What to expect?

mschemmy

Arachnoknight
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I got an LP in February which was probably about 2.5 inches long. Since then it molted 3 times and I would say it is safe to say it is about 6 inches if not more. After each molt, except for the most recent one two weeks ago, it would immediately start eating again, and man does it eat! However this past molt it has shown no interest in food and it has been over two weeks. I know this can be common in T's but here is my question. I finally noticed the tibial spurs on its pedipalps. Does this mean it matured? I have noticed drinking a lot of water which is good since it is not eating. Did it possibly mature, and if so, will it live much longer? Is it normal for them to mature so fast? I though male T's live a few years. Can anyone shed light on this for me? Did he reach the ultimate molt?:?:?
 

PrimalTaunt

Arachnobaron
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Tarantulas do not develop spurs on pedipalps but on the front two legs. They get "boxing gloves" on their palps. If it has tibial spurs in the correct area, than yes you have a mature male. If it has it on its pedipalps you pretty much have a scientific oddity and should send it to an expert for study.
 

mschemmy

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Sorry. Not an expert just looking for some advice. I stand corrected! Now that we have the scientific part of this down what should I expect now? Will it live much longer? A month? 6 Months? A year? It its eating slow down now that it is mature?
 

PrimalTaunt

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Let me preface this by saying that I do not have personal experience with mature males so I will not even hazard a guess to how long he will live. However, once a male matures they generally lose their interest in eating and really just want to focus on doing what they're now designed for with the new additions to their body. Some will say that you should try to find a lady for him to have fun with or send him to somebody who has one (or more) but it's understandable if you don't want to do that because it is a pet and people get attached. Do what you feel is best but make sure that you're prepared for hundreds and hundreds of babies if you try it yourself.
 

webbedone

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If it is MM then death is drawing near, male sex of there tarantula spicies designed to mature quick find a mate do their business and pass on, it suck but such is life of the tarantula male
 

mschemmy

Arachnoknight
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Okay then anyone live in the Pittsburgh PA area that might be interested in trying to use him to breed? I never have shipped a T before and I am not about to learn how with a 6+in. LP even though it has never even flicked a hair at me yet (knock on wood).
 

PrimalTaunt

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You'd probably have better luck posting that in the classifieds section.
 

Redneck

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The things on his palps that look like hooks are called emboli (Spelling?)... The male will insert those in the female to insert his sperm..

From what you are saying it does sound like a MM.. As for how long he will live.. The time is diff with each MM.. Some can live longer than other.. For example.. I have heard of a rosea male living for 2 years after he matured.. I have also heard of a male rosea not living 2 years after he matured..

As for breeding him.. That choice is yours.. When Primal said hundreds of babies.. He means like 700 to maybe more than 1000 babies.. Thats just your half.. The person that has the female will have the same amount.. LoL!

MM's dont eat often.. My advice.. If you dont breed him.. Make sure he is in a much smaller enclosure.. This will ensure that he saves energy..

If you have him in a larger enclosure.. He will wonder everywhere.. The more room he has to wander.. The more energy he is useing.. The faster he will die..

This is just information I have been told.. I always keep my MMs in smaller enclosure after being told this..

Anyways.. Congrats & good luck if you decide to breed.. :)
 

AmbushArachnids

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It is a huge commitment to have him bred. I would reccomend against for you. Simply because you would be overwhelmed with spiderlings that you might find hard to sell or even give away.

Enjoy him while he is still around. Like Tommy said a smaller cage will most likely save energy. Also try not to feed him alot. And keeping him at lower temperatures will make him live longer. You might try to sell him on here. Or trade him for a young female. People could give you a walk through on how to ship a T if you need. You can even refridgerate them for a short period of time to slow them down so you can pack them easier. But you must be very cautious of doing that. It could kill them.
 

Bill S

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It is a huge commitment to have him bred. I would reccomend against for you. Simply because you would be overwhelmed with spiderlings that you might find hard to sell or even give away.
+1. Thanks for saying that. There's often a strong desire to breed our tarantulas "just because", but for most people the surprise ending is that we have a mountain of babies that we don't know what to do with. (I know this temptation all too well - I've got several OBTs that will soon be mature, and there's part of me that would love to breed them, and fortunately another part that says "What on Earth are you going to do with possibly hundreds of OBTs?")
 

AmbushArachnids

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Well a couple hundered OBTs at best. I bred mine. I split a 110 sac and sold quite a few for dirt cheap. Its no where near as bad as a LP sac. I have all mine together still at 3rd instar and are doing just fine. But they are semi communal so its not like having LPs that would be devouring each other. LPs need to be separated quickly from what ive read or they will devour one another. Not to mention you would have 1000-2000 in one sac. Thats literaly ten times as many!! {D better get pin heads too for LP slings.. They are very tiny.
It doesnt get any more difficult than raising up 900 at once.
 

Zoltan

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The things on his palps that look like hooks are called emboli (Spelling?)
I have noticed many people use this term incorrectly (including some that are supposed to be very knowledgeable), or they use it for the wrong thing.

The "whole thing" is called palpal bulb or male palpal organ. The embolus (pl. emboli) is the terminal portion of the palpal bulb. It is sometimes elongated, sometimes it's short/stout. Compared to other spiders, tarantulas have simple male palpal organs, and there is no distinct line between the embolus and the rest of the palpal bulb. Here's an illustration - the embolus is "a. d.":



But in other spiders, such as araneomorphs (not all), the organ is more complex:



The figures are from

Comstock, J. H. 1912. The spider book; a manual for the study of the spiders and their near relatives, the scorpions, pseudoscorpions, whipscorpions, harvestmen and other members of the class Arachnida, found in America north of Mexico, with analytical keys for their classification and popular accounts of their habits. Garden City, New York, pp. 1-721 [not in copyright]
 
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Scorpionking20

Arachnoknight
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Are you sure its an LP? Mature at 6"? I just have a dozen LP slings, but I'm pretty sure LPs mature at a larger size. Could anybody educate me on this perhaps?

PS: As a MM it doesn't have much time. I would try to lose attachment. I don't let myself grow fond of my males just because it sucks losing pets and yours' sounds like his lifespan is growing towards the end.

PS: LPs rock!
 

PrimalTaunt

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Are you sure its an LP? Mature at 6"? I just have a dozen LP slings, but I'm pretty sure LPs mature at a larger size. Could anybody educate me on this perhaps?
Was wondering the same thing myself, MM at 6 inches?
It is possible for males to mature at much smaller sizes. If you search around, you can actually find some very amusing pics of tiny males mating with huge females. And I'm not just talking about tiny body size due to lack of eating but tiny DLS.

Not with the number of OBTs I already have. With a little ill luck and poor planning, I could foster a pretty good population boom. :}
Well, if you're looking to offload a few you could always send some my way. I'd even be willing to pay for shipping. :p
 
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