The Grim Reaper

[Grael]

How long do Tarantulas live ?

Does it go on the species?The size of the species?Aboreal or Terrestrial?Male and Female?

Ok from what i heard males live much shorter lives than females, is this true?

also can anyone kindly tell me how long do A. Geniculatas females live for?

Thanks people!

 

[deifiler]

Females do live longer - Males have what's called an 'ultimate moult' - that is, once they reach maturity (everything is 'ripe and ready' for them to breed' )they won't moult again. After this they generally die within the year.

The females can exceed 15 years, I have a G.Rosea that is at 14 years.

Of course other factors apply to its life, like living conditions etc.

Hope that helps

 

[Henry Kane]

Some species are also known to have a longer lifespan than others. Desert species generally have the longer lifespans while tropical species are a bit shorter. THere are some species of Aphonopelma that are said to be able to live well over a 20 years.
The males do have a much shorter lifespan than the females. Males of some species can reach full maturity in just 2 years or so. Males of other species may not mature for 6 years or more. There are a lot of variables that effect this though such as captivity vs. in the wild or frequency of feeding.
Once males mature, on average they may live up to 2 years. Once in a great while a mature male may molt one more time after maturity. That is known as a post-ultimate molt. Usually this is a huge disaster and results in the loss of the palps or even several legs. Very rarely though it will turn out just fine and the male will live on for several months longer still.

Atrax