a keen eye for ventrally doing so, as I couldn’t begin to guess on that.

 

[Wolfram1]

I have 2 slings a little smaller than yours (around 2"), and one of them is the classic dark blue you would expect, while the other one looks more like yours , the blue is more muted and it looks more gray when not in a bright light. So far i can only guess their sex but with one or 2 molts i should be able to tell.

Seems like a normal colour variation to me.

 

[CarrotsBiteBack]

Spoodfood, I did not explain the sexing bit well that is totally on me! I meant sexing without molt as it destroyed it completely would be harder. I would even begin to guess the sex vertrally I get it right maybe 50-60% of the time. I can not see the palps yet its taken to staying just out of sight like this. Might see if I can get a decent photo of it as it normally splats itself to the edge of the enclosure up high.

Wolfram, are your two kept together? I have heard that mets can be kept communally but I have never thought to give it a go. Not sure I would want to. You could always get a sexing mircoscope if you do not want to wait? Two molts is a long time. Are you hoping to breed them? My one here is under a bright light shinning semi on it, I approached it slowly and very angled so the colours could be seen clearer. In normal lighting it looks fully black.

 

[Wolfram1]

Spoodfood, I did not explain the sexing bit well that is totally on me! I meant sexing without molt as it destroyed it completely would be harder. I would even begin to guess the sex vertrally I get it right maybe 50-60% of the time. I can not see the palps yet its taken to staying just out of sight like this. Might see if I can get a decent photo of it as it normally splats itself to the edge of the enclosure up high.

Wolfram, are your two kept together? I have heard that mets can be kept communally but I have never thought to give it a go. Not sure I would want to. You could always get a sexing mircoscope if you do not want to wait? Two molts is a long time. Are you hoping to breed them? My one here is under a bright light shinning semi on it, I approached it slowly and very angled so the colours could be seen clearer. In normal lighting it looks fully black.

No i have them separate, i don't really care for communals, seems forced to me and the value of the individual animals matters less, which isn't a good thing.

i have some picures one this site.

0.0.1 Poecilotheria metallica

• Wolfram1
• Nov 22, 2021
• 1
• metallica poecilotheria poecilotheria metallica

2"dls
as a comparison, this one is an eating machine and confidence personified

slightly larger...

0.0.1 Poecilotheria metallica

• Wolfram1
• Nov 22, 2021
• 2
• metallica poecilotheria poecilotheria metallica

2"dls

both pictures were taken with a bright light, the second one seems more gray without the light though.


Personally i wait with sexing the molts until i can tell with my bare eyes as it doesn't really matter to me which sex they turn out to be.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I have heard that mets can be kept communally but I have never thought to give it a go. Not sure I would want to.

Don't bother, you'll end up with one fat one, Pokies aren't communal (regardless of what sellers here say).

 

[CarrotsBiteBack]

Wolfram, they are gorgeous looking! Loving how their colours are coming out under the lighting. The leg colour of your top photo looks a bit brighter than the under leg colour of mine under bright lights. Does your grayish one have a mild purple hue to it in normal lighting? Mine does under bright lights tried to get a photo of it again yesterday but was told nope as it ran into the cork tunneling.

Grym, that was what I thought. Was told when I brought my N. incei gold sling that I could keep them communally if I wanted more, I politely declined. I do not want to pay a fortune for one fat T in the future. Plus I am not a fan of keeping T's communally unless they are found like that in the wild. I have seen that M. balfouri can be very successfully housed communally due to their 'docile' nature but I am still not sure I would want to do that. They are not found like that in nature so why force it?

 

[Wolfram1]

Does your grayish one have a mild purple hue to it in normal lighting

Yea, tiny bit, mostly on the folio stripe and , does yours too? If i remember correctly there was even talk of completely black variants, a few years back. You know how females turn darker with age until there is almost no blue left? Supposedly there are some that start out that way, though i have never seen any myself.

I wouldn't assume their sex based on their hues, as far as i know only P. ornata can be sexed by their prosoma pattern early on.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Grym, that was what I thought. Was told when I brought my N. incei gold sling that I could keep them communally if I wanted more, I politely declined. I do not want to pay a fortune for one fat T in the future. Plus I am not a fan of keeping T's communally unless they are found like that in the wild. I have seen that M. balfouri can be very successfully housed communally due to their 'docile' nature but I am still not sure I would want to do that. They are not found like that in nature so why force it?

Yeah, I'm not sure why sellers keep trying to promote this nonsense beyond greed. I generally avoid sellers that sell "communal groups" as it's pretty clear they care more about profit than the welfare of their livestock.