Sentimental Poecolotheria.

chrisacres

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 30, 2013
Messages
26
So my male Striata has just moulted and his emboli are very obvious. Does the presence of emboli indicate a fully mature male ready to mate?
Here's my conundrum. Do I just let him live out his days and give him a half decent end to his little life?
Seems a shame to watch him die without him fulfilling his sexual desires! Or should I bite the bullet and try to find him a female? At the same time (and I know a lot of people will think this next bit is a bit daft) I'm really against sending animals through our postal system . I just don't think it's right. That's my opinion. So my question is, does everyone on the board go out of their way to find chicks for their mature males? Or just let them be and die happily (if gradually starving and dehydrating to death Ivan be deemed a happy way to die!!)?.
 

JZC

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
421
If it has emboli then it is fully mature. His clock is ticking. Find a female or give him to someone with one.
 

fuzzyavics72

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 3, 2011
Messages
494
I second that! Don't let him go to waste, males are very hard to find in some species. Males are meant for ONE thing and don't stop him from his life goal!!!

How did you acquire your tarantula's if you're against shipping? If you pack them right, it's just like a cozy hide for a couple of days. :)
 

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
324
I recently had a MM P. scrofa get lost in the mail for TWO WEEKS before finally being returned to me. Other than the mildewed paper towels, he looked as if he literally just slept through the whole thing: no dehydration that I could tell, no lethargy at all, he just calmly walked out and into an enclosure. He was a little hungry but that was about it.

Now imagine a trip of only two-three days. Easy Peasy.
 

tweakz

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 14, 2014
Messages
57
I'm really against sending animals through our postal system . I just don't think it's right. That's my opinion.
Well you can't acquire a T any other way. Even if you're only buying from your LPS it had to have been shipped at one point or another to get there.
 

BobGrill

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
So my male Striata has just moulted and his emboli are very obvious. Does the presence of emboli indicate a fully mature male ready to mate?
Here's my conundrum. Do I just let him live out his days and give him a half decent end to his little life?
Seems a shame to watch him die without him fulfilling his sexual desires! Or should I bite the bullet and try to find him a female? At the same time (and I know a lot of people will think this next bit is a bit daft) I'm really against sending animals through our postal system . I just don't think it's right. That's my opinion. So my question is, does everyone on the board go out of their way to find chicks for their mature males? Or just let them be and die happily (if gradually starving and dehydrating to death Ivan be deemed a happy way to die!!)?.
Then I guess you won't be getting any more tarantulas because the only way to get a sexed individual or anything that isn't a rose hair, A.avic, or a brachy is through purchasing online and having it shipped to you. LPS and most expos just aren't the best places to buy a tarantula. Not only are most specimens in pet stores usually in poor health, but you'll be very limited on the variety of species you'll have to choose from.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2
 

timisimaginary

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
81
c'mon now, there ARE ways to purchase T's without them being shipped. my first 3 T's were all purchased at a reptile show from a local breeder, who bred them themselves. for some people that might not be an option, but for a lot of people it is (such as the OP perhaps), as long as you're willing to accept that your selection will be a bit more restricted.

that said, i see nothing wrong whatsoever with shipping T's that are well-packed and properly shipped.
 

goodyt

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 26, 2011
Messages
143
Chrisacres, this is an interesting series of ethical questions. I have had similar conflicting thoughts on these issues at some point too.

First, yes, emboli are the indication that your male is ready to mate after he had hardened up.

If you consider him a pet and wish to keep him in the traditional manner that one would keep a pet in a "forever home" then, yes, I would keep him.

If you choose to breed him, it could help put more captive bred striata in the hobby. His particular species is threatened in the wild and there is a chance that they will not be allowed to cross state lines someday soon. This is a link to the .pfd of this proposal and why it was initiated:

http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/11/prop/52.pdf

Your male is kind of a big deal in the hobby.

We'll never know what it's like to be a traveling tarantula, but there are a lot of great videos and places on the web where you can find the best packing method to ensure that your male will arrive alive and showing signs of low to no stress. Also, it is important to know the laws mailing and tarantula that need to be researched for everyone's benefit.

Standard trade is 50/50 for male. New striata slings could be cool to raise again and then you'll have a piece of your male still you if you keep them.

I have found it tricky to find someone on AB that will accept a noobie trade/sale. It's the only problem I have found personally, but I didn't try much after hearing this once.

Good luck with the decision!



-AJ
 

awiec

Arachnoprince
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Messages
1,325
While not perfect the current postal systems is a pretty efficient and humane way of shipping animals. One way or another practically every pet from cats to spiders have been shipped either through the mail or traveled by car. Tarantulas like darkness so putting them into a well wrapped container and shipping them off is not particularly detrimental to them as say maybe a cat or dog which may become scared and very stressed. All of the tarantulas (besides the natives) we enjoy today had to come into this country via shipping, some in not so nice conditions. I find putting a T into a box with 1-2 day shipping is much less stressful than throwing it into a car and driving a long way back home; and also the people at those expos end up just packing all of their animals in boxes and put them into their car. Really one way or another you are going to get a T that has experienced a little moving stress. Wonderful thing about spiders is that they recover quick, they don't get an traumatic memories as other animals might and will go about their day pretty soon after un-boxing. So I'd say let the guy go do his duty and perhaps you will get some slings that will be carrying part of him and you'll help keep the species alive in captivity.
 

Blue Jaye

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
339
I think you should let him breed for sure that's what he's here to do. And when it comes to shipping I have some inside info I guess because I used to work for two of our major shipping company's . They have requirements how many boxes move an hour 1700-2400 . And you do whatever it takes to meet those requirements. It is not a gentle situation in anyway boxes are thrown droped etc to get them on to the bouncy rollers in sort from there thrown to another set of bouncy rollers and off to the next truck to reach their destination. So being worried about shipping is a valid concern. I am amazed the Ts reach their destination at all its our sheer dilligance with packing our Ts tightly and carefully for the trip that gets them safely to their destination. With that being said I think is better to overnight them to shorten their time in transit and lessen the amount they get thrown around ,also my postman is not very good at his job and I've had to go track him down several times toget my T befor it gets to hot or cold so I always opt for ups or fed ex it's worth the extra money to me to know my T gets here in time. Although I did get lucky last week and my package arrived on time because it was a different postman filling in haha.
 

chrisacres

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 30, 2013
Messages
26
Good answers. I'll head over to the dating section and see what I can do for the little stallion. Thanks guys.
 

dementedlullaby

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
300
Good answers. I'll head over to the dating section and see what I can do for the little stallion. Thanks guys.
Try classifieds for your area like craigslist. Never know what you could find or if you post a message maybe someone close by is looking for a MM breeding loan. Never know until you try :).
 
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