I got a good glimpse at my recently-molted P. irminia and could clearly see it's a male. Now, I have two P. irminia in my collection, both bought at the same time from one vendor and molt cycles in both were highly synchronous (I think it's reasonable to expect these are siblings). The second individual molted as well and does NOT show male features. I haven't been able to sex these spiders using molts, since they are kept in relatively large, natural displays - it's difficult to get fresh skins without being terribly intrusive. Given the synchronous moltings and the fact that the second one doesn't show male features by now, I'm guessing it's a female. My question is, when can I expect it to be mature?
I would like to attempt a mating, however, not with my male; I would rather trade my male for another one to maintain genetic diversity.
I would like to attempt a mating, however, not with my male; I would rather trade my male for another one to maintain genetic diversity.