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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thivo" data-source="post: 43761" data-attributes="member: 3730">Hi there and welcome...Probably it is still less than 6"... I am also imagining how you measure your B.Vagans, and it is really hard... Same like you, I am also asking advice and searching the web on how is the easiest way to measure our T's and while searching I found this post and I hope it will help you too... In a nutshell, no. Virtually every scheme that has been proposed has some serious failing. Here are some of them: 1. Tarantulas change shape and proportionsa. As they grow.b. As they gain weight.c. As they drink.d. As they mature. 2. Living tarantulas are remarkably reluctant to let you measure them. 3. Shed skins are stretched way out of proportion so they aren't very good references under the best of circumstances. 4. The measurement you take depends on whether the tarantula is relaxed or tense, outstretched or wadded up, etc. And lots more confounding issues. "Sam Marshall (Tarantulas and Other Arachnids, 2001) has suggested using the length of the femur of the front legs as a good measure by which to compare tarantulas' sizes. This is probably a much better measure for scientific purposes than any other because this dimension would not vary appreciably depending on the tarantula's state of obesity or hydration. However, it still carries major problems when comparing animals of different sex or species. Also, from the enthusiast's point of view, one must admit that stating that one's tarantula has a 4.67 centimeter femur length just doesn't have the same impact as stating that it has a thirty centimeter leg span!" (Third edition of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide, in process.) As a result, just about any measurement that's given is really only a guesstimation and often subject to a lot of "poetic license." It's been said that women always lie about their weight, guys about their height, and tarantula owners about the size of their tarantulas. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin    :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> Generally, the two measurements most commonly used are  1. Leg span. The distance from the tip of one front leg to the tip of the rear leg on the opposite side when the tarantula is in a relaxed, stretched-out posture. 2. Body length. The length from the front of the tarantula (i.e., the most forward part of its chelicerae) to the rearward most part of its opisthosoma (abdomen) exclusive of the spinnerets. For most immature tarantulas and mature females, the ratio between these two measurements is about 2:1 within reasonable levels of accuracy; so you can translate from one measurement to the other when making comparisons. Adult male tarantulas vary too much in proportion to be able to make any such ratio claims.</blockquote>

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