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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Phil" data-source="post: 178866" data-attributes="member: 4151">Hi, generally speaking you have described the only 2 options you really have.Buying slings:Don't just buy 1 and hope as that is still 50/50. My advice iof you can afford to do so, is get 4 to 6 where the odds are much more favourable to get a female. You also get the added joy of watching them grow. When able to sex, males can often be sold on/loaned out especially if you advertise that you have a male on forums like this as there are many members who breed, and the male is therefore essential and as many will also tell you, helps to actually pay for their collections.Buy a sexed femaleIf you can afford 4 to 6 slings, you probably have the money to buy a sexed female anyway. Things to check and this is important:1. Proof: Ask for proof either of the moult or at a push for some species, ventral pics. If you are unsure of the sexing process, you can share the pics here and we can help you (although this will depend on age, species and quality of the photo)2. If from a Trader: Are they a reputable seller? most sellers know that most keepers are looking for a female so if they are not entirely legit, they will of course claim something is female to maximise sales  There are some vendor reviews on here as well as some very well respected forum members who have Ts for sale.3. Innocent misadvertisisng: Accidents happen. Many spiders pass from one owner to another during their lifetime. If owner #1 is sold or believes to be  a "female" then that is what they will probably sell as to owner #2. Again, if owner #2 moves on and doesn't sex from a moult, you guessed it, owner #3 has what they believe to be "female". This happens a lot especially when the previous keeper is not really fussed as all they really wanted at the time was a big hairy spider to look at. Happened to me recently but was the other way round. Thought I was getting a nice penultimate male for a big AF. Now I have 2 big AF and no male. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown    :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> hence why point number 1 (proof) is the best advice I can give if you are going down the buy a female route.Sorry for such a long post. Hope it was of help. Certainly check out the vendor reviews and for sale ads on here as that will be a good starting point and hopefully that gives you a bit more confidence in what you are buying as well as the potential of finding a bargain or two.Good luck <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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