My Arizona Blonde T has gone black after molt?!

[marleymathers]

Hi peeps. My Arizona Blonde molted yesterday. It was brown/sandy colour before now it’s black with slight brown legs. She has turned into my Brazilian Black T!!
I was calling her she because the website I bought her from (which is one of the most well known and supposedly reputable sellers of creatures and supplies in the U.K.) said she’s a female but I’ve seen similar posts about this where people have said that they are male if they’re black coloured…I thought they were meant to be Brown/Blonde. Or do they all change colour after molt. Thanks people

 

[Liquifin]

Post pictures. It sounds like either a mature male or a very old specimen. Pictures would be appreciated.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Surprise......it's a mature male.

Unless they sold you a mis-indentified T.

 

[marleymathers]

Post pictures. It sounds like either a mature male or a very old specimen. Pictures would be appreciated.

Oh Damn. That is so disappointing. I can’t take a photo currently but here are some before and after photos that resemble the T

Surprise......it's a mature male.

Unless they sold you a mis-indentified T.

Oh damn, that is really disappointing. I hope it was a misidentification. Or they have scammed me as I know female Ts cost more than males

 

[Marcostaco]

Looks like SHE is a mature male lol

 

[marleymathers]

Looks like SHE is a mature male lol

That is quite depressing. Another disappointment to add to my current long list. I wanted it to be a female as I prefer female Ts and like the species. I’m guessing it won’t live very long now?

 

[Arachnophobphile]

That is quite depressing. Another disappointment to add to my current long list. I wanted it to be a female as I prefer female Ts and like the species. I’m guessing it won’t live very long now?

Don't be disappointed, MM A. chalcodes live quite awhile after maturing.

My A. chalcodes matured on 4/28/2021 and is still going. I've read it's possible MM A. chalcodes can live up to 3 years if conditions are great.

Here is a photo of him right after freshly molting into a mature male back in April 2021

 

[NMTs]

Just because she's darkened up DOES NOT mean she is a male. There are plenty of examples of dark female A. chalcodes out there, especially shortly after a molt. This is a common occurrence - search the genus index and you'll see numerous examples like this one:

Aphonopelma chalcodes 5" Adult Female

arachnoboards.com

It is possible that you've got a male, but without an actual picture of it there's no way to tell.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Just because she's darkened up DOES NOT mean she is a male. There are plenty of examples of dark female A. chalcodes out there, especially shortly after a molt. This is a common occurrence - search the genus index and you'll see numerous examples like this one:

Aphonopelma chalcodes 5" Adult Female

arachnoboards.com

It is possible that you've got a male, but without an actual picture of it there's no way to tell.

Scroll up and view the pics marley posted. The second photo resembles marley's T which is close to my MM which is 100% opposite of the photo from the link you shared.

A pic from Marley is needed but if Marley's T has those colors and same anatomy that screams mature male then it's a mature male but a photo is needed.

If still in doubt look for boxing gloves, always a sure sign. Plus A. chalcodes MM have tibial hooks on the front legs when maturing out.

 

[Marlana]

I agree with @NMTs , I’ve seen a few posts where a female molted extremely dark for the species but was indeed female. Without a clear picture I wouldn’t want to speculate. Especially considering people explain coloring differently

 

[NMTs]

Scroll up and view the pics marley posted. The second photo resembles marley's T which is close to my MM which is 100% opposite of the photo from the link you shared.

A pic from Marley is needed but if Marley's T has those colors and same anatomy that screams mature male then it's a mature male but a photo is needed.

If still in doubt look for boxing gloves, always a sure sign. Plus A. chalcodes MM have tibial hooks on the front legs when maturing out.

They said they weren't pics of theirs, and I clearly stated we need to see a real pic to confirm. Just because it got "dark" doesn't mean it's male, but we'll see what the case is here I suppose!

 

[SuleymanC]

Yeah it is sad when you have male though what you truly want to have is a female but don't be sad my friend we all had a male at one point or other especially if you raise unsexed sling or get unsexed juvenile or sub adult. Males are part of the keeping but they can be very good to have if in future you plan on doing breeding

 

[Arachnophobphile]

They said they weren't pics of theirs, and I clearly stated we need to see a real pic to confirm. Just because it got "dark" doesn't mean it's male, but we'll see what the case is here I suppose!

The anatomy will tell all.

Male A. chalcodes has tibial hooks when maturing out. If her T has the hooks then it's male.

At this point all Marley needs to do is look for the hooks. The hooks are very pronounced on male chalcodes.

On dark colored female chalcodes I found this from 2003, read every post:

California brown changes color!

hi I have a California all brown female tarantula, I had her for about 5 months, she molted last week and came out all black she is a female. I was wondering does anyone know why they change colors like this? She's a very pretty black with some long brown hairs on her abdomen...

arachnoboards.com

 

[NMTs]

The anatomy will tell all.

Male A. chalcodes has tibial hooks when maturing out. If her T has the hooks then it's male.

At this point all Marley needs to do is look for the hooks. The hooks are very pronounced on male chalcodes.

On dark colored female chalcodes I found this from 2003, read every post:

California brown changes color!

hi I have a California all brown female tarantula, I had her for about 5 months, she molted last week and came out all black she is a female. I was wondering does anyone know why they change colors like this? She's a very pretty black with some long brown hairs on her abdomen...

arachnoboards.com

Interesting. Seems like the theory 20 years ago was that females darken up when kept at consistently cooler temps than they would encounter in the wild - which would basically be the case for any captive specimen, since temps in the wild regularly exceed 100F. It sounds plausible, but if they get darker to be able to warm from the sun more effectively, then wouldn't immature males also darken before their ultimate molt for the same reason? Regardless of why it happens, it does go to show that a "dark phase" of A. chalcodes females has been documented in the hobby for a long time. It would be nice if the OP could follow up with pics of their specimen so we can try to figure out if it's male or female...

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Interesting. Seems like the theory 20 years ago was that females darken up when kept at consistently cooler temps than they would encounter in the wild - which would basically be the case for any captive specimen, since temps in the wild regularly exceed 100F. It sounds plausible, but if they get darker to be able to warm from the sun more effectively, then wouldn't immature males also darken before their ultimate molt for the same reason? Regardless of why it happens, it does go to show that a "dark phase" of A. chalcodes females has been documented in the hobby for a long time. It would be nice if the OP could follow up with pics of their specimen so we can try to figure out if it's male or female...

That's what I came out with after reading those post.

However I don't think temps have a huge impact since A. chalcodes can be found in Northern Utah and thrive through the harsh winters. The females I've seen others with from that region retain the standard coloring. I don't really know but it's interesting. All dark females are rare though.

Marley needs to post a photo. With A. chalcodes, females and males have the same coloring. That is until the male matures then right after it completes it's molt it is dark, real dark like all black. Then in a day or two it looks like mine of the photo I posted.

All she has to do is look for the hooks on the front legs. If no hooks could be female. I doubt she would be able to tell by the pedipalps, who knows.

One thing is for certain....she hasn't come back here and replied or posted a photo.

 

[Reezelbeezelbug]

If it molted two days ago, then it's too early to tell unless there are obvious features like hooks. I have a A hentzi that looked so strange after molting it made me wonder what I really had. Dark areas that should be light, light areas that should be dark But after a week or two of hardening up, the colors settled into a vibrant normal looking color for the species.

 

[Marcostaco]

That's what I came out with after reading those post.

However I don't think temps have a huge impact since A. chalcodes can be found in Northern Utah and thrive through the harsh winters. The females I've seen others with from that region retain the standard coloring. I don't really know but it's interesting. All dark females are rare though.

Interesting. Seems like the theory 20 years ago was that females darken up when kept at consistently cooler temps than they would encounter in the wild - which would basically be the case for any captive specimen, since temps in the wild regularly exceed 100F. It sounds plausible, but if they get darker to be able to warm from the sun more effectively, then wouldn't immature males also darken before their ultimate molt for the same reason? Regardless of why it happens, it does go to show that a "dark phase" of A. chalcodes females has been documented in the hobby for a long time. It would be nice if the OP could follow up with pics of their specimen so we can try to figure out if it's male or female...

Marley needs to post a photo. With A. chalcodes, females and males have the same coloring. That is until the male matures then right after it completes it's molt it is dark, real dark like all black. Then in a day or two it looks like mine of the photo I posted.

All she has to do is look for the hooks on the front legs. If no hooks could be female. I doubt she would be able to tell by the pedipalps, who knows.

One thing is for certain....she hasn't come back here and replied or posted a photo.

But don't tarantulas normally darken up after a molt? After a recent molt is where their colors are in full display

 

[Matt Man]

look for hooks and boxing gloves. We had 2 MM A chalcodes at the show, and they too were the classic dark tonality

 

[Arachnophobphile]

But don't tarantulas normally darken up after a molt? After a recent molt is where their colors are in full display

Well in regards to A.chalcodes from me witnessing mine molting into a mature male, it was almost black. Two or three days later it was the colors it had in the photo I posted.

Male A. chalcodes before molting into a MM, it was 3.5 inches dls:





After molting into a 5 inch dls mature male:




I did not get a photo of day 1 when it completed it's molt, I do not disturb them.

 

[Marcostaco]

Well in regards to A.chalcodes from me witnessing mine molting into a mature male, it was almost black. Two or three days later it was the colors it had in the photo I posted.

Male A. chalcodes before molting into a MM, it was 3.5 inches dls: View attachment 426543



View attachment 426544

After molting into a 5 inch dls mature male:
View attachment 426545

View attachment 426546

I did not get a photo of day 1 when it completed it's molt, I do not disturb them.

Yeah, everything will be clear when OP posts a pic