Male or female Smithi

[Magmion2310]

Hey guys,

I bought a Smithi yesterday but im not sure if male or female. My guess is male because of the size of her abdimen. Im a bit New nto the hobby. (did a LOT of research about tarantulas tho). She just molted 3 days ago and the pet shop owner threw the molt away.. The only thing i have are these pictures...

 

[Magmion2310]

Hey guys,

I bought a Smithi yesterday but im not sure if male or female. My guess is male because of the size of her abdimen. Im a bit New nto the hobby. (did a LOT of research about tarantulas tho). She just molted 3 days ago View attachment 247873 and the pet shop owner threw the molt away.. The only thing i have are these pictures...

 

[mconnachan]

Looks male to me pal, could be wrong but still siding male.

 

[Magmion2310]

Looks male to me pal, could be wrong but still siding male.

Hmm okay thanks. I really want a female lol

 

[boina]

No, that looks female. I think the white spot @mconnachan saw is just glare. And size of the abdomen really doesn't tell you anything, except that this spider is freshly molted, as you already said.

 

[Magmion2310]

No, that looks female. I think the white spot @mconnachan saw is just glare. And size of the abdomen really doesn't tell you anything, except that this spider is freshly molted, as you already said.

Hmm thats very interesting.. Thanks for the reply. I'll post a photo of the molt when he/she molts again.. Im so curious. Any other ways i can tell?

 

[mconnachan]

No, that looks female. I think the white spot @mconnachan saw is just glare. And size of the abdomen really doesn't tell you anything, except that this spider is freshly molted, as you already said.

That's exactly why I thought it was male, oh well, can't be right all of the time,LOL just once would suffice, what's making you think female @boina help me understand this mate.

 

[boina]

That's exactly why I thought it was male, oh well, can't be right all of the time,LOL just once would suffice, what's making you think female @boina help me understand this mate.

At this size I'd expect to see clear epiandrous fusillae as a dark spot above the furrow in a male like here. There aren't any, although the pic is not perfectly clear. Inside that dark spot would then be the lighter spot you were looking for. The epigastric furrow also seems pretty wide for a possible male.

 

[mconnachan]

At this size I'd expect to see clear epiandrous fusillae as a dark spot above the furrow in a male like here. There aren't any, although the pic is not perfectly clear. Inside that dark spot would then be the lighter spot you were looking for. The epigastric furrow also seems pretty wide for a possible male.

The picture made me lean towards it being male, due to the "glare" you spoke of, thanks for the reply, I'll keep checking out the sexing sub-forum, cheers.

 

[Magmion2310]

At this size I'd expect to see clear epiandrous fusillae as a dark spot above the furrow in a male like here. There aren't any, although the pic is not perfectly clear. Inside that dark spot would then be the lighter spot you were looking for. The epigastric furrow also seems pretty wide for a possible male.

Maybe this is better

 

[mconnachan]

Maybe this is better View attachment 247885

You need to take a clear close-up photograph (without flash) of the area between the top set of book lungs, include the book lungs so we can see the distance between them, it makes sexing much easier, it's quite difficult to get a good picture for sexing, the only 100% certain way of knowing is by the use of a molt, however it can be guessed quite accurately with a photo of the epiandrous fussilae, your first picture was better but without flash.

 

[Magmion2310]

You need to take a clear close-up photograph (without flash) of the area between the top set of book lungs, include the book lungs so we can see the distance between them, it makes sexing much easier, it's quite difficult to get a good picture for sexing, the only 100% certain way of knowing is by the use of a molt, however it can be guessed quite accurately with a photo of the epiandrous fussilae, your first picture was better but without flash.

Thanks very much anyway pal, hope it turns out to be a female. I'll post the question again When he or she has molted!

 

[boina]

Now, the second, definitely clearer pic makes me think it could be a male after all . I give up. Wait for the next molt.

 

[mconnachan]

Now, the second, definitely clearer pic makes me think it could be a male after all . I give up. Wait for the next molt.

I'm still thinking male, but, after having another look, I jest, I jest.....roflmao

 

[Magmion2310]

I'm still thinking male, but, after having another look, I jest, I jest.....roflmao

Hahaha come oooon . I hate the pet shop owner for losing the molt... I want to know it so badly hahah

 

[Trenor]

Hahaha, wait for it to molt. It's really hard to tell the sex unless it's really obvious using Epiandrous fusillae sexing and you're likely to get different answers from different angles from photo to photo.

You're focusing on the wrong thing here man. You have a great looking tarantula there to setup a home for and take care of. I've enjoyed raising the males I have as much as the females.

Best of luck and enjoy the new tarantula.

 

[Magmion2310]

Hahaha, wait for it to molt. It's really hard to tell the sex unless it's really obvious using Epiandrous fusillae sexing and you're likely to get different answers from different angles from photo to photo.

You're focusing on the wrong thing here man. You have a great looking tarantula there to setup a home for and take care of. I've enjoyed raising the males I have as much as the females.

Best of luck and enjoy the new tarantula.

You know what, you are absolutely right. Thanks!

 

[Nightstalker47]

My guess is male because of the size of her abdimen. Im a bit New nto the hobby. (did a LOT of research about tarantulas tho). She just molted 3 days ago View attachment 247873 and the pet shop owner threw the molt away.. The only thing i have are these pictures...

If you really did a lot of research you would know that the size of the abdomen has nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with how much it was fed.

Also, seeing as it molted recently you would have had the perfect opportunity to sex it...you should know this it's basic info one will encounter whilst doing research.

Now, the second, definitely clearer pic makes me think it could be a male after all . I give up. Wait for the next molt.

Looks male to me.

 

[Trenor]

If you really did a lot of research you would know that the size of the abdomen has nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with how much it was fed.
Also, seeing as it molted recently you would have had the perfect opportunity to sex it...you should know this it's basic info one will encounter whilst doing research.

Not really, it depends on what they were researching. If it's how to setup an enclosure, move or feed a tarantula they might not know either of those things right off.

I think it's more beneficial for a new keeper to worry about housing and care. They can pick the rest up easily enough as they go when they need it. How to sex a tarantula is not as important for a new keeper as how to care for it.

 

[Moakmeister]

Judging by the pictures of the enclosure, there's too little substrate in there. The tarantula can climb up really high, and since there's pictures of it doing that, it IS climbing. If it falls more than a few inches, it can badly hurt itself and die. Put more substrate in there until the distance from the ground to the lid is less than 1.5 times the legspan of the spider. My tarantula's enclosure actually has LESS space than the tarantula's legspan, a little under 3 inches for a 3.5 inch spider.