Oh my goodness, I just (very carefully) eased the cage around to check for sure, and it WAS over its abdomen! Is that significant, do I need to do anything?
...And here I've been calling "her" Lily, all this time.
No, you don't need to do anything. :) Your boy is just, uh. "Charging up" in hope of finding a lady tarantula.
You can also ID a mature male because his first pair of legs - his real legs, not the tiny pedipalps by his fangs - will have a little hook on them now. Around the middle of the leg, on the underside, about where the back of the knee would be on a human. And the pedipalps will have gotten bulkier, like boxing gloves.
You may notice him eating less and wandering more, if he is mature. You don't have to breed him if you don't want to (there is always a chance a ladyspider will eat him), it won't affect his health either way.
Unfortunately, a male at sexual maturity is also entering the last stage of his life. :( He could hang around for six months or two years, but then his number's up. I've got a mature male G. aureostriata myself, raised him from a wee little bug. He still eats pretty well, so you never know.
One thought: is the web UNDER the spider, or over it? Because if they've got the web over them like a blanket, it's a sexually mature male.
Reply
...And here I've been calling "her" Lily, all this time.
Reply
You can also ID a mature male because his first pair of legs - his real legs, not the tiny pedipalps by his fangs - will have a little hook on them now. Around the middle of the leg, on the underside, about where the back of the knee would be on a human. And the pedipalps will have gotten bulkier, like boxing gloves.
You may notice him eating less and wandering more, if he is mature. You don't have to breed him if you don't want to (there is always a chance a ladyspider will eat him), it won't affect his health either way.
Unfortunately, a male at sexual maturity is also entering the last stage of his life. :( He could hang around for six months or two years, but then his number's up. I've got a mature male G. aureostriata myself, raised him from a wee little bug. He still eats pretty well, so you never know.
Reply
Reply
Good luck. :(
Reply
Leave a comment