GBB maiting issues

[Conrad Bester]

The male matured back in August, he started drumming during the night and is moving around his enclosure. He is not eating, the roaches walk over and underneath him but he is not interested in food. I haven't seen a sperm web but the palpal bulps on the ends of his pedipalps are swolen. I have prepared the female for breeding since beginning September, feeding her a lot and keeping the humidity up.

I have made two attempts pairing the two, each occasion has been the same. I introduce the male, he slowly makes his way to the mouth of the female's burrow, feeling her webbing on the substrate. The female would slowly come out until they face each other with about a body length between the two. The male doesn't drum at all, and after a few minutes loses interest and casually turns his back on the female. Each time I intervened just in time with a divider between the two when the female attacks and goes for the male. I then take him out and put him back in his enclosure.

Any idea why the male is not even trying. He is around 12cm, same as the female.

[Lisa Bork]

I am experiencing issues with breeding these myself. The advice I got was to shark tank for 3 days (after proper flooding etc.) and then to cohabit them. I would have done so if it were my male, but I told the owner I would do my best to keep him alive. Perhaps you can use this advice...
I'm seeing that people who do witness insertions say that they do so after up to 8 consecutive hours of watching them.
I have a friend who has bred for 30 years coming over to help me. These are by far the most difficult I have tried to breed. I'm at a loss without being able to cohabit them, they show enough interest for me to think that this would succeed. He would be eaten afterwards though, not a doubt in my mind. She's already gotten a leg...

[Craig Mackay]

Mating GBB's requires a lot of patience and (if the female doesn't eat him) it can take several attempts of several hours each before he'll eventually mate her. The males are incredibly nervous and the females are incredibly viscious. They have been really frustrating in my attempts. The female seems up for it but just when you think you are getting somewhere the she'll kill him out of nowhere. Last time I tried the male managed to hook up the female and then he sat perfectly still for over an hour. Eventually he moved a leg very slightly and the female nailed him. The only advice I can give is to keep trying and be very patient. Try to do it late in the evening with the lights dimmed in a quiet room.