Prolonging the lifespan of a mature male?

[Jormungandr]

I've got a few males that recently matured who I do not yet have females for. Is there anything that may aid in prolonging their lifespan and potency. For instance feeding less or keeping them at sightly cooler temperatures to slow their metabolism?

 

[KezyGLA]

Keep cool 16-20c and feed less regularly

 

[Ungoliant]

Make sure they always have access to fresh water.

 

[cold blood]

They're already prone to eating less....I feed MMs every two weeks when fresh, but after a month or so, they naturally lose interest in food, at which point I offer prey every 4-6 weeks.

As said, keeping them on the cooler side helps.

It's my opinion though that hydration is the #1 key to a MMs longer lifespan. Most MMs die of eventual dehydration and not because life just ran it's course.

I just had a MM Lasiodora pass....he had been mature over three years....last few months he lived almost on the water dish.

I'm not sure anything can really be done to extend the length of time he remains viable from a breeding standpoint.

 

[Vanessa]

Water has always been the one thing stressed in trying to prolong their lives. I always have a water dish in with my tarantulas, even as larger spiderlings, but my mature males always have two. I see them drink more than at any other time and more than any of my females.

 

[PanzoN88]

Only mature male I have currently is my H. chilensis who matured in January and is still going strong and pumping out sperm webs. I feed him sparingly and keep him on a lower shelf where it is not as warm.

 

[viper69]

Lower the temps, feed less, definitely keep it hydrated. I kept a MM E. sp Yellow alive well beyond 1.5 yr. While he ate about once a month due to maturity, he certainly did drink quite frequently.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

My E. campestratus hooked out 2 years and three months ago. I've just kept waterin his enclosure just as I always did, and generally choose smaller feeders to offer him.. but I usually feed him on the same days I feed the rest of the spiders. temperatures more or less correspond to the seasons, it gets pretty hot in my house in the summer and a bit chilly in the winter.
I figure that postponing the final moult factors in on things, and feeding and temperatures play a role in that process.

 

[boina]

Where does this idea come from to feed them less? I'd think that would be counter productive.

The activity of the metabolism is dictated by temps. There is absolutely no evidence at all that feeding has any influence on metabolism. If you want to raise the metabolism you will have to feed more in addition to higher temps, because the organism needs something to metabolize in the higher temps, i.e. more food. If you lower the temps and feed a lot all you get is a very fat spider.

Now, if you lower the temps and feed less all you get is a starving spider, because the spider metabolizes according to temps, not to food availability. We all know that starvation is not good if you want to keep your energy up. If there is not enough food any animal on the planet will shut down non essential body functions. In mammals that's muscle mass and immune system. I'm not aware of any research in inverts but I'd think it works similar. So what you get is a weaker spider with a weak immune system. That's not conductive to longer living.

I'd think that lower temps and MORE food would be the way to go, so the MM can keep it's energy up. That's what I'm doing anyway, my MMs get as much food as they want (they usually don't want that much anyway) and they all are living well over a year after maturity, usually up to 2 years, if I don't get to sell them.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Well, I think the reasoning may be that the more they eat, the faster they grow (along with other conditions prompting that, like temps), and the faster they grow, the sooner they moult, and moulting seems to be a bit problematic for mature males.
I don't starve mine, I just downscale the portions a bit.
There is possibly no basis to it at all, but I've never had a mature male live longer than six months or so prior to the E. campestratus. They'd hit the next moult and succumb, usually stuck in their moult as I recall. But maybe there were other factors involved I was not familiar with, and my sampling is admittedly small. Also I was pretty new to keeping them in those days and may not have had conditions optimal.

 

[boina]

the more they eat, the faster they grow

That premise is already wrong. Metabolism does not depend on food, but on temps.

 

[Teal]

Do yall think that a smaller enclosure/less room to wander would help prolong their lifespan because they would be expending less energy?

Well, I think the reasoning may be that the more they eat, the faster they grow (along with other conditions prompting that, like temps), and the faster they grow, the sooner they moult, and moulting seems to be a bit problematic for mature males.
I don't starve mine, I just downscale the portions a bit.
There is possibly no basis to it at all, but I've never had a mature male live longer than six months or so prior to the E. campestratus. They'd hit the next moult and succumb, usually stuck in their moult as I recall. But maybe there were other factors involved I was not familiar with, and my sampling is admittedly small. Also I was pretty new to keeping them in those days and may not have had conditions optimal.

I have never had a MM try to molt again, though I am aware of it happening.