Unsexed = Male?

[proper_tea]

When you are dealing with dealers, or private sellers, how often does "unsexed" mean that they are selling you a male? I know with slings it's a pretty sure bet that it's actually unsexed, but with 2", 3", or 4" spiders, I feel like the breeder/dealer/owner should have a pretty good idea about the sex.

Do you buy larger unsexed spiders, or do you just opt to pay the extra bucks for a female if you are buying big?

Have you been burned?

As a person relatively new to the world of online spider commerce, I'd love to get some perspective.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Do you buy larger unsexed spiders, or do you just opt to pay the extra bucks for a female if you are buying big?

I buy bigger "unsexed" spiders when I need future males. That is about the only way I can answer that without slinging mud.

 

[Shogun]

I wonder this myself.

I've seen slings sexed accuratly at quite small sizes.

I will only buy something under 1", unless I know the person selling them has has alot of this sp. at this size.

Unsexed, that is.

 

[Moltar]

I'll sling a little i guess. Odds are that if you see a 3" or bigger unsexed specimen of a docile species it's a male and the seller is in denial. That's certainly not always going to be true, but it's an assumption I operate under so as to avoid disappointment.

If we're talking about something like a chilobrachys, haplopelma or something similarly burrowy and bitey then it can be a little harder to get 100% certainty on gender because they don't often give you an exuvium to examine.

Edit; I should add that it varies of course from one dealer to another. Use your judgement. For example, if Swift's or Botarby8's say it's a 3" unsexed I believe it's genuinely unsexed. If LLL Reptiles says the same thing, I'll assume it's a male and probably a dehydrated WC specimen at that. When in doubt, have a look at the reviews section.

 

[hairmetalspider]

Personally, I think majority of people in the business are true to their word, as, well, word gets around quickly and it's in their best interest to be honest.

As with everything, you do have your good and bad sellers.

My advice? Establish a good relationship with a few sellers, ones who you obviously trust, and try and do most of your deals through them. From my experience, it pays off as the more business you do with them, the more freebies you get. ;-)

 

[Shogun]

My advice? Establish a good relationship with a few sellers, ones who you obviously trust, and try and do most of your deals through them. From my experience, it pays off as the more business you do with them, the more freebies you get. ;-)

This is very good advice.

 

[Demon187]

i got a 4-5inch UNSEXED B. smithi. it molted last week and is infact a female, so i would say no. if the dealer has only had it a short amount of time and it hasnt molted then maybe he genuinley doesnt know. This obviously doesn't go for every one but there are honest people about.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

i got a 4-5inch UNSEXED B. smithi. it molted last week and is infact a female, so i would say no. if the dealer has only had it a short amount of time and it hasnt molted then maybe he genuinley doesnt know. This obviously doesn't go for every one but there are honest people about.

you took the words right out of my mouth minus getting a B. smithi of coarse......{shakes Fist}

 

[xhexdx]

I bought 4 undexed P. cambridgei, all 3". 3 male, 1 female.

Everyone here has made some pretty good points, so no need to go into detail with mine.

Assume unsexed is male and you won't be disappointed.

 

[Le Wasp]

I've wondered about this... I've seen some dealers who's stock is full only females and unsexed tarantulas. When there aren't nearly as many sub-adult spiders listed as male as there are female, then you need to start wondering. However, if they have plenty of their stock listed as male, then you're probably dealing with a trustworthy source.

 

[Lucara]

It all just depends on the ability of the dealer in sexing. I've got my 4 T. blondi slings that are 2-3" unsexed but I cant see a darned thing when I try to sex the molts. I've had 3 actually eat their molts before I was able to get home and the last one I stopped trying to pretend I could see anything. Unless its big, bold, and just plain obvious, I cant tell.
I'm hoping one of these days to get a nice microscope of some sort so that I can get better sex my T's.

And ventrally...I dont care how big it is, theres maybe 2 species that I can sex ventrally and they've gotta be massive adults at that. =/

So yeah, I believe that most of the unsexed spiders are, in fact, unsexed. Personally, I just try to buy guaranteed females.

 

[proper_tea]

Yeah... unless the price is right, I pretty much buy slings or have the sex guaranteed before I buy it. I've actually been mostly buying from individuals, and not dealers lately, and I feel like I get better deals and more honesty... although I have to say that Kenthbugguy has been pretty good to buy from as well... Got a 2" Chaco Gold Knee that has molted female recently...

I think the "assume it's male" advice seems pretty good though.

 

[Veneficus]

It depends upon the price. If there is an unsexed tarantula that is 3" and they want more money for it because of its size, then I won't take the chance. I would rather pay for a guaranteed female or buy several smaller unsexed ones. If I'm buying unsexed tarantulas then I always buy more than one.

 

[Moltar]

I like buying unsexed juvies/subadults (sometimes) because it's kind of like gambling except even when you lose there's a consolation prize.

 

[julesaussies]

I bought 5 big T's in a group last year. The guy I bought them from was selling them all as unsexed and priced as such. He stated he doesn't feel comfortable sexing the T's ventrally and hasn't taken the opportunity get to their molts. He had these T's since they were slings.

Granted, I am usually hanging over my T's to grab their molts the second they kick them off. However, this guy was being honest and I ended up with 3 females and 2 males! I got a killer deal and I am actually just as happy with the 2 boys because they've got future girlfriends waiting.

I think people's reviews say a lot. When in doubt, ask for a vental pic.

Jules

 

[testdasi]

It's just a simple lemon problem. You can sell female T for higher price so it is an incentive for a seller to sex the T and get higher price for a girl. The price of an unsexed T is higher than a male T so the seller also has an incentive to sell male T as unsexed if he/she knows the gender. Therefore, the "market" of unsexed T will naturally be flooded with male T (just as the market for used car is flooded with lemons).

Having said that, I don't believe that human is bad (e.g. sinful) from birth. I think there are still good people out there who genuinely sell unsexed as unsexed.

 

[matthias]

I agree with Ryan, I always assume an juvenile unsexed is male until I see a molt.
I don't think MOST breeders and hobbyists are doing this purposefully. When sexing most poeple are looking for a spermethecae so if they don't find one on a small T they chalk it up to immaturity and call it unsexed.
If you are ever unsure about a listing always contact the seller and ask what "unsexed" means. Has it not molted for them or was the last molt so torn they couldn't get a good look.

 

[Richard McJimsey]

it all comes down to the dealer, as stated before
alot of times people will sell large unsexed spiders as such because they dont have time to sex them, or they are molt destroyers, since ventraly sexing is not always 100% accurate.
ive only had one unsexed spider molt out mature male, and it molted during shipping. the seller refunded becuase it was male, which is very nice.