Okay, Heres T # 6

Mendnwngs

Arachnosquire
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Mar 30, 2003
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128
Wife called me from *cough* petco.. Said they had a mexican redknee for 30$

Im thinking, yeah, right..

Go ahead and get it hon.. Itll be nice to have whatever it is..

So, she just got home, and Sure enough.. A B. smithi about 2.5-3" for 30$

Beautiful little bugger, but a very kicky hairflinger ;)

Very docile otherwise, Let me pick it up by the "pin and pluck" method with no resistance..

So.. What do you think?

Sorry about the crappy pic, theyre captures from my digital camcorder.. The color is a little off too.. The red on those legs is much richer than in the pic..

-Jason
 

Charlie

Arachnobaron
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Aug 27, 2002
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367
huh?

Crappy pic?

Looks pretty good to me. Very nice tarantula and the price was great.


-Charlie
 

atavuss

Arachnoprince
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Jason, was that the regular price or were they marked down? I bought 4 of my smithis @ petco when they were marked down to 49.99 from 99.99 and I think three of them are males. I am beginning to think their wholesaler is sexing them and selling them mostly males.
Ed
 

Mendnwngs

Arachnosquire
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I have the feeling this guy is male too..

I dont know what their normal pricing is, but apparently, this guy was in a cage with no identification tag or price, so when my wife asked them what it was, and how much, they said 30$ before they even told here what it was (clerk had to go in the back and ask around to find out this was a red knee)

I guess the clerk also had no idea that these things can bite :/

Wife says the clerk was chasing the T around the cage with his hand, and finally just grabbed the T (closed fist style)

Man, oh man.. I wish the T would have bit him..

Poor Guy..

He looks really healthy, Is very responsive and other than a little stressed, I think he'll be fine...

-Jason
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Most of the B. smithi in this country stem from a single large scale breeder in Germany. My suspicion is that the breeder raises a certain percentage of slings for future breeders and as soon as they're sexable unloads the excess males. That's the only explanation that makes any sense both for the number 2" smithis that appear on the market out of nowhere and that they're overwhelmingly male.
 

luther

Arachnodemon
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Apr 8, 2003
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Nice purchase :} I can't find any Ts in my area that aren't over priced, never mind bargains.

If anyone in the Nothern UK is suffering from an excess of male smithi's I have a horny mature female that would love to meet them.

(Sorry for hijacking your thread)
 

Mendnwngs

Arachnosquire
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Hey No problem ;)

Ill take a picture of this bad boys "under carrige" in the next day or two, See if your Gurus here can help me sex him (her?)

We'll see.. Im pretty sure its a male, altho he does seem pretty stalky (not real leggy)

Hmmm..

So, these things growth rate is slow huh? How long (usually) from 2nd insar to mature? 2 yrs? 3?

-Jason
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by Mendnwngs
We'll see.. Im pretty sure its a male, altho he does seem pretty stalky (not real leggy)

Hmmm..

So, these things growth rate is slow huh? How long (usually) from 2nd insar to mature? 2 yrs? 3?
The legginess in Brachys isn't that distinct until they're getting some size on them. I'd guestimate that from 2nd instar to maturity for a male is probably about 3-4 years and a female something in the range of 4-6 years.

That's part of my basis for the male dumping theory: There are a LOT of 1.5-2 inch smithis for sale, and lots of 1/4" hatchlings for sale, yet you don't often see the larger but unsexable slings because they're popular enough that they sell out before reaching that point.

So, who's doing all this rearing of slings to sell them off for not that high of a price? Why feed a T for 18 months if it's only going to fetch you $35 when you could have sold it off as a 2nd instar for $20. Just some things to make you go "hmmm...."
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Jun 18, 2003
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Originally posted by Mendnwngs
Hey No problem ;)

Ill take a picture of this bad boys "under carrige" in the next day or two, See if your Gurus here can help me sex him (her?)

We'll see.. Im pretty sure its a male, altho he does seem pretty stalky (not real leggy)

Hmmm..

So, these things growth rate is slow huh? How long (usually) from 2nd insar to mature? 2 yrs? 3?

-Jason
I think it probably takes longer than that. I've already been raising my smithi for about 2.5 years and it was about 3/4 of an inch when I bought it in Feb. of 2001. It is only 3 inches now and still has QUITE a bit of growing to do before it reaches maturity. It's not sexed, though at the last spider party I took it too, the other people leaned toward male though it's really hard to tell.

It's pretty fat right now and eating really well. Assuming it is male, at this rate, I think it would probably be at LEAST another 2 years before it reaches maturity.....probably even longer than that.

Wysi
 

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
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.....So, who's doing all this rearing of slings to sell them off for not that high of a price?................:?

When I bought my T at PETCO last week the lady there
said they get their T's from "Midwest", and she also said
something about that distributor changing it's name........:? Can't remember what she said the new name was:confused:

My T was handled the same way, a two handed scoop and
dump into the box move:mad: I went to get another item
from the store, they boxed it while I was looking around!
I even asked to put it in the box myself, but they did it
anyway:eek: :mad:
I wish it would have took a shot at the witch!;P
 

WYSIWYG

SpiderLoco
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Jun 18, 2003
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Originally posted by sunnymarcie
.....So, who's doing all this rearing of slings to sell them off for not that high of a price?................:?

When I bought my T at PETCO last week the lady there
said they get their T's from "Midwest", and she also said
something about that distributor changing it's name........:? Can't remember what she said the new name was:confused:

My T was handled the same way, a two handed scoop and
dump into the box move:mad: I went to get another item
from the store, they boxed it while I was looking around!
I even asked to put it in the box myself, but they did it
anyway:eek: :mad:
I wish it would have took a shot at the witch!;P
What do you mean by a two-handed scoop? I think that is probably how I pick up my critters. I put one hand in front of them, and gently nudge them from behind to get them up on my hand. I've never been comfy with the pin and grip method. Of course, my method only works with gentle creatures. I wouldn't dare to pick up any nasties with my bare hands using ANY method! :p

Wysi
 

MizM

Arachnoprincess
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Hmmmmm, my pet store dude here in So. Cal. just got a 2.5" red knee from "the truck" that comes to his store every week. Said it was reeeeeely cheap. Coincidence... or unloading of immature males? YOU be the judge!
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Originally posted by Paladin
how long do males last after their last molt?
In general, a year or less.

However, some do last longer. Some even go onto moult again but always lose their pedipalps if they survive the process. An even smaller number have been known to moult for a post-post ultimate moult.
 

SpiderFood

Arachnoknight
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Mar 26, 2003
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I paid wayy to much for mine. It wasnt at petco or anywhere just a local petstore owner. they are overpriced on everything. they are selling rosies for 30 dollars male and female. pinktoes for 35 and cobalts for 50. thats just crazy.

dale
 
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