Well this is new.

[NewbieTmom]

Hi!
We have had our desert blond going on about a year now. It has been interesting jumping into the tarantula life, but we dearly love our Blue. She has been super easy and pretty skittish mostly. She molted for the first time (with us anyway) a few weeks ago. Her coloring looks like a he now, but we don’t judge I’ve got a question for you experts though. A few hours ago she made a large web/nest and is now nestled in it upside down. I know the rule of thumb for T’s is just let them be but I’m not finding any info on the behavior. I assume it’s for finding a mate, but just wondering if this is normal? Should I expect this after every molt? Thanks for your time!

 

[Rs50matt]

Your she is a he and he has had Happy time and is now loading up his sperm ready for breeding

 

[Rs50matt]

Just to add. It won’t molt again . It’s not impossible but if he does he’s pretty much dead as it’s very rare they make it through

 

[NewbieTmom]

Oh no! I thought males weren’t blonde. I know it’s dark now, but premolt it was a very sandy blonde. I figured it was regarding mating. I’m really bummed because I know the males have such a short life (

 

[Rs50matt]

Yeah they look no different to a female until the last moult. Males have a shorter life and it’s limited once matured but you could find someone who would like to pair him or if you do choose to keep him they have potential to live a decent amount of time, we have 3 mms unwanted for breeding but have been mature for over 2 1/2 years.

 

[NewbieTmom]

That’s good to know there’s a bit of hope. I really appreciate the info from you both

 

[WolfSpider]

One never knows, but
A. chalcodes is a slow growing species. Females can live up to 20 plus years. In Arizona, come mating season you can see all of the frisky males crossing roads and sidewalks to find a mate. The long and short of it is that your MM could easily live 9-12 more months.