Extremely large male G. iheringi. To breed or not to breed?

[Olan]

So my female is definitely mature (about 5.5” DLS), although probably not max size yet. But this male is just ridiculous (top in the picture). He dwarfs her. His carapace is almost the same size as my adult female pamphobeteus’. Legspan has got to be over 7”.
Has anyone tried to mate tarantulas with the male being this much bigger than the female? Does it even work? The male could definitely just eat her if he wanted to. Also, do male G. iheringis mature out this big usually? Or do I have a mutant?

 

[Nightstalker47]

Personally, I wouldn't risk it just yet. Males do sometimes kill females, very rare but can happen...maybe see about pushing her towards the next molt.

The MM will be around for quite a while anyway, but the size disparity here is just way too much IMO. And with this species being so large, largest of the genus...its a pretty small female to consider breeding.

 

[boina]

I cannot tell you if the mating would work but I've seen 7"+ G. iheringi males - and more than one. The males can get pretty large.

 

[MetalMan2004]

If it were me, I’d breed them but be ready with a spatula to break it up when it’s time. Yes, there is a small chance something could happen, but there is always a slight chance. I’ve not seen a male be aggressive before, but I haven’t bred any Grammostola either so take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

[Olan]

Personally, I wouldn't risk it just yet. Males do sometimes kill females, very rare but can happen...maybe see about pushing her towards the next molt.

The MM will be around for quite a while anyway, but the size disparity here is just way too much IMO. And with this species being so large, largest of the genus...its a pretty small female to consider breeding.

Yeah, ok I think waiting is probably safer. Just need to be patient. Thanks for the advice

 

[Theneil]

i have paired G. sp North and the male is a little (noticable bit not huge difference) and i have seen no aggression from between the two ever. I also have a G. pulchra MM who is about 6.5 Inches. So while i have limited experience (basically just what i stated above) i am invlined to say that the males tend to be fairly large. Possibly, it is beneficial for such slow growing species to have large males so that they are less likely to be munched and also, if they didn't grow that big they would mature out like a full century before female sac mates.

Edit: i should mention i got a (dud) sac from the sp North pairing so i am fairly confident that she was fully mature but even after molting again she is slightly smaller than the male.

 

[sdsnybny]

Mature females reach 8" regularly, the MM I had was also a beast of 7" You could try to pair them in separate enclosure with lots of room and no established territory just some substrate.

 

[Olan]

Mature females reach 8" regularly, the MM I had was also a beast of 7" You could try to pair them in separate enclosure with lots of room and no established territory just some substrate.

Oh ok. So she’s still got a lot of growing to do. She didn’t gain much size with her last molt, so I was thinking she was getting close to max size. So either she’s a complete dwarf, or she just had a weird molt and will resume growing with the next molt. I think I’ll hold off on pairing them.

 

[Theneil]

Do you have to molt to make sure the spermanthicae are fully sclerotized (<- definitely spelt wrong) If so, she is physically mature and MY personal inclination would be to pair them. But if you are more comfortable waiting that's fine too.

 

[viper69]

So my female is definitely mature (about 5.5” DLS), although probably not max size yet. But this male is just ridiculous (top in the picture). He dwarfs her. His carapace is almost the same size as my adult female pamphobeteus’. Legspan has got to be over 7”.
View attachment 290533 Has anyone tried to mate tarantulas with the male being this much bigger than the female? Does it even work? The male could definitely just eat her if he wanted to. Also, do male G. iheringis mature out this big usually? Or do I have a mutant?

With this species, males can often reach 8", I know this from a breeder of this species. This is a large species. I would wait as your female is not fully grown yet.