Raise a Breeding Pair Together or Wait

K

keeper2013

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Ok, I'll try this one more time! I have a year old Psalmopoeus irminia. It's a female and I want to breed her in a couple of years. Whats your thinking about getting a male now, about the same size and have them both ready about the same time. Or, wait until she is of size and try to find a male that is also ready.
 
Akai

Akai

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wait. if they are the same size the male will mature faster and will die before she is ready. female Ts live longer and irminias grow really fast.
 
K

keeper2013

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Akai said:
wait. if they are the same size the male will mature faster and will die before she is ready. female Ts live longer and irminias grow really fast.
Click to expand...

I was leaning on the "wait" side. I'm sure it will be no trouble finding a male.
 
Poec54

Poec54

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This is very different than reptiles. You can't get a pair of spiders anywhere near the same size and expect to breed them. Males mature faster than their sisters, which prevents inbreeding in the wild. Psalmo males mature in a year or less, females closer to 2 1/2 to 3 years. Get a few irminia slings next year and one will be a male, and by the time he matures she'll be ready.

You really need to get Stan Schultz's book, 3rd edition.
 
K

keeper2013

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Poec54 said:
This is very different than reptiles. You can't get a pair of spiders anywhere near the same size and expect to breed them. Males mature faster than their sisters, which prevents inbreeding in the wild. Psalmo males mature in a year or less, females closer to 2 1/2 to 3 years. Get a few irminia slings next year and one will be a male, and by the time he matures she'll be ready.

You really need to get Stan Schultz's book, 3rd edition.
Click to expand...
That makes sense, I'll look into getting some slings.
 
cold blood

cold blood

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Poec54 said:
This is very different than reptiles. You can't get a pair of spiders anywhere near the same size and expect to breed them. Males mature faster than their sisters, which prevents inbreeding in the wild. Psalmo males mature in a year or less, females closer to 2 1/2 to 3 years. Get a few irminia slings next year and one will be a male, and by the time he matures she'll be ready.

You really need to get Stan Schultz's book, 3rd edition.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly...wait a year.;)
 
Hobo

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You can certainly raise a pair of irminia the same size to mate, but they'll need to be small (pretty much slings) and you'll need to be able to sex the male and female very early on.
After that, feed the female significantly more (and warmer if you can), and feed the male significantly less (and cooler if you can).
If you do it right, the female will be ready before the male matures.

However, "year old" says nothing about it's size or development, but I'm going to guess that getting a similarly sized male as your year old female won't work; it will be too late. P. irminia males can mature from 3.5", which is size easily attainable in a years time. How big is your female?

All that said, It will be significantly easier to find a MM when she is ready, P. irmina aren't exactly hard to come by.
 
Poec54

Poec54

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Smokehound714 said:
Oh wow i thought it took five years for psalmos to mature o_O
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In many tropical species, males can mature in a year, sometimes 8 or 10 months in ideal conditions. My P irminia males matured at about 5" and cambridgei at 6". Where there's a more consistent supply of food and water, many species have evolved to take full advantage of the conditions. The reason species from drier regions don't is that there's the risk that they can be caught post-molt when the resources have disappeared, and have a poor chance of survival. In their climate, it's best to take things slow and steady.
 
BobGrill

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Males and females look identical until they reach maturity right? I have a 3.5 inch juvenile so I imagine it wouldn't be too long until I'm able to tell.
 
Hobo

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BobGrill said:
Males and females look identical until they reach maturity right? I have a 3.5 inch juvenile so I imagine it wouldn't be too long until I'm able to tell.
Click to expand...
Aside from minute differences in the ventral area, yes, they look the same until males fluff out.
 
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