P. metallica & M. balfouri breeding

[Redneck]

Alright.. In light of this thread..

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=187848

I am now asking you guys & gals.. The ones who have a breeding pair of P. metallica &/or M. balfouri

Are you trying to breed them? I dont really care what your reasons are for trying.. I am just curious if you are..

Also.. If by chance you do not have a female of either specie.. Only a MM.. Are you looking to send him off for breeding?

If you only have a female of either specie.. Are you looking to find a male for her.. So you can breed them?

If you read the thread you will know why I am posting this thread..

 

[dianedfisher]

As a small breeder, I think there are several variables involved (I know this applies at least to myself). But answering questions from the thread you linked to:
#1 Poecilotheria metallica are very "private" tarantulas. They are skittish and tend to hide, even more so than most of the other Poecilotheria I keep. P. tigrinawesseli also fall into this "uber" skittish area, at least from my experience. Unless you have the technique down, Poecilotheria themselves are hard to breed (at least from my own perspective) and couple that with skittish mothers who are prone to sac destruction, you end up with fewer viable sacs. My best friend has had several P.metallica sacs but no spiderlings to show for the effort.
#2 I only keep one female of each species and breed only for personal satisfaction. Someone like me has less access to mature males of the more rare species unless I raise them myself, which takes a while. I was lucky enough to procure Joe's MM M.balfouri and there remains the possibility of a sac. My largest P.metallic female had a bad molt a year ago and I had to start over. The 2 males that I am raising will go to an experienced breeder when they mature in the next few months. IMO sending rare mature males to those with no experience is a waste of both money and opportunity.
#3 Even though Monocentropus balfouri have been in the U.S. for a while, I don't believe there are that many mature females in the hobby yet. Some of us have tried to get sacs, a few got sacs and did not end up with viable 2nd instars. Evidently we haven't locked onto the intricacies of breeding this particular species yet. As was mentioned, they also have small sac yields so a successful breeder may want to keep the first generation for future breeding purposes and none will find their way into the hands of hobbyists. I think getting them into the hands of other breeders in the U.S is the best course of action.
Just my take on things.
Diane

 

[Big Red TJ]

My own experience is with the loaning of a T. blondi MM which turned out to be a burgandy?(not getting into the whole T blondi debate) is that nothing came of it and I have done several 50/50's with only 2 succsess. One was my female B. smithi who gave me a sac but it didn't survive and one with my P. regalis male who went to like 4-5 people and only one sac appereantly made it. Of that I got three slings. So I will only purchase MM or only do loans with people I have met face to face like Joe or Ian

 

[xhexdx]

My MM balfouri had two dates.

I have several slings - once they grow up, you bet I'll be breeding them.

You also have to keep in mind that just because nobody is saying on a public forum that they are breeding, doesn't mean they aren't. In fact, I know of several breeding projects, regardless of species, that aren't being publicized right now.

I personally don't like talking about my own breeding until I actually get slings - contrary to what some may think, I'm not an attention-seeker. I don't post when my spiders molt, pair up, drop sacs, etc. I work my breeding projects, and those that are successful, I post breeding reports. If I pair them up and the female molts, what's the point in posting a report? What's the point in mentioning it?

Regarding who males are loaned out to, etc. - this is a difficult thing for many reasons, but it really boils down to how the owner of the male feels about the situation. When you're just starting to breed, it's much more difficult to get people to loan you males. Once you get semi-established in that department (the key to this is being successful with loaner males, and requesting the owner of the male leave you a review once they receive their share of the sac), people are much more likely to send you their males for breeding purposes.

On another note, what are you going to do with a MM if you don't have any females to breed him to? If you can afford to ship him out, then ship him to someone who has a female, even if it's someone you've never heard of. Expect nothing in return, and you may be pleasantly surprised. I remember when I loaned a MM A. bicegoi to Eric and Chris, even though they are both great breeders, I actually had forgotten about the loan altogether until one of them sent me a PM saying both girls had successful sacs and they were sending me ~100 slings.

Anyway, I'm drifting off-topic...

Point is - just because people don't reveal what they're breeding when, why, how, etc., doesn't mean they're not actually trying (and succeeding).

--Joe

 

[mitchrobot]

m.balfouri is the only spider ive ever truly started a breeding project with, with a large amount of females and males.
reason 1) they sell well and would help me fund a p.metallica project haha
reason 2) my #2 favorite species, right behind g.pulchra. everyone should have one, they are pet holes, super webbers, active, generally handle well, and look great...all rolled into one.
reason 3) if i hatch a few id like to keep a bunch for my self for future breeding projects.

right now im working with 5 large female balfouri.
i have raised up 3 MM and bought 2 others over the last year.
considering the numbers so far i call this project a complete FAILER. except it has given me the opportunity to try to figure out what conditions are right, much experimenting with housing, humidity etc etc.

this species has to be one of the trickiest Ts to get to drop a sac EVER. each girl has mated with atleast 2 males at any given time, but so far ive only gotten one sack, and it was a dud.
i just had 2 females molt the same week as a male mature, so hopefully with thes fresh girls ill see something. the other 3 girls have all been mated also.

i traded two MMs not to long ago, but only because i still had a fresh one left. the males of this species IME hav a pretty good shelf life. the current male i have will stay with me. with a species like this id prefer not to loan because so few people have bred them, let alone have adult females. same goes with the xenesthis males i have, i will only send them to people with great breeding track records, the species is very hard to get to drop a sac so i dont send them to just anybody

with the p.metallica males ive had i traded/sold them. my female died around the same time my first male matured, knowing they are hard to get a successful hatch from, and i couldnt afford another female, i decided to sell the guy. i traded my other male for the same reason.

with easier to breed, more common males, i usually loan them off after ive used them, or if i dont need them. i figure if i get my half great, if i dont, they would have croaked soon anyways. although ive yet to get my half of any loans ive sent out , but such is the nature of the beast.

 

[Redneck]

Ahh.. Yeah this was probably a fail thread.. LoL.. I didnt honestly think about it before I posted it.. I was slightly irritated.. I know a few people (Not personally) that are working on breeding these species..

I was just curious to some of those that are open to talk about it if they have or are working on getting a sac from theirs or if they have sent their MMs out for a breeding loan..

I guess I should have worded it better.. Or just not posted this thread.. It is kind of a more personal topic..

 

[mitchrobot]

i think this is a FAIL thread in regards to how many people have successfully hatched a sac to how many people who havnt. no lie, p.mets and m.bals are hella hard to get a good sac from. but nothing wrong with failure, gives you an opportunity to learn what DOESNT work . but all in all its a sound question aye.

ive contacted 3 people who have bred balfouri successfully and not one would tell me anything. which sucks haha, but i can see why people would be shady about info. i for one dont give a hoot, as soon as i get a good hatch im doing a quick write up on what worked for me

i think anyone who dropped the cash on getting a pair of either sp would be crazy NOT to try to breed them. i spent about 950 on my adult pair of p.mets, and was planning on breeding them as soon as the female adjusted from shipping! my male had matured alightly before the female arrived....figured get started breeding early and hope for the best, fingers crossed on making back on that investment. the balfouri i have been breeding since the first week i got a hold of them all. dont want those MMs going to waste

 

[Redneck]

i think this is a FAIL thread in regards to how many people have successfully hatched a sac to how many people who havnt. no lie, p.mets and m.bals are hella hard to get a good sac from. but nothing wrong with failure, gives you an opportunity to learn what DOESNT work . but all in all its a sound question aye.

ive contacted 3 people who have bred balfouri successfully and not one would tell me anything. which sucks haha, but i can see why people would be shady about info. i for one dont give a hoot, as soon as i get a good hatch im doing a quick write up on what worked for me

i think anyone who dropped the cash on getting a pair of either sp would be crazy NOT to try to breed them. i spent about 950 on my adult pair of p.mets, and was planning on breeding them as soon as the female adjusted from shipping! my male had matured alightly before the female arrived....figured get started breeding early and hope for the best, fingers crossed on making back on that investment. the balfouri i have been breeding since the first week i got a hold of them all. dont want those MMs going to waste

Well.. I really wasnt after info. on "how" people are breeding or the conditions..
I was just after a little info. on how "many" were actually trying to breed theirs.. Not really if they have had sucess... Just that they are trying..

I understand most dont want to give away their secrets.. Then "everyone" would have sucess.. That is kind of selfish if you think about it.. But hey.. To each his own.. Right? *Shrug*

IMO.. If someone has had sucess with breeding either of these & has not shared info on it.. They are in it for the money.. Not experiance.. Not because they love the hobby.. If they dont share their secret to sucess.. They can be the only one having sucess.. But again.. To each his own..

As far as this being a fail thread.. It does not bother me any.. LoL.. As I said I was not really thinking when I posted it..