Green Bottle Blue Breeding

[DerekG4]

I recently just bought myself a male GBB for my 4.5” female. It appears he may be in a premolt (his abdomen is very large, has no reaction to feeders and he’s a little sluggish) my questions are would he be able to mate with the female while it’s in premolt?

I’ve also fed my female 5 days in a row so she’d be too full to eat the male. Should I just keep on feeding her until she doesn’t want anymore or is there a point that I should stop? I’ve been feeding her a superworm a day for their preparation.

If I were to move the female into the males enclosure, would it be successful? My females enclosure is fairly cramped, it’s a large Jamie’s Tarantulas enclosure and I’m a little worried it’s way too cramped and I’m afraid if something goes wrong in there, it would be too cramped for me to intervene and save him.

 

[MetalMan2004]

Is your male a mature male?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

would he be able to mate with the female while it’s in premolt?

No, also sounds like it's not a mature male so he wouldn't be able to even if he wasn't in pre-moult.

 

[DerekG4]

No, also sounds like it's not a mature male so he wouldn't be able to even if he wasn't in pre-moult.

He’s about 3 3/4”. Is there any other way to know if he’s mature besides size? He doesn’t have any tibial hooks or any large pedipalp bulbs. I don’t know if this species has them. Looking at its underside it’s definitely a male, my female has a visible furrow whereas he doesn’t.

 

[EulersK]

He’s about 3 3/4”. Is there any other way to know if he’s mature besides size? He doesn’t have any tibial hooks or any large pedipalp bulbs. I don’t know if this species has them. Looking at its underside it’s definitely a male, my female has a visible furrow whereas he doesn’t.

100% of tarantulas have bulbous pedipalps. If you put him in with the female, he will certainly be eaten.

To be frank, I'd suggest doing a bit more research before trying to breed anything. Knowing what a mature male looks like is Tarantula 101. There's no rush to fill your house with baby spiders, learn the basics first

 

[The Grym Reaper]

He’s about 3 3/4”. Is there any other way to know if he’s mature besides size? He doesn’t have any tibial hooks or any large pedipalp bulbs. I don’t know if this species has them. Looking at its underside it’s definitely a male, my female has a visible furrow whereas he doesn’t.

Mature males of this species have tibial spurs (little hooks located on leg I, not all species have them though) and emboli (little bulbs that kinda resemble a scorpion's stinger at the ends of both pedipalps, all species have these).

Also, both sexes have an epigastric furrow, you're referring to the presence of the gonoslit in the female and gonopore in the male which is how you tell them apart ventrally.

The fact that you are unaware of basic tarantula anatomy tells me that you shouldn't be attempting to breed them.

 

[DerekG4]

I’m not familiar with the anatomical names but if I see something I’ll know what it is. Not trying to sound rude but I fail to see what does knowing their anatomy have to do with breeding.

I have experience with pairing up some Hapalopus sp. Columbia, I’m waiting for the female to lay her eggsac. I know the process with these guys, I’m just not familiar with GBBs. All I know is they’re known for killing the males and they can be fairly difficult to breed.

100% of tarantulas have bulbous pedipalps.

I don’t know about that, I had a mature male Davus Pentaloris and it didn’t have any emboli. I only knew it was male from the molt.

 

[EulersK]

I don’t know about that, I had a mature male Davus Pentaloris and it didn’t have any emboli.

Impossible.

 

[DerekG4]

Impossible.

At least that’s what it was labeled as when I bought him at an expo. It was a good 4” and I didn’t see any noticeable emboli.

This is the only photo I had of him.

If possible, could we please just get on topic with the GBBs

 

[Thekla]

That's not a GBB! IMO that's a Davus pentaloris. So, no breeding at all!

Edit:
Sorry, my bad! Didn't realise you were showing a picture of your D. pentaloris.

If your male GBB has no emboli, it's simply not mature yet. Being male doesn't equal being mature. So, no breeding right now. Gives you time to do some more research.

 

[DerekG4]

That's not a GBB! IMO that's a Davus pentaloris. So, no breeding at all!

Edit:
Sorry, my bad! Didn't read that you were showing a picture of your D. pentaloris.

If your male GBB has no emboli, it's simply not mature yet. Being male doesn't equal being mature. So, no breeding right now. Gives you time to do some more research.

Thanks for answering that though. Since he still has to molt, I guess there’s no point in stuffing my female with food just yet. Once he is ready, should I continue power feeding her until doesn’t want anymore?

First one is the male (GBB lol), second is the female. Here’s a pic of her enclosure as well. I originally never planned to breed her, which is why her enclosure is just packed with that spider wood. I’m mostly afraid for the male because of how the enclosure is, I feel like it’s so packed I wouldn’t be able to save him if things went bad.

 

[Paul1126]

Thanks for answering that though. Since he still has to molt, I guess there’s no point in stuffing my female with food just yet. Once he is ready, should I continue power feeding her until doesn’t want anymore?

First one is the male (GBB lol), second is the female. Here’s a pic of her enclosure as well. I originally never planned to breed her, which is why her enclosure is just packed with that spider wood. I’m mostly afraid for the male because of how the enclosure is, I feel like it’s so packed I wouldn’t be able to save him if things went bad.

I doubt you could save him either way.
I think you should just take the advice and not breed just yet get some more experience raise a few slings and get familiar with the species you plan on breeding.
There is no rush for such things spiders are not going anywhere.

Power feeding isn't going to work you will be just waiting an age for the female to moult.

 

[Teal]

Is... is this thread for real? *looks for hidden cameras for a gameshow*

 

[DerekG4]

I doubt you could save him either way.

You’re saying it’s inevitable that the female would eat him?

I think you should just take the advice and not breed just yet get some more experience raise a few slings and get familiar with the species you plan on breeding.
There is no rush for such things spiders are not going anywhere.

I’ve raised multiple species of different slings (C versicolors, GBBs, H. Sp Columbias, Pokies, OBTs, others) I’m definitely not experienced as hell, but I can’t say I’m exactly a fresh beginner. I’m for sure almost new to breeding. The main reason I wanted to try breeding was out of an impulse buy with the GBB, it was only $50 for his size and I decided to get him. I thought it can’t be THAT difficult to breed them.

Power feeding isn't going to work you will be just waiting an age for the female to mount.

I was always told to heavily feed a female tarantula to minimize the chances of the female (of any species) eating the male. So you’re saying it’s pointless?

Is... is this thread for real? *looks for hidden cameras for a gameshow*

I’m sorry but what’s with people’s sarcasm here? I understand some posts may look idiotic to some “experienced” people on here but is there really any reason to actually show it?

 

[Paul1126]

I was always told to heavily feed a female tarantula to minimize the chances of the female (of any species) eating the male. So you’re saying it’s pointless?

I assumed you meant to make her grow faster

 

[DerekG4]

I assumed you meant to make her grow faster

No sorry, I shouldn’t have said power fed. I meant just heavily feeding her.

 

[Teal]

I’m sorry but what’s with people’s sarcasm here? I understand some posts may look idiotic to some “experienced” people on here but is there really any reason to actually show it?

There is never an idiotic question.

What baffles me is that people are giving you sound, factual advice and you are trying to dispute it... such as that ALL mature males have emboli. That is literally what classifies them as a mature male. Your D. pentaloris was male, okay, cool. But without emboli, he was not a MATURE male capable of breeding. You said you fail to see what knowing their anatomy has to do with breeding, after you were told that anatomy is exactly how you determine if a male is ready to breed. And you're surprised that people are telling you to gain more experience before breeding?!

 

[DerekG4]

There is never an idiotic question.

What baffles me is that people are giving you sound, factual advice and you are trying to dispute it... such as that ALL mature males have emboli. That is literally what classifies them as a mature male. Your D. pentaloris was male, okay, cool. But without emboli, he was not a MATURE male capable of breeding. You said you fail to see what knowing their anatomy has to do with breeding, after you were told that anatomy is exactly how you determine if a male is ready to breed. And you're surprised that people are telling you to gain more experience before breeding?!

I only said that because I bought it as a mature male from the guy a long time ago. So I was under the assumption that not ALL tarantulas need to have emboli to be considered a mature male. I wasn’t trying to sound rude or anything. I was just trying to give out my assumption and now I see I was wrong.

Regarding their anatomy, I was talking about the fact that’s something anyone can learn in a few minutes. I didn’t know the names of said parts but I knew what they were. Now after he said what the parts are called, I now know. What I was trying to say was I don’t see how not knowing the names would be much more important than knowing the behaviors of both male and female tarantulas of said species. If someone didn’t know how they act and react, then I’d say it’s more than understandable a person shouldn’t breed just yet.

 

[Teal]

I only said that because I bought it as a mature male from the guy a long time ago. So I was under the assumption that not ALL tarantulas need to have emboli to be considered a mature male. I wasn’t trying to sound rude or anything. I was just trying to give out my assumption and now I see I was wrong.

Regarding their anatomy, I was talking about the fact that’s something anyone can learn in a few minutes. I didn’t know the names of said parts but I knew what they were. Now after he said what the parts are called, I now know. What I was trying to say was I don’t see how not knowing the names would be much more important than knowing the behaviors of both male and female tarantulas of said species. If someone didn’t know how they act and react, then I’d say it’s more than understandable a person shouldn’t breed just yet.

Anyone who has done even an iota of research on breeding tarantulas would have come across the anatomical names of required parts to make a pairing happen (because it isn't just the male who needs to be mature).

 

[The Grym Reaper]

You’re saying it’s inevitable that the female would eat him?

They're quick enough for you to not be able to do a thing about it if she decides to eat him.

Also, if I remember correctly, it's smaller females like yours that are more prone to killing the males.