G.rosea moult and possible sex?

[Jamie Cooper]

Hi guys.

I checked on my G.rosea last night just before I went to bed and found her lying on her back! I was hoping to wake up to a freshly moulted spider, but unfortunately she was still lying in the same position and hadn't moved even when I arrived home from work.

Anyway she started the process at about 5.30pm. Everything seemed to go smoothly. When I pulled the old skin out, it appears she has lost a leg! The right side rear leg was still attached to the old skin as you can see in the first picture.

Anyway the main reason I pulled the skin out to examine was to determine the sex. It was sold to me as female, but I thought I'd take a look to be sure. I'll admit sexing isn't my strongest point, but I can't see any speratheca. Can anyone confirm?

Many thanks, Jamie.

[Peter Lacey]

I much prefer to leave the moults and the tarantula undisturbed for a few days before examining, the moulting process lasts longer than merely riding itself of the old exuvia as your tarantula will need to pump out and stretch its new body. Something to consider next time
The pix are too small to determine but they're definitely clear. You may have a female but I'd prefer to see the large pix or a crop of around the booklung area.

[Jamie Cooper]

Thanks for the reply and the info Peter. I'll keep it in mind for next time.

I'm having difficulty enlarging the photo. It's huge on my screen, but when I use photobucket to transfer it on here they always come out tiny. (my I.T skills are very basic) I'll have another go tonight when I get back from work. I have several good photo's I can post.

Jamie.

EDIT: Pics in first post have been replaced, just click to enlarge.