I'm almost in tears: Brachy Males Lifespan

[smellyocheese]

I've always thought Brachypelma sp. males would only reach maturity at 6-8 years. but a friend of mine (an avid T-keeper) told me tht they take only 2 years to mature and that's pretty upsetting.

I have a very possible B emilia male (now at 2.5 inches) and another likely B ruhnaui male (still a spiderling but this one has a much faster growth rate compared to the other B ruhnaui. I know I can't rely on this reason alone but I'm just trying to get myself prepared).

So, how long does it actually take for Brachypelma sp. males to reach maturity?

The temperature I keep them in is at least 27*C. How much lesser do I feed them in order to slow down the growth rate?

sigh... I"m about to lose my unexpectedly molted into male A avicularia... it breaks my heart to know that I'll lose my other beloved babies so soon. *sobs*

thanks.

 

[Windchaser]

Unless you are powerfeeding your Brachypelmas the males will take 6 to 8 years to mature. A good diet will be between 6 to 8 crickets a month. I currently have a large immature male B. boehmei that is about 7 years old.

 

[AfterTheAsylum]

Unless you are powerfeeding your Brachypelmas the males will take 6 to 8 years to mature. A good diet will be between 6 to 8 crickets a month. I currently have a large immature male B. boehmei that is about 7 years old.

Kinda true, but not totally. I have three Brachy males and power feeding doesn't make them grow that fast . So you are still totally right!

Cheers,
T.S.

 

[smellyocheese]

perhaps my slings are a tad well-fed (unintentional power feeding). I feed 1 mealworm every 2-3 days.

Can the ruhnaui sling go by with one mealie per week?

And I shall cut the juvie emilia's diet to 1 cricket a week. would that do?

*phew* I"m relieved tht I can slow down the growth rate.

 

[Becca]

yup they do grow VERRRRRY slow, I have an immature Brachypelma smithi male, he's now around 4.5", should be maturing in his next moult or two. I've had him 5 years, and I guess he was 1 - 2 years old before I got him.
My t's only get fed every 2 weeks (they get a couple of crix at a time) so yeah they can easily live off one cricket a week.

 

[Code Monkey]

To re-iterate the point: The only way they *might* mature in 2-3 years would be in high temp & food conditions, but even then I'm skeptical. I've got two immature males I've been rearing since 2002 (purchased at ~1.5"), they're only moulting about every 9 months and, while they're "getting close", are still most likely at least one if not more years from maturity.

 

[moricollins]

Not all brachy's are slow growing. I've got an immature male and female B. vagans that are about 4" now and were 3/4" in November 2004.

I have no experience with emilia or ruhnaui, however.

 

[becca81]

I second what Mori said - all Brachypelma spp. are not necessarily slow-growing. B. albopilosum and B. vagans typically seem to have more of a medium growth rate. I have a female B. vagans that has went from 0.5" to over 4" in less than a year (not powerfed).

 

[Becca]

B.vagans and B.alboplosum do seem to be a whole different story when talking about Brachypelma spp, so I do agree with that. However I do find the "Red leg" type species (emilia, boehmei, smithi, auratum etc) are very slow growing, there are obviously exceptions to the rule.

 

[smellyocheese]

I guess temperature would also be another factor since I'm in Malaysia. My slings molt once a month sometimes twice a month without powerfeeding.
I can't really do anything bout the temperature for now though. I'll have to wait til next year to get a place that's cooler for the Ts.

My B emilia's growing way too fast. It was only 1.5 inches when i got him back in january. Now he's 2.5 inches.

 

[elliot]

I have a male B. smithi who has molted twice in the past 4 months. Then he was less than 2.5", now he's 4". I don't feed him very much at all, but he's outgrowing my GBB at the moment.

 

[Lorgakor]

Yup, not all Brachys grow that slow. I bought my B. smithi in December of 2004 at about 1.5 inches. He is now about 4.5" (just molted this morning so that is a guess) and will probably be mature with the next molt. I don't powerfeed, and my temps aren't that high. So that means it will have taken about 2 years for him to reach maturity from a sling. I also had a male B. emilia that grew quite quickly. In contrast I have a B. emilia sling that hasn't molted in 8 months. I'm guessing that one will be female (I hope!)

 

[Windchaser]

It would be helpful for those of you who report fast maturing specimens to actually provide a bit more detail on your feeding schedule than a simple "I don't powerfeed" statement.

I have noticed that all of my tarantulas tend to be growing on the slower side, but then I only feed a couple of crickets once every week to a week and a half. I would say that my tarantulas average about 6 crickets a month.

 

[Lorgakor]

Okay, I guess if elaboration is needed I can do that.

I feed him one cricket every week to two weeks. Now that he is bigger I will be increasing this to two crickets at a time. He was my very first spider, so when he was little I did feed him more often (as I normally do with slings) maybe two to three times a week, one cricket each time. When he reached a couple inches that slowed to once a week. I don't actually know what the temperature is in the spider closet, but it's kept warm with an oil heater. The B. emilia was fed once to twice a week, one cricket each time. It grew from half an inch to close to three inches in ten months. Once it passed a couple of inches it was given one cricket a week.

 

[SilentMercury]

I have a male B. smithi who has molted twice in the past 4 months. Then he was less than 2.5", now he's 4". I don't feed him very much at all, but he's outgrowing my GBB at the moment.

Whoa! A GBB outgrowing a B. smithi! I have an immature male B. smithi that will mature next molt, and it's been over a year since last molt. I bought him as a 1.5 sling about 3.5 years ago. A year and a half after I bought the B.smithi, I raised two GBB 1 inch slings, both of which were males that matured in about 13-14 months, and my B.smithi male still hasn't matured yet. I always thought GBBs are one of the fastest developing species. Then again, I've only had experience with males of that species.

 

[SilentMercury]

. I also had a male B. emilia that grew quite quickly. In contrast I have a B. emilia sling that hasn't molted in 8 months. I'm guessing that one will be female (I hope!)

I have a juvy female B.emelia and she grew A LOT slower than the male, so I support your belief that the sling you have may be female.

 

[moricollins]

for my B. vagans slings/juvies I feed every 2 days at least (appropriately sized food items), unless they refuse food then I wait 3-5 days and feed then, if they STILL refuse they get offered a cricket once a week until they either eat or molt, whichever comes first.

Temperatures between 77-80.

Edit: this is in response to Windchaser's asking about feeding rates.

 

[asher8282]

sabs

thought id chime in... i have a B. sabulosum that i got jan. 1 of this year (2006) it was .75" it has molted 3 times since then and is now 2.5"
?he/she? is kept warm and i feed it about 4 or 5 crix a month.