Curious Questions about Sexing your T

[GreenKnight]

Hey All,
Hope everyone had a great week. I bought an unsexed G. pulchra and it molted this week. I have yet to take out the molt but had several questions.

1. If I take out the molt, and soak it, if I don't see the Spermatheca is that because it's male or because the Spermatheca hasn't developed yet? In other words, when T's are born, Is the Spermatheca present but just too small to see, or does it only develop at a certain instar stage and so looking at too early a stage is not worth the time?

2. Just focusing on G Pulchra for now, I noticed that in general every time I do see a confirmed male, they tend to be longer in legs, and smaller in body (i.e. gangly), whereas confirmed Females are the opposite (chunky-ish). So is that true for all G. pulchra, or do Female G pulchras exist that are long and gangly? Have the folks that have tons of Ts, ever done an unscientific test, where they made an educated guess at their T's and then recorded later if they were correct? If so, what percent are you correct? I'm thinking there have to be folks that just have an eye for knowing the gender, just due to experience.

3. When people say Ventral Sexing is just an educated guess, can someone breakdown why that is? Is that because what someone may think appears to be a spermotheca is not? Like do male tarantulas have something in the exact same place that can be mistaken for the spermotheca?

Thanks for reading! The more I learn about T's the more mysterious and interesting they are!!

 

[Tarantulafeets]

Hey All,
Hope everyone had a great week. I bought an unsexed G. pulchra and it molted this week. I have yet to take out the molt but had several questions.

1. If I take out the molt, and soak it, if I don't see the Spermatheca is that because it's male or because the Spermatheca hasn't developed yet? In other words, when T's are born, Is the Spermatheca present but just too small to see, or does it only develop at a certain instar stage and so looking at too early a stage is not worth the time?

2. Just focusing on G Pulchra for now, I noticed that in general every time I do see a confirmed male, they tend to be longer in legs, and smaller in body (i.e. gangly), whereas confirmed Females are the opposite (chunky-ish). So is that true for all G. pulchra, or do Female G pulchras exist that are long and gangly? Have the folks that have tons of Ts, ever done an unscientific test, where they made an educated guess at their T's and then recorded later if they were correct? If so, what percent are you correct? I'm thinking there have to be folks that just have an eye for knowing the gender, just due to experience.

3. When people say Ventral Sexing is just an educated guess, can someone breakdown why that is? Is that because what someone may think appears to be a spermotheca is not? Like do male tarantulas have something in the exact same place that can be mistaken for the spermotheca?

Thanks for reading! The more I learn about T's the more mysterious and interesting they are!!

1. I've seen people sexing 1.5 inch slings, but it was with a microscope, if that answers your question. It really depends on the size of your t, it will be easier to sex as it gets bigger. I'm not a professional, but I would start at 2.5 to 3 inches for sexing. Jamie's tarantulas has a pretty good guide to spotting the spermatheca

Male or Female? How to determine gender

www.jamiestarantulas.com

2. Male and female tarantulas will look the same before they mature, and there is no way to sex most t's just by looking at their appearance before maturing. Males will look more gangly with long legs after their ultimate molt, with boxing gloves on their pedipalps and tibial hooks.

3. Sometimes the spermatheca is clear, sometimes not, it depends on the t. Let's say... like trying to see through foggy glass. It's easier to look on the other side.

I suck at analogies