Poll: What is the smallest molt that you have ever sexed successfully?

About what size was it?


  • Total voters
    18

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
I keep trying to sex 1/2 to 3/4 inch molts with my 60X hand microscope and failing miserably.

It occurred to me that maybe I am just trying this too early, and wondered with approximately what size molt most keepers can reliably do it.
 

sdsnybny

Arachnogeek
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
1,330
Usually 1.5-2" but got lucky on a teeny tiny C. perezmilesi molt @ 3/4" I just have a 40x jewelers loupe, lucky as in it didn't tear to shreds when spreading it and the spermatheca were already starting to color up. ;) I will attempt to sex any that I can get to spread out without tearing.
Its there on the right napkin. ( the H. pulchripes molt, biggest one, measures 3.5" for reference)
2017-04-06 14.12.52.jpg
 

PanzoN88

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
713
Usually 1.5-2" but got lucky on a teeny tiny C. perezmilesi molt @ 3/4" I just have a 40x jewelers loupe, lucky as in it didn't tear to shreds when spreading it and the spermatheca were already starting to color up. ;) I will attempt to sex any that I can get to spread out without tearing.
Its there on the right napkin. ( the H. pulchripes molt, biggest one, measures 3.5" for reference)
View attachment 236234
Looks like I am not the only one who saves molts.
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
I have a medium KK over half full of them from microscopic to 7" LOL
He does. It's like a box of horrors to anyone not into Ts :rofl:

I'm with Steve in that 1.5-2" is about as small as I will consider a molt to be *reliably* sexable unless we are talking about dwarf Ts.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
Well, the results and comments so far put my mind at ease a bit. If an overwhelming number of people were getting 1/2 inch molts sexed successfully, I would be frustrated.
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
2" is about as small as I'll bother to attempt, trying to flatten out the abdomen is a nightmare at smaller sizes.
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
It occurred to me that maybe I am just trying this too early, and wondered with approximately what size molt most keepers can reliably do it.
I don't normally bother trying to manipulate exuviae smaller than 2", but I did get a usable molt from Flash, my smaller Grammostola pulchra, at about 1.5".

However, I am still learning how to sex tarantulas, so I don't know that I can say I reliably do it at any size. (If you're not accurate more than 50% of the time, you're no better than chance.)
 

volcanopele

Arachnosquire
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Messages
74
So far my smallest were 2" molted from my Tapinauchenius sp. Caribbean Diamond (turned out to be female) and my LP (turned out to be male). My biggest issue isn't so much determining sex but actually unfolding the abdomen without shredding it. I think I am getting better at it.
 

Spidermolt

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
203
I usually dont look at slings but a couple weeks back I had a few small 1" molts laying around that I tried to sex thinking that I'd probably get no results but luckly one did turn up positive female. The problem was that I couldn't remember which sling that was from and the molt was beyond I'ding... oh well :rolleyes:
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
1/2" is my normal, but my record is 1/4" on a C. argentinense. That's not common at all though, I usually don't even bother at that size or the exuvia is too mangled.
 
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