Why did no one tell me a males purpose?

[Kat Maehl]

I just learned from my friend last night that a males only purpose is to get laid, then eaten. D: That is horrible!
I've been trying to keep my male, Stud (Yes, he's named that...) safe from Celeste, but now knowing that if I get between them when she's gravid and no longer accepting him I'll likely get bitten by both.

Now I feel horrible for trying to breed tarantulas..

 

[Belegnole]

Don't feel horrible, I think you have the wrong idea about this.

The purpose is to mate and NOT get eaten. Unfortunately sometimes things happen.

Males have a very short lifespan after their ultimate molt. Which is why you see people always wanting females. Unless they want a male to mate with one of their females. Or, for specific looks.

 

[Goodlukwitthat]

Also another reason most breeders make sure to feed their females A LOT prior to a breeding so she is less likely to mistake the male for a meal.

 

[Kat Maehl]

Every time before they mate I stuff her with soft shelled beetles. We have these junebugs? Or japanese beetles. Not sure which, but all my bigger T's love em. And they just fly into the house, so free food!

But god, that's so sad.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

I just learned from my friend last night that a males only purpose is to get laid, then eaten. D: That is horrible!
I've been trying to keep my male, Stud (Yes, he's named that...) safe from Celeste, but now knowing that if I get between them when she's gravid and no longer accepting him I'll likely get bitten by both.

Now I feel horrible for trying to breed tarantulas..

i wouldn't feel horrible about it! don't think about it so much as losing the one male, but as helping create several hundred more males that, were this in the wild, only a small portion of would survive.

and while it does sound horrible that they eat the males after, sometimes its not as bad a death as it sounds, he becomes fuel and strength for literally the next generation, and on the alternative, he may have a few months to a year left(depending on how quickly you paired him since his maturing molt) and will slowly just wander around until he eventually dies.

it can be tough to deal with at first, especially if you find out a treasured or Rare(or even just especially sentimental) T is a Male.

The way i think about it though(don't know if this is actually scientifically accurate but it helps me sleep at night) is that, males don't live as long, due to the number of T's laid in a sac. basicly it keeps a constantly fresh supply of Genetic variance in the gene pool in the wild.
basicly if you have a female who lives for 10-25 years, and the males lived the same, you could have 10-20 Egg sacs with all the same mother and father, with even a small percentage of living offspring this, id assume, can vastly choke the available offspring that arnt tied to those same parents.

but if the males live shortly after, they can constantly breed with new males from other Sacs and its basicly a constantly refreshing Gene pool.
now i don't know how actually scientifically accurate this is, but Atlas to me it makes some sense.

 

[Bearded Brian]

Sadly my OBT had his last molt last month with tibial hooks in full effect so decision time do I find an adult female or let him go out on loan to do his thing,decisions decisions

 

[Kat Maehl]

i wouldn't feel horrible about it! don't think about it so much as losing the one male, but as helping create several hundred more males that, were this in the wild, only a small portion of would survive.

and while it does sound horrible that they eat the males after, sometimes its not as bad a death as it sounds, he becomes fuel and strength for literally the next generation, and on the alternative, he may have a few months to a year left(depending on how quickly you paired him since his maturing molt) and will slowly just wander around until he eventually dies.

it can be tough to deal with at first, especially if you find out a treasured or Rare(or even just especially sentimental) T is a Male.

The way i think about it though(don't know if this is actually scientifically accurate but it helps me sleep at night) is that, males don't live as long, due to the number of T's laid in a sac. basicly it keeps a constantly fresh supply of Genetic variance in the gene pool in the wild.
basicly if you have a female who lives for 10-25 years, and the males lived the same, you could have 10-20 Egg sacs with all the same mother and father, with even a small percentage of living offspring this, id assume, can vastly choke the available offspring that arnt tied to those same parents.

but if the males live shortly after, they can constantly breed with new males from other Sacs and its basicly a constantly refreshing Gene pool.
now i don't know how actually scientifically accurate this is, but Atlas to me it makes some sense.

Thank you for this. It did help.

I've only been in the hobby going on three weeks now. And each one of my T's is precious to me. I will have to let a couple go, just because I have too many and if I'm going to get slings from a sac. I need to be ready for that.

My precious babies are, Mango. (My costa rican Suntiger. Wild caught. Celeste, my (I think) S. Elusinus. And my (Costa Rican Orange Mouth) Blueness. They're the ones I'll keep. I'm going to let my other S. Elusinus go, and my other Suntiger go. If my male gets chomped. I'll be very sad, but what can I do?

 

[Kat Maehl]

Sadly my OBT had his last molt last month with tibial hooks in full effect so decision time do I find an adult female or let him go out on loan to do his thing,decisions decisions

That's a tough decision man.

 

[Arachnomaniac19]

In the wild that is true. The male gives nutrience to the to the female, increasing the possibility of a successful sack. The male also is unlikely to find another female due to the territory they can cover and the amount of predators in a given area. I'm not sure if this is what your friend meant by what he said.

 

[Bearded Brian]

That's a tough decision man.

It's all good, he will get to do his thing either way. All part of the hobby,sure we get attached to our little buddies, but he will be all good

 

[Tanner Dzula]

Thank you for this. It did help.

I've only been in the hobby going on three weeks now. And each one of my T's is precious to me. I will have to let a couple go, just because I have too many and if I'm going to get slings from a sac. I need to be ready for that.

My precious babies are, Mango. (My costa rican Suntiger. Wild caught. Celeste, my (I think) S. Elusinus. And my (Costa Rican Orange Mouth) Blueness. They're the ones I'll keep. I'm going to let my other S. Elusinus go, and my other Suntiger go. If my male gets chomped. I'll be very sad, but what can I do?

yes it is hard, but the way i saw it is, he's gunna go either way, atlast with breeding you can have several to raise after, and if he does get eaten, he probably then died happy as he just got to completely what his instincts are telling him is his whole life goal.

i kind of think of it like, imagine choosing between dieing during something you've always wanted to do(like sky diving or some other crazy but super fun activity) or dieing slowly trapped in your house or bed bound ya know?

Sadly my OBT had his last molt last month with tibial hooks in full effect so decision time do I find an adult female or let him go out on loan to do his thing,decisions decisions

id personally suggest doing a breeding loan if you can. every second counts with a fresh matured male and it might take you a while to find a MF, buy her get her shipped and then to breed if you've never bred before. breeding can be hard depending on the species and Especially with OBT's, they are a super quick and fiesty species to try to separate after.
at least with a loan you can have the chance of getting the male back to see him off and usually with a loan the Breeder is more then willing to send him back with a good number of little ones with him

of course if you have prior experience breeding? id say for sure go for the MF and get a sac and have a few hundred little Black OBT slings to enjoy

 

[Bearded Brian]

id personally suggest doing a breeding loan if you can. every second counts with a fresh matured male and it might take you a while to find a MF, buy her get her shipped and then to breed if you've never bred before. breeding can be hard depending on the species and Especially with OBT's, they are a super quick and fiesty species to try to separate after.
at least with a loan you can have the chance of getting the male back to see him off and usually with a loan the Breeder is more then willing to send him back with a good number of little ones with him

of course if you have prior experience breeding? id say for sure go for the MF and get a sac and have a few hundred little Black OBT slings to enjoy [/QUOTE]
Great advice buddy, thank you. Yeah it's like ticking time bomb for him now,he in his prime right now and like you say an AF Female is a nightmare to get a hold of at the moment (I have been searching) maybe someone my way will notice the post,always happy to loan him out to a trusted keeper. Thanks again for your input

 

[G. pulchra]

My wife tells me that's all I'm good for, figured that was common knowledge.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

[/QUOTE]
Great advice buddy, thank you. Yeah it's like ticking time bomb for him now,he in his prime right now and like you say an AF Female is a nightmare to get a hold of at the moment (I have been searching) maybe someone my way will notice the post,always happy to loan him out to a trusted keeper. Thanks again for your input[/QUOTE]

id suggest making a post on here about it. basally just say you have a MM and looking for anybody trusted interested in a breeding Loan. id also check local Facebook groups for your area as well, i know here in the states theres a few dozen in each regions, sometimes having thousands of breeders/hobbyists, i can imagine its gotta be Similar over in EU, it seems like a pretty big hobby over their.

 

[cold blood]

Males survive more often than not....ive had many MMs die of old age after many female encounters. Out of all the ts i have paired, ive had just 3 males killed...an A. avic, a P. vitatta and a N. incei....I think many would be surprised at how easily many MMs seperate and clear the area.

 

[Ellenantula]

Sadly my OBT had his last molt last month with tibial hooks in full effect so decision time do I find an adult female or let him go out on loan to do his thing,decisions decisions

I view the market as overflooded with OBTs -- they are cheap and plentiful. Personally, I would not breed a MM OBT, just let him live out his life unfulfilled, without guilt.

In general, I feel differently and always encourage T dating online... but there's a few species (like OBTs) in which the market is flooded. They are easy to breed, and I suppose newbies enjoy an easy species to start breeding with. Hence -- an abundance of OBTs available today. Some can barely find enough takers to give away their OBT slings. This is also, imo, why so many newbies, unprepared for an OW, end up with an OBT early on.

Sorry for how horribly mean that sounds ... In general, I am a nice person and an advocate for breeding loans.
OBTs are just one of the exceptions to the rule for me, as far as MM goes.

My 2 cents worth -- others may well chime in with a different take on the matter.