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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jess S" data-source="post: 162166" data-attributes="member: 29302">These aren't my images but this is what you are looking for on your albo.Quick explanation- Most species of mature male tarantulas including T. albopilosum develop tibial hooks on their front pair of legs, the purpose of these hooks is to hold the females fangs back when reproducing.[ATTACH=full]42250[/ATTACH]All mature male tarantulas also develop reproductive organs on the ends of their pedipalps, and the ends of the palps take on a thickened appearance, that get likened to boxing gloves.[ATTACH=full]42251[/ATTACH]It's important to note that physically it is very tricky to tell if a tarantula is male when they are sexually immature. However, when they have their maturing moult (called the ulitimate moult) then they develop those above differences. There are also some other differences such as they tend to be smaller than females and leggier. When they have developed the hooks and emboli their purpose in life is to find a female and mate. They are on borrowed time and will not live to survive another moult. However, with the right care and particularly with long lived species you could keep a mature male alive for a couple years or so. With the explanation out of the way, there is a potential yours may be old enough to be a mature male. That's if we take what the pet shop said with a pinch of salt. As it's a really fluffy species, you will probably have a hard time seeing the tibial hooks. Try to look at the ends of the pedipalps instead for those 'bulbs'.</blockquote>

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