Thick, maybe premolt soon?

[xXTristinaXx]

Seems like premolt maybe she has huge butt and suddenly lost her hairs. Also, no eating (she only eats once every week but food is almost as big as it, prekilled so don’t worry). Those are the only signs. She also let me open up her vial without running into her hide which is pretty cool. Also, do ya'll think $150 is a good price for a breeding pair of M. Balfouri?

 

[BoyFromLA]

We only can take a hint or two, predict, assume, hope, for there is no way for us to tell but tarantula itself.

$150 price tag for a pair sounds reasonable, but it could go cheaper in my opinion.

 

[Spoodfood]

please do correct me if I’m wrong and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you have 3 tarantulas and are planning on breeding M. balfouri? Is this correct?

 

[xXTristinaXx]

We only can take a hint or two, predict, assume, hope, for there is no way for us to tell but tarantula itself.

$150 price tag for a pair sounds reasonable, but it could go cheaper in my opinion.

I think thats actually super cheap, males cost 120 on some sites

please do correct me if I’m wrong and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you have 3 tarantulas and are planning on breeding M. balfouri? Is this correct?

I would't plan on breeding them right away, probably not for another year, I did ask the guy how much longer the male has left but he hasn't answered yet. Also, 4 XD

 

[Spoodfood]

I would't plan on breeding them right away, probably not for another year, I did ask the guy how much longer the male has left but he hasn't answered yet. Also, 4 XD

If you’re having trouble determining if your tarantula is in premolt and generally asking very “beginner” questions, I wouldn’t recommend breeding any tarantula or even considering it. Not even in a year. I’ve been keeping around 30 tarantulas for more than a year and would not feel comfortable breeding any. And I probably wouldn’t recommend you grab a balfouri at all. But some people don’t care what others might say and don’t like accepting advice, so it’s your choice. I did read somewhere else you have a P. murinus. They get a bad reputation and aren’t really “mean” spiders. That balfouri will probably give you a run for your money though during rehousings. In my personal experience, it’s never a good idea to go to headfirst too fast. You may have confidence now, but when something goes wrong due to a beginner mistake, which we all have at some point, you’re going to wish you didn’t make said mistake with a balfouri or the OBT.

Please reconsider purchasing them and do more research beforehand. In a year, then I’d say you could easily care for them. Right now, it seems like you haven’t given yourself enough time to actually experience the spiders you already have through their life cycle. Slings are very different from a big, angry old world tarantula.

if you decide not to heed any warnings, I look forward to the bite report. I mean this in the most respectful way possible, but grabbing a bunch of old worlds too fast with no experience is a recipe for possible disaster. If You must grab one, leave it at one until you have let it grow and have confidence dealing with it.

forgive me if I’m wrong. From what I’m seeing you have a couple slings and haven’t had them that long. If you have adult tarantulas and have some experience dealing with them during rehousing and maintenance, I apologize and retract my statements. But asking questions like this definitely makes it seem like you’re not ready for the responsibilities youre trying to take on right now.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

Honestly, I'm pretty sure it was in premolt I just bored as hell sitting here in school. Just using this as an excuse lol

 

[Edan bandoot]

I've seen cheaper balfouri.

Could be fat, could be premolt, you're the only one who can observe it clearly.

 

[Spoodfood]

At least the old worlds you’re getting are hardy species. You probably won’t kill them. At least there’s that. But if you’re coming here for advice, you should probably take it.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

Honestly, I have confidence that I can do it right. Of course, I whole heartedly agree and that's why I decided wait a year, but I guess a year still isn't quite enough, also, within the summer I plan on getting a ton more, like Brachypelma Hamorii or Smithi. Also, just want to make it clear, it is a female and male, not just one

 

[Spoodfood]

Honestly, I have confidence that I can do it right. Of course, I whole heartedly agree and that's why I decided wait a year, but I guess a year still isn't quite enough, also, within the summer I plan on getting a ton more, like Brachypelma Hamorii or Smithi. Also, just want to make it clear, it is a female and male, not just one

To breed, a year isn’t enough in my opinion. I’m sure some would disagree but you should probably be at the absolute least, confident in basic husbandry, knowledgeable about scientific names of your tarantulas, and not making beginner mistakes and asking beginner questions. You’re confident you can deal with it because you haven’t dealt with any adult tarantulas yet.

Once you’re confident with adults of a few different species, MAYBE think about it. But if you only have slings, the last thing on your mind right now should be collecting a bunch of old worlds and definitely not breeding. They don’t stay small forever, and they’re not fuzzy sweet cuddly kittens, or cool things to show off to your friends at school. They’re animals and they’re instinct driven, fast, and unpredictable ones at that. Slow down and actually accept the learning process. Because there definitely is one. Everyone thinks they can handle something until they get in over their head and realize they can’t. You’ll only realize you can’t once it’s too late and you have a bunch of giant old worlds that you’re scared to care for. It’s happened before, check the boards for it. People get something because they’re drawn to the fact that it’s “mean” and everyone says they can’t so they feel like they have something to prove.

Let the ones you have grow up a bit, maybe grab some more new worlds. There’s plenty of beautiful and even feisty new worlds I’d recommend before grabbing more OW slings. Having slings doesn’t even really count as much experience. It is a whole different ballgame. And I’m not even one of those people that care for the whole stepping stone idea in this hobby. But there’s certainly a difference between pushing the envelope a bit responsibly and going too far. Let yourself learn first. A couple OWs a little early on isn’t that big of a deal but just grabbing a bunch of OW slings early on when you only have a vague idea of tarantula husbandry in general, is irresponsible IMO.

And yes, there is a lot of different husbandry requirements for different species aside from “the amount of substrate.” A lot are easy and similar, a lot are not (This is quoting your previous post, which just goes on to prove my point here). And yes, I know it’s a male and a female. That would constitute the term breeding pair. Which is an even worse idea.

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I’ve kept around 12 tarantulas over the course of the past two years and I wouldn’t feel comfortable with breeding, even after breeding dozens of mantids. You just get so many slow growing babies that can take time and effort to raise, and do you really want to deal with a ton of baby balfouris?

 

[Spoodfood]

I’ve kept around 12 tarantulas over the course of the past two years and I wouldn’t feel comfortable with breeding, even after breeding dozens of mantids. You just get so many slow growing babies that can take time and effort to raise, and do you really want to deal with a ton of baby balfouris?

They think they do, until they have to. It’s okay because this happens every once and a while and all of us just wait around for when people like this grab things they can’t handle and want to pawn them off. Well gladly take them off your hands when and if you realize we’re right!

And I also would like to add, if you think breeding is a gold mine, you’re in for a treat. Remember, shipping costs of live animals are not cheap. Breeders and vendors don’t do this for money, I can promise you that.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

ight guys, I promise I won't breed T's for another 5 years and until I get 50 T's in my collection lol

 

[Craig73]

It’s fun to think and fantasize, but also be realistic. I’ve got just over a year experience with 33 T’s now. I often think about the possibility of breeding and know which four I’d actually breed if I did. But that’s where it ends.

Until I’ve raised several T’s to maturity, rehoused 5”+ T’s, or maybe even managed to pack a MM into a small packing container if I ever send one off, I know that breeding would out of my league and the likely hood of ending up with an eaten male increases with inexperience.

Out of my crew I’d breed G. iheringi, T. sp. panama, T. sp. megacarapax, and A. bicoloratum. I love my other T’s (minus one), but not enough to deal with the burden and headaches.

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I love my other T’s (minus one), but not enough to deal with the burden and headaches.

That poor T who you don’t love

 

[Edan bandoot]

and the likely hood of ending up with an eaten male increases with inexperience.

It's a natural process that insures your female is well-fed prior to starting a sack. Some species even consistently do it.

Not as bad of a thing as it seems.

 

[Charliemum]

I am 35 I did research for 15 months before I bought my first t , I still only have one because Pip is a sling and I wish to watch her grow and enjoy her.(not sexed just hoping lol ) I think you should definitely heed the advice given here, it's given from experience, be happy with the t's you have they are not pokemon you don't have to catch them all.

 

[Craig73]

That poor T who you don’t love

It’s crazy, no over statement. It’s going into its new enclosure this weekend, I’ve stalled long enough. Stay tuned, pictures will be posted of this 3” spawn from hell after.

It's a natural process that insures your female is well-fed prior to starting a sack. Some species even consistently do it.

Not as bad of a thing as it seems.

I’ve read some on it, but would be disappointing if it was eaten before the deed happened. I’d imagine those with experience would have more of an idea if something didn’t look quite right during the pairing and abort the mission and try again later.

 

[Spoodfood]

ight guys, I promise I won't breed T's for another 5 years and until I get 50 T's in my collection lol

Don’t ask for advice if you don’t want it. And don’t mention you want to breed tarantulas before even having any adults or many spiders and not expect to catch some wind here. We’re responsible here, so we’re probably going to try to encourage you to make responsible decisions. Listening to reasoning and being responsible is a big part of this hobby, as is having patience. There isn’t necessarily a time limit, or number of spiders, but at this point you don’t have the slightest clue what you’re doing from your past posts so it shouldn’t even be something on your mind. And it’s probably not going to bring you much of a profit either, if that’s what you’re after.

You don’t need to have 50 Ts ever, or any amount. But yeah I would say the 5 years is a lot more on par with how long you should probably wait to breed any T, let alone any old worlds.

 

[Neonblizzard]

Yeah i don't know if you should be considering breeding if you're asking about premolt on the boards. Just take your time. Don't turn what you love into a nightmare