Knowing when a male is mature?

[Bob the thief]

My male Chaco golden knee molted molted around 5 months ago and stopped...im beginning to suspect hes mature, any way i could know?

 

[mebebraz]

he gets two little hooks on his pedipalps.

 

[Bjorgly]

Arn't these hooks on their first set of legs and their pedipalps get larger towards the bottom to look like mini boxing gloves?

Mark

 

[mebebraz]

my bad, your right, dont know what i was thinking, very early here, not enough coffee yet.=D

 

[Bob the thief]

yes but in some kinds the hooks are not clearly visible

oh well i guess hes not mature, long lived little bugger

 

[conipto]

Grammastola Sp. do get the hooks on the front pair of legs. They should be fairly noticeable, from pictures I've seen of mature male Chaco's.

Bill

 

[arachnopunks]

You should be able to see the tibial spurs on a Grammostola. Sometimes they are difficult to see on arboreals because they are smaller and have longer hairs. Certain species, such as T. blondi, mature without any tibial spurs at all. Regardless, all mature males have palpal bulbs on the end of their pedipalps. They are bulbus, dark colored, and usually shiney ends to the pedipalps of a mature male. They look like hooks that are folded underneath, which does look like a pair of boxer gloves. 5 months without a molt really isn't a very long time for a Grammostola. They are very slow growers and go for long periods with out eating or molting. You should be able to do an internet search for photos of palpal bulbs and tibial spurs. You might even find some photos of your spiders species. Good luck!!


-Jill

Check out this thread with some good photos: http://www.arachnopets.com/arachnoboards/showthread.php?threadid=3924