new to t's

[Aaron Annal]

I've not heard of Ts getting stuck in lids, but then ive also not heard of them having claws pmsl, do you mean the fang or a leg?

A few of my T's do get stuck on the mesh on a few of my tanks and as far i know all T's have 2 tiny claws on the end of each foot

[John chambers]

so can a mrk (mexican red knee) clime on glass or plastic as this will help me find the right enclosure for it

[Aaron Annal]

yes a B.smithi can climb vertically up glass and plastic

[Joanna Pendleton]

A few of my T's do get stuck on the mesh on a few of my tanks and as far i know all T's have 2 tiny claws on the end of each foot

*runs away to examine Rio*

*comes back having slightly ****** Rio off by trying to get a good look at her foot*

After all that I am none the wiser, couldn't really tell. She climbs the walls a lot, but has never got stuck, is it just the mesh they get stuck in? I have a plastic exo-terra and obv it has the vertical line holes for ventilation. But she's never got stuck in them, don't think they're small enough!

J x

[Joanna Pendleton]

I wouldn't get a sling. They're not the best for first time keepers, although that is the route i personally went down. I would go with a juvenile, as they're more devolped than a sling but you still get to watch them grow.

snap, I got a T as a newbie to tarantula's (my daughter wanted a GBB and we could only find Ts - try getting hold of an adult, not many about believe me!). We've had her since tuesday and I can see why they more difficult, feeding them is a pain the arse. I gave her a cricket and now Im not sure if she ate it or it's still there, cos the ******* things too small to see now its in her tub. I can't see any movement, and she's had a wander round so think she has got it lol. aside from the tiny cricket problem though she's settled in fine and havent found any problems yet.

J x

[Aaron Annal]

*runs away to examine Rio*

*comes back having slightly ****** Rio off by trying to get a good look at her foot*

After all that I am none the wiser, couldn't really tell. She climbs the walls a lot, but has never got stuck, is it just the mesh they get stuck in? I have a plastic exo-terra and obv it has the vertical line holes for ventilation. But she's never got stuck in them, don't think they're small enough!

J x

mine only get stuck on the mesh they seem to get the claws stuck round the wire it has never done them any harm so far and doesnt happen very often

[John chambers]

I'll go for a sub-adult then I'll know what sex it is ..and I have the tarantula keepers guide today only ordered it yesterday .
what age can a t be sexed?. maybe a breeder could answer this.

[Joanna Pendleton]

depends how you are sexing it.

In terms of when does a male develop it's sex bits (bulbs on the end of the pedipalps and the hooks some have) I believe its just after the finla moult when they are a mature male.

there are various other ways, none of them seem to be completely agreed on, but male Ts have an extra set of spinnerets.

see this article, it explains it really well

http://www.birdspiders.com/faq_sex.php

hope that helps.

J x

[Vicky Child]

Sexing from the shed is the best way to sex. This can be done form around the 4th moult I think, I'm no expert. I've been reading a lot lately about sexing and that's what I recall reading (experts correct me if I'm wrong). So your sub adult should be easy enough to sex, just need to wait for a moult.

Ventral sexing can be a lot harder, and depends on the tarantula, the species and the ability to get a good look.

[vincent winyard]

hi there colin i just want to say how kind of you and the other members to give so much help and info to john and the rest of us get to learn more about these great spiders.

[John chambers]

depends how you are sexing it.

In terms of when does a male develop it's sex bits (bulbs on the end of the pedipalps and the hooks some have) I believe its just after the finla moult when they are a mature male.


J x

well yes it does...so when does a sling become a subadult?. and the books very good thanks for passing that on

[Colin D Wilson]

Thanks Vincent, very kind. The ways to learn are to ask a question, watch/read how it's done or undertake the situation yourself, asking a questions easier

Sexing then ..... the most common and accurate way is to sex from a moult, either by looking yourself (if you feel like a go ), posting a clear picture of the relevant "bits" and have the forum members help out or you could send moults to certain people for them to sex for you (perhaps if it's too small, a bit tangled up and you don't feel comfortable trying to unravel it or just don't know what to look for)

The area to look at is here
(Female G. rosea)

and without being all scientific and geeky, the part you need is the midway area between the front booklungs on the underside of the abdomen (looking at the inner surface of the moulted exuvium).
You should be able to see the spermatecae of a female in this area, they look very different species to species so this is a good reason to post a clear picture as sometimes it doesn't look like the bit's that should be there ..are

Ventral sexing is only really a good educated guess from experience, some species are easier to ventrally "guess" the sex as adults, some arboreal genus can be sexed quite accurately even when slings (though i still wouldn't say 100%)

If you're ordering your first spider then you could ask the seller to ventrally sex it for you (this would be as accurate as the expertise of the seller though) or if possible ask if the spider has moulted in his/her care and could you have the moult.

Sexing from 4th moult is mentioned a lot, i've had some females that haven't shown signs of spermatecae untill much later, so it's a matter of species again.

and finally, there's been a few on here and other forums that have found their spider hanging from the wire meshing at the top of some styles of enclosure, they just couldn't seem to disengage their tarsal claws from it, also some spiders like to try and chew their way through the stuff so i'm a great believer in covering/replacing the mesh with another form of secure material. Covering/replacing would help in maintaining humidity too if you're housing a species that benefit from a higher percentage.

[Colin D Wilson]

A few of my T's do get stuck on the mesh on a few of my tanks and as far i know all T's have 2 tiny claws on the end of each foot

There are species with a vestigal third claw that is only really found by disection of a moult (or a dead spider).

well yes it does...so when does a sling become a subadult?. and the books very good thanks for passing that on

the terms most commonly used for selling are
sling
large sling
small juvenile
juvenile
large juvenile
sub adult
adult
this all depends on the species as we have dwarf tarantulas and species that grow to 10+ inches.
A "juvenile" of a midsize species would possible be similar in size to a "large sling" of a larger species and an "adult" dwarven species.

[John chambers]

so what age is best to buy a female b.smithi so I know 100% it's female .
and I've seen a b.smithi for sale in my local rep shop he is asking £90 for it.. so what would a breeder sell these for?.

cheers .
John .

[Larry Shone]

First of all John I'd like to welcome you to the forum!
Now as to what happened to you as a kid, I cant understand any parent that would do that to a child, its ridiculous!! I would never dream of making my kids fear something that bad-it can have a lasting effect throughout your life! (My older brother gave me a fear of water by letting go of me in the deep end of the swimming pool as a kid and I hate water ever since!)
My 6 year old daughter is interested in them an has held them (Curly Hair, Red Knee). I have explained that they are venomous and can bite but I never make her afraid of them deliberately!
I do hope you get the confidence to keep at least one as they are fascinating creatures and the easiest things to keep!
Good luck!