What to do with Mature Males

[Nephrite]

Hey guys! Now I recently discovered my B. Smithi is a dude! Which is awesome and a little saddening. Not saying my Smithi is a mature male yet, it's just a 2" juvie right now. (So I still have plenty of time to spend with the little bugger). But just planning ahead what do you guys do when your Males reach maturity? Sometimes there's a saying "when you love it you gotta let it go". I don't just want the rest of his days restless walking around his enclosure looking for a female. I started brainstorming. I could get a female B. Smithi and grow them together to maturity, and become Granddad Smithi, but I just do not have the experience to start breeding. I also thought about selling him to anyone who wants to buy a mature male to breed, but to be honest, I have no idea how to ship Tarantulas, or ship packages in general. I don't really have anyone in my family that could help me in that category. Also this little guy is my 2nd T ever and that kinda puts him in a special spot in my heart. What's the best for him when he matures?

 

[Thistles]

Trade him for some slings, sell him, or take your chances with a loan. Make sure he gets some nookie. Are you sure that's a male though?

 

[KezyGLA]

Are you 100% sure its a he?

Brachys can be confusing. It seems quite 'lippy'

 

[Nephrite]

Trade him for some slings, sell him, or take your chances with a loan. Make sure he gets some nookie. Are you sure that's a male though?

There's a picture I posted you guys can see if I'm correct, I'll try to get a better picture if it has some glare but it looks good to me.

 

[KezyGLA]

There's a picture I posted you guys can see if I'm correct, I'll try to get a better picture if it has some glare but it looks good to me.

Looking at the photo and considering it's size, I wouldn't say it's male until proving it via examination of spermathcae in the exuviae.

 

[Nephrite]

Looking at the photo and considering it's size, I wouldn't say it's male until proving it via examination of spermathcae in the exuviae.

It actually just molted but he destroys the molts before I can get to them

 

[KezyGLA]

It actually just molted but he crushes the molts before I can get to them

Gotta be quick

Shove it in warm soapy water if its all twisted. I know they like to sit on them heheh.

I put up photo of a suspected male smithi in the gallery. It looks to be different from yours.

Mine is 4" and if female would be showing some 'lips'. I think it is very dark above the furrow too, so I think it is male. Yours is smaller and already looks like 'lips' are becoming visable.

Here is my photo
View media item 35079

 

[Thistles]

Looks more female to me based on that pic, which is why I asked. I agree with KezyGLA. Don't paint the nursery blue just yet.

 

[Nephrite]

At what size can you determine a T's sex? Does it differ among species? So do I just wait til next time he/she molts, and as we know is very often.

 

[Haksilence]

At what size can you determine a T's sex? Does it differ among species? So do I just wait til next time he/she molts, and as we know is very often.

At no size can you determine a tarantulad sex by ventral sexing. Ventral sexing is just guesswork and comes out wrong OFTEN, the only reliable way is to examine a molt or wait until the hooks come out.

 

[Thistles]

At no size can you determine a tarantulad sex by ventral sexing. Ventral sexing is just guesswork and comes out wrong OFTEN, the only reliable way is to examine a molt or wait until the hooks come out.

Speak for yourself it's not 100% but some are easy and the results are much better than just 50/50. It gives you a good idea, but there are some that are trickier than others. Some are very obvious.
Maybe cheating, but that's clearly female.

 

[Haksilence]

Speak for yourself it's not 100% but some are easy and the results are much better than just 50/50. It gives you a good idea, but there are some that are trickier than others. Some are very obvious. View attachment 217326
Maybe cheating, but that's clearly female.

I agree completely I'm just saying you can't tell 100%. I had a p Metallica that appeared female, posted it here and like 5 other people concurred. I was positive. But the last molt I got from it proved to to in fact be male.

 

[Sana]

While I agree with not picking out paint colors yet, I'll give you my take on things IF you have a boy. When we finally got a decent molt to sex from my first tarantula and discovered he was a boy I decided to find a female for him. Since we knew well before he matured I had all kinds of time to find a female. I couldn't face the thought of selling my little guy or loaning him out since I had never shipped before. I spent the couple of years before he matured reading and learning everything I could about breeding and searching for a female that was the right price at the right time. When my little guy matured back in December I had everything ready to go for my first breeding project. As we speak the MF is closed off in her hide hopefully turning an egg sac. I'll know for sure at the end of the month when I open up the hide to pull the sac. If your little one is 2" now you have all kinds of time to learn about breeding and consider your options should it turn out to be a boy.

 

[Akitayoji]

Send me the next molt, should be easy to see at that size if male or female. If male, I have a mature female

 

[Nephrite]

Hey guys! So I finally found my smithi in a spot in the enclosure far enough away for my T not to pounce on the tongs when I grabbed it's molt. Here's the remnants of the molt, wasn't as crushed as I thought it was.

If you guys need other angles of the molt I'll see the others I already took. I kind of just stepped on the molt.... I hate myself.

 

[EulersK]

That's not how you sex a molt. Look up pictures in the sexing subforum - that's what we need. Get a picture of the area between the first set of book lungs.

It may be impossible given that you stepped on it, though

 

[BobBarley]

Hey guys! So I finally found my smithi in a spot in the enclosure far enough away for my T not to pounce on the tongs when I grabbed it's molt. Here's the remnants of the molt, wasn't as crushed as I thought it was.

If you guys need other angles of the molt I'll see the others I already took. I kind of just stepped on the molt.... I hate myself.

Put the molt in water with a drop of soap in the water. Then take it out and carefully unravel the abdomen. We need the spot on the inside of the abdomen, between the top pair of booklungs.