Male B. albopilosum question!

[Cate]

This is going to sound dumb! But is it okay not to breed my male tarantula? I just wanna keep him as a lil buddy for the rest of his years. He very recently hit maturity, and is doing quite well. But is it some how cruel to keep him with out breeding him? Also how long will he live after final molt?

 

[Liquifin]

It's going to be instinct for him to breed and look for a female, but you don't have to breed him (it's a choice). If you don't have any plans on selling him or breeding him then just always keep his water dish full and feed him whenever he can eat so he doesn't exhaust himself to death by looking for a mate. He will live longer if you feed him more and always provide him with water.

 

[Theneil]

Many people do exactly that. Aditionally, B. albopilosum are anything but rare, so IMO if you don’t want to breed him then there is ZERO reason to do so. Now if this was a MM M. lambertoni or something that was almost impossible to find in the hobby i would strongly encourage breeding. But its not, so do what makes you happy.

 

[Cate]

Thanks too both of you guys for responding! I’m guessing based off of the feed regularly it’s normal for your male T to walk around constantly! (He also has a weird thing for climbing up every thing? Despite it being like an inch or so to climb he must go u p)

 

[EulersK]

Every year around this time, you'll stumble across news articles reporting "migrating tarantulas" across the Midwest and West. Tarantulas do not migrate, but the males do come out in droves looking for mates. That is what your male is looking to do. Mature males have an absolutely insatiable desire to find a mate. It is all they live for - many will not ever eat again, as their only goal is to breed. Even those who do eat will retain a slim figure as to keep the agility needed to avoid predators.

Male Brachypelma (the genus of what you have) are some of the longest living mature males in the hobby. You should expect about two more years out of him, possibly more if kept well-fed and well-watered. I personally do not see it as 'cruel' to not breed him. Just keep him and enjoy the pet that you have. What you have is still life, and it is still very much active.

However, you should know something. It may very well attempt to molt again. If you see that happening, just put the spider in the freezer to humanely euthanize it. There is virtually 0% chance of a mature male successfully molting, and they die by a process that involves them getting stuck in their own old exoskeleton.

 

[Vanessa]

You are under no obligation to breed your spiders - males or females. If you want to keep your little dude and let him live out his days with you, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. As mentioned, please always be on top of keeping him hydrated, that is key to their longevity. I always have two water dishes in with my mature males. Mature males can last quite a long time for this species. My boy was eating like a champ right up to the very end too.

 

[Cate]

Thank you guys for the advice! I’m unsure of how to keep male spiders! Only ever worked with females (Cleo was sold to me as an adult female I’m questioning the adult because the female was not right at all he’s got little boxing gloves and hooks not sure if that means male or adult male) sorry I’m pretty new to this

 

[Vanessa]

Yes, boxing gloves and hooks means that he is a mature male who will not moult again. I'm sorry that he was sold to you as a female, you should be compensated for that as a female will cost quite a bit more than a male - especially one who is already mature.
That shouldn't happen.

 

[Kitara]

I have a MM b. albo too and I have no plans to breed him for a few reasons. I got him at the pet store a few weeks before his final molt so I really don't know his background at all. I'm not comfortable shipping and there isn't anyone in the area that I know of or would feel comfortable giving/selling him to. Finally, we love the little dude. As someone mentioned above, he's just about the most popular species I've seen so I don't feel guilty about not sharing him. If it was for the betterment of the species I would consider it, but in this case it is not.

 

[Tenebrarius]

I just wanna keep him as a lil buddy for the rest of his years. He very recently hit maturity

I have bad news for you.
it won't be many years.

you don't need to breed your spider. the hobby has so many b albo they fall out of our ears...yet are still occasionally sold by the delusional seller thinking B albo is worth more than five bucks. sorry golden boy but their are finer spiders I want, that 20 bucks im getting scammed from could go to my savings for a M balfouri.

 

[Vanessa]

the hobby has so many b albo they fall out of our ears...yet are still occasionally sold by the delusional seller thinking B albo is worth more than five bucks.

You're not taking into consideration the number of new people entering the hobby all the time.
When I was doing the expos in Toronto, we sold out of Brachypelma albopilosum every single expo and they were priced at higher than $5.

 

[Kitara]

we sold out of Brachypelma albopilosum every single expo and they were priced at higher than $5.

LOL I was looking at a vendor that's coming to an expo near me and at an expo in Texas he was advertising the following on Facebook

(I blacked out the name so it wouldnt look like advertising.)

 

[Tenebrarius]

You're not taking into consideration the number of new people entering the hobby all the time.
When I was doing the expos in Toronto, we sold out of Brachypelma albopilosum every single expo and they were priced at higher than $5.

yeah it's called a scam pal. you take a common T that has more value not by rarity nor beauty, but rather because of its demand. It is golden boy stupid head that will be bought as most people's first T because it is advertised so heavily by b. ablo propagandist.
I bought my second p. met for half the price of my first (wont mention how much I paid it's just embarrassing), in fact I got it because that deal was irresistible. American prices are already pretty high and unreasonable. My theory: a niche group of commercial buyers beefed the prices for the sake of profits, and profit based goals if why you see b. albo's value to be beefed up, do to its popularity. This is more supposed to be a self sustaining hobby IN MY MOST HUMBLE OPINION. (im complaining because im poor and can't afford any new Ts )
I don't want to get too off topic.

 

[Vanessa]

yeah it's called a scam pal. you take a common T that has more value not by rarity nor beauty, but rather because of its demand.

Supply and demand is Economics 101. There's no conspiracy, pal, just good old basic economics.

 

[Kitara]

Such a scammer @VanessaS! I can't believe crooked business owners are trying to make money by forcing me to spend my money on something I want by pricing it at at price I'm willing to pay. Oh wait...

 

[Arachnophoric]

that has more value not by rarity nor beauty

Rare? Maybe not, but no beauty?

In the words of Mr. T himself, "I pity the fool."

 

[Vanessa]

It is golden boy stupid head that will be bought as most people's first T because it is advertised so heavily by b. ablo propagandist.

People make the recommendations to beginners that they do based upon solid factual information, and not what you consider 'propaganda'.
Beginner friendly species fit the criteria required - they are hardy and not easily killed by minor mistakes in husbandry, they are fairly tolerant overall, they are slower moving on a whole, they have relatively weak venom, they are mostly visible, they are faster growing with decent appetites and aren't fasting for months on end, they are readily available and reasonably priced. Those are the criteria most often used by people making recommendations to brand new people and Brachypelma albopilosum fit all of those criteria. Ethical sellers promote this species to beginners based entirely upon the fact that they are one of the most appropriate species for beginners... ever.
Too many people feel that the beginner species are beneath them, thanks to ridiculous comments like yours, and they jump to keeping species that they are clearly not prepared for. Many of those tarantulas meet a horrific end, due to the fact that they require experience that people just aren't going to get from reading a couple of caresheets and watching a few YouTube videos. Making the comments that you have is irresponsible and not doing the animals, or the hobby, any favours.

 

[Tenebrarius]

Rare? Maybe not, but no beauty?

In the words of Mr. T himself, "I pity the fool."

yeah I've seen some rare Ts that weren't too spectacular.

Such a scammer @VanessaS! I can't believe crooked business owners are trying to make money by forcing me to spend my money on something I want by pricing it at at price I'm willing to pay. Oh wait...

I also don't like landlords, how could you tell?
im sorry you don't have very progressive view.
plus it's a hobby the money should only go into the cost of the hobby itself...otherwise the IRS will be needing a word with you
but then again it adds maturity to the hobby. I respect expensive property more than cheap property, but that doesn't keep me from being sad im too broke to afford more beautiful Ts

Too many people feel that the beginner species are beneath them, thanks to ridiculous comments like yours, and they jump to keeping species that they are clearly not prepared for. Many of those tarantulas meet a horrific end, due to the fact that they require experience that people just aren't going to get from reading a couple of caresheets and watching a few YouTube videos. Making the comments that you have is irresponsible and not doing the animals, or the hobby, any favours.

im just being immature because im sad I can't afford college and awesome new Ts. geez bro. No one said propaganda needed to be unethical. In fact, I will myself recommend b albo, because it is a great beginner species, that is practically immortal and incapable of death (WARNIGN THIS IS A HYPERBOLE). Golden boy is a good T, but I just don't like crooks. Business men are the unethical ones here. it's a hobby. the money won from selling slings should only cover the cost of the hobby itself. This is opinion based and further discussion is trivial. we all have our own opinions, I won't get into Tarantula politics.
I agree money adds maturity. but DANG BRO. Tarantulas are not hard pets. I find NWs to be worse than OWs because of how annoying urticating setae are, venom is inconsequential when you're not stupid. By no means and nowhere do I say I don't recommend b albo and beginner species. A beginner should look into tarantulas and immediately find that there exist beginner species. I don't agree what im saying causes tarantula harm, that is just nonsense on your part. Construe what you'd like.
I don't respect tarantula businesses. I respect hobbyist and the hobby, not the business. that is what causes the most harm to Ts, people that will sell them without regard to the keepers ability.