handling question

[iluvspydrz]

i want to sex my full grown g. rosea to see if it is in fact a female, i heard that a pretty sure way to do so is to turn them upside down and feel between the abdomen and carapace for a bump.
last night i tried to do that but i was very afraid of either me getting bit or the tarantula getting hurt because i'm holding it too tightly...

how do you hold a tarantula and get it upside down without injuring them? is there a certain way i should do it?

please any advice is appreciated!

 

[CedrikG]

I always wait they she walk a little bit on the wall

 

[Dr Pies]

I always wait they she walk a little bit on the wall

That what I do too. much safer for you and the spider. Waiting for a moult too would be a good idea as you make certain on the sex without the danger of a bite!

 

[Windchaser]

First, read this article about sexing: >>SEXING TARANTULAS<<

Feeling for bumps is not an accurate way of determining a tarantula's sex. The only two reliable ways are examination of the exuvium for spermathecae and the method described above. (Mature males are also easily sexed by the presence of emboli and possibly tibial apophysis (hooks).

More to the point of your question though, for a docile species like a G. rosea, it is possible to cup your hand over the top of them and then gently pick them up. This way, as you turn your hand over, you will have the T upside in your hand. The Tarantula Keeper's Guide has a good description of this method along with pictures.

Or as Kirdic suggested, wait for the T to hang out on the side of the enclosure.

 

[bonesmama]

There's a thread around here somewhere about putting your T into a "trance" by turning it over--I haven't tried it, but for some reason, apparently if you turn them over and keep them horizontal, they won't move- those who've tried it say they can play with their legs, even touch the fangs and the T's don't do anything--why don't you try it and let us know? You could get a good picture for sexing that way,too

 

[bagheera]

Rocks on the Wall?

I always wait they she walk a little bit on the wall

I have NEVER seen my Rosie on the wall. As near as I can tell, it moves between 2 points, about an inch apart! Sometimes it may turn around (although I have never seen this motion!)
:wall:

 

[iluvspydrz]

First, read this article about sexing: >>SEXING TARANTULAS<<

Feeling for bumps is not an accurate way of determining a tarantula's sex. The only two reliable ways are examination of the exuvium for spermathecae and the method described above. (Mature males are also easily sexed by the presence of emboli and possibly tibial apophysis (hooks).

More to the point of your question though, for a docile species like a G. rosea, it is possible to cup your hand over the top of them and then gently pick them up. This way, as you turn your hand over, you will have the T upside in your hand. The Tarantula Keeper's Guide has a good description of this method along with pictures.

Or as Kirdic suggested, wait for the T to hang out on the side of the enclosure.

well thanks a bunch for showing me that article thats really interesting actually i suggest everyone should read it

 

[iluvspydrz]

There's a thread around here somewhere about putting your T into a "trance" by turning it over--I haven't tried it, but for some reason, apparently if you turn them over and keep them horizontal, they won't move- those who've tried it say they can play with their legs, even touch the fangs and the T's don't do anything--why don't you try it and let us know? You could get a good picture for sexing that way,too

you wouldnt happen to kno where that thread is??? LOL i dont kno how exactly to turn it over... :wall:

 

[bonesmama]

Thread is entitled "theorisation in progress" sorry, I don't know how to link the post with the thread! If you use the search function, you will most definately find it- I found it using simply "trance"

 

[Blasphemy]

you wouldnt happen to kno where that thread is??? LOL i dont kno how exactly to turn it over... :wall:

The method that I think is being described is explained in detail on -this- link. It's the 2nd part to the article which shows the 'pinch' method.

 

[CreepyCrawly]

There's a thread around here somewhere about putting your T into a "trance" by turning it over--I haven't tried it, but for some reason, apparently if you turn them over and keep them horizontal, they won't move- those who've tried it say they can play with their legs, even touch the fangs and the T's don't do anything--why don't you try it and let us know? You could get a good picture for sexing that way,too

Hahaha, that reminds me of what many people say about lizards! I never heard it about spiders, but with lizards if you lay them on their back they "go into a trance" and will "fall asleep". In reality this is because the lizard can't breathe and is slowly suffocating. They rely on their ribcage to open and close their lungs - as they don't have diaphrams like we do that do that for us - and gravity is important in that it the ribs pull the lungs open, and the muscles relax, and gravity pulls them back down to exhale. When you hold a lizard on its back gravity is holding the ribs, and lungs open - and there's nothing there to close them, so they're stuck in an inhale until you turn them right-side up again. I know this is true with agamids (iguanas, water dragons, bearded dragons, etc.) and crocidilians (alligators, etc.) but not sure if it applies to geckos and the like. With water dragons and iguanas their bodies are built with their spine up at the top, so their bodies are sort of tear-drop shaped, so if they were to fall over in the wild chances are they could easily roll back over - and crocidilians are well capable of turning themselves back over in the wild. So this hasn't proved to be a problem for them except in captivity when we stupidly turn them over and go "awww, how cute! She's falling asleep in my hands!"

And since invertebrates have MUCH different respiratory systems than we do, and much different than I am familiar with, I have no idea if this actually applies to them too.

 

[Windchaser]

you wouldnt happen to kno where that thread is??? LOL i dont kno how exactly to turn it over... :wall:

The way I explained, by cupping your hand, is essentially the same thing. The T will end up on its back and it will be quite calm. However, with something like a P. murinus, H. lividum or a T. apophysis, being able to get you hand cupped over one of them is virtually impossible. For a Grammostola, Brachy or one of the more docile species, it works fairly well.

 

[bonesmama]

well, CC - I am in no way an expert, nor do I pretend to be more knowledgable than I am...I was wondering, in one of the posts, it mentioned pressure on the carapace ( it's been a while since I read this so forgive me if I'm wrong) when turned wrong-side-up, but I wondered if perhaps this was why they flipped before molting, that this pressure would help pop the carapace in preparation for a molt? (I recently saw a program on the Animal Planet of animals "playing possum" to avoid predators-doves, snakes & possums), but they were unclear as to wether these animals were turned over,or turned themselves over--their "placement" looked a little too staged for me to believe they just fell over....IMHO

 

[iluvspydrz]

how long does it usually take for grammastola eggsacs to hatch and about how many slings should i expect?

 

[Windchaser]

how long does it usually take for grammastola eggsacs to hatch and about how many slings should i expect?

About 90 days for a G. rosea. You can expect anywhere from 100 to 400 spiderlings. My G. rosea laid an egg sac in the end of August (I think 8-31-04) last year and it hatched out (I actually opened it) on 12-18-04. I had 206 spiderlings. While in my care I have had 4 die and I have heard of 3 that died from someone who got some s'lings from me.

 

[iluvspydrz]

i'm asking all these questions because i'm having the male dropped off at my house today and i'm gona use the shark cage method lol cause i'm new at this, but he's gona be with me for about a week


i read somewhere that you have to remove the female and rehouse her after the eggsac is layed... can you remove the eggsac? that would be so much more convenient for me..

 

[Blasphemy]

I believe you're supposed to leave it with the mother until they have their first instar (I think), and that the sack will 'fill out' when this happens and seem firm. Then you can move it to an incubation setup and proceed from there.

 

[Blasphemy]

First, read this article about sexing: >>SEXING TARANTULAS<<

More to the point of your question though, for a docile species like a G. rosea, it is possible to cup your hand over the top of them and then gently pick them up. This way, as you turn your hand over, you will have the T upside in your hand. The Tarantula Keeper's Guide has a good description of this method along with pictures.

Not to backtrack too much, but does this cupping method work for skittish species, specfically Aphonopelma semmanni?

 

[Windchaser]

Not to backtrack too much, but does this cupping method work for skittish species, specfically Aphonopelma semmanni?

If you can pick them up, I believe they will calm down. The problem is actually getting to a point of being able to pick it up. I tend not to handle the more defensive species. When I do need to handle them, I use a 20 oz soda bottle with the bottom cut off. I trap the T in the bottom, cover the bottom with something and then can examine the T without getting bitten or having it bolt.

 

[iluvspydrz]

I believe you're supposed to leave it with the mother until they have their first instar (I think), and that the sack will 'fill out' when this happens and seem firm. Then you can move it to an incubation setup and proceed from there.

thanx, what does an incubation setup consist of while we're on the subject?