Question About P Metallica Males

I saw in another thread that Male P Metallica's don't live long. Since I don't have any T's yet ( but want to get Smithis, Metallicas and G Pulchras for my beginner breeds ), I want to make sure and get a female Metallica if this is true.

What is it about Male Metallica's that they don't live long :cry:

P. metallica is absolutely not a "beginner" breed.


With pokies and many other fast growing species, males can mature out in a year with proper temps and food, and in some cases even less. The amount of time they live after maturing varies considerably, although in the grand scheme of things its not going to be all that long.

Many if not most pokies are fairly easy to sex as males will have what almost appears to be a button above the ventral slit.

Oh no

Okay...if Metallicas aren't beginner breeds, then I definitely don't want to get them.

They're just so pretty LOL -- the blues and yellows are GORGEOUS

MissyMaguire said:

I saw in another thread that Male P Metallica's don't live long. Since I don't have any T's yet ( but want to get Smithis, Metallicas and G Pulchras for my beginner breeds ), I want to make sure and get a female Metallica if this is true.

What is it about Male Metallica's that they don't live long :cry:

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Several things come to mind here. One, I've seen you mention tarantula breeds several times. It's not really wrong to say I guess because you don't have the information yet so here it is There is no such thing as a tarantula breed. Only species. A Doberman and a golden retriever are two breeds of the same species, Canine. Tarantulas are each their own species. Brachypelma smithi, (Mexican red leg I think it is) and a Brachypelma boehmei, (Mexican fire leg) for example, are two separate species, although both from the same Genus. (Brachypelma).

Second, and again you're new so this is just by way of explaining stuff. Genus is always capitalized, while species is lower case. Example, Grammostola pulchra is correct, Grammostola Pulchra, technically, is wrong. The first letter of the genus is fine too though, but should be capitalized. G. pulchra is technically also correct. The species should also be italicized but often isn't on the boards.

Next, it's true that male Poecilitharia metallica are much shorter lived then females, but this is true of all species of tarantula. There is a reason for this. A male tarantula will only live, in general, 8months to a year after a maturing molt. The main thing that kills them is when they try to molt again after maturing they are, most of the time, unable to successfully complete the molt. Their tibial hooks and emboli often get caught in the old exuvium, old skin if you will, and they die in the process of molting. (Tibial hooks are a tarantulas secondary sex organs, you can see them in the second joints of the first pair of legs on most species. Some species don't have the hooks. Emboli, are another secondary sex organ that a male gets upon maturing. These are located on the ends of his pedipalps and that is where he loads his sperm off the sperm web, which is later deposited into the females epigastric furrow).

I'm not sure if Poecilitharia have tibial hooks. I seem to think I've read here that they don't. I'm sure some of the more experienced members will chime in and confirm. Hopefully they will also correct anything else I've said that's wrong too.

Finally, Poecilitharia is not really a good start up species just because they are very fast, more aggressive and have medically significant venom. There are arboreal species that are must more suited for beginners and you can gain a little more experience with them and then get yourself a metallica and that will be safer, for you AND your future metallica.

Welcome to the boards. It's nice to meet you,

That's a LOT of info <3

But thanks, I'm gonna have to read and re-read all of that. That's a lot of good knowledge to know

You're welcome of course. Everything I know I learned by reading through old threads. There is a TON of information here. I just read through everything as it catches my attention. Watch, in six months you'll be answering nooby questions too.

There is no such thing as an aggressive T. If a T bites, its because its in fear for its life and has no other alternative.

Angel Minkov said:

There is no such thing as an aggressive T. If a T bites, its because its in fear for its life and has no other alternative.

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Poec 54 once referred to S.calcaetum as "aggressive not defensive." Otherwise I agree.

As has already been said, this is not a beginner species. Do some research on Poecilotheria venom and read some bite reports here.

Angel Minkov said:

There is no such thing as an aggressive T. If a T bites, its because its in fear for its life and has no other alternative.

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I know what you're saying, but I do think aggression can actually play a role in a bite and I'll give you an example that just happened to me last night.

I was feeding one of my little O. panay "blue" slings, and the cricket had moved around the back of the enclosure, so in order to see it without moving containers around, I leaned my head over my 4.5" P. vitatta's enclosure. I thought nothing of the right side of my face being only 3 inches from the top of the vitatta's enclosure (the t was on the ground under the wood). I held this position for a few minutes (ok maybe 90 seconds), holding my breath the entire time. When I reached my limit, I very slowly exhaled through my nose, basically right onto the top of the poec's enclosure (with only a few holes in the lid). In an instant that vitatta flew up and slammed into the lid of that enclosure just inches from my face (with quite a bit of force I might add)...it really startled me as it was the furthest thing from my mind as I was concentrating on watching that little cricket....then I went to the regalis enclosure and did the same thing just to see if it was any kind of a consistent response or more of a flukie reaction....exact same reaction. On to the striata...same exact result. The fasciata all just molted, so I didn't try them, but I'd expect similar results tbh.

Now I'm not calling this outright aggression as they were obviously reacting to misidentified stimuli, but its an example of how even the wrong breath in the wrong place, at the wrong time, could easily elicit a seemingly unprovoked strike from a poec. I can almost guarantee if the lid had been open, I'd of had fang holes in my grill. While it might not be aggression outright towards the human, the mistaken identity would/could end up with the same kind of result. They can be aggressive with their prey, and if something is done to cause the t to make a mistake (much like the response we get from fish with lures), that aggression can certainly find its way to a bite just as easily as a spooked type of bite.

Aggression has the same results, even if it was triggered by what was essentially mistaken identity or misunderstood stimuli.

Angel Minkov said:

There is no such thing as an aggressive T. If a T bites, its because its in fear for its life and has no other alternative.

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I agree. Usually I make that distinction too. Not sure why I didn't this time.

I agree the end results are the same, but in my opinion, thats just an overused, wrong word for their reaction. My Pokies never do anything like that. Never even seen a threat pose. Im either blessed with 10 spiders, or your pokies are born in hell and want to feed on your soul. I think ill be getting 2 species more soonish, so ill have 10 species total (currently own 8) and theyre all skittish, but never throw a threat pose or try to bite. My little 1" M. balfouri on the other hand tries to bite all the time haha its actually cute.

Angel Minkov said:

I agree the end results are the same, but in my opinion, thats just an overused, wrong word for their reaction. My Pokies never do anything like that. Never even seen a threat pose. Im either blessed with 10 spiders, or your pokies are born in hell and want to feed on your soul. I think ill be getting 2 species more soonish, so ill have 10 species total (currently own 8) and theyre all skittish, but never throw a threat pose or try to bite. My little 1" M. balfouri on the other hand tries to bite all the time haha its actually cute.

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Haha, that just makes my point, as I've never seen a threat pose from any of the aforementioned t's prior to yesterday either...and based on the fact that all reacted the same, tells me that its not impossible for them to make a mistake and think "food aggression" when there is no food.

Like I said, I see where you're coming from, but I also believe that their aggressive nature toward their prey could in fact illicit an aggressive bite in the right (or wrong) situation.

Ratluvr, great explanation and way to present it in a non elitist way! Thank You!

Before you dive into pokies, I might suggest an Avicularia species. Typically, they are not as fast as pokies or as defensive. I say typically because each tarantula has its own personality. One individual from a known "mean" species could act like a kitten and vice versa.

Before someone jumps down my neck for recommending an Avicularia sp., I started my collection with a 3i, A. versicolor and raised him to 4" until a simple mistake killed him. I was able to raise this sling with only the help of an online caresheet and the help of arachnoboards members.

Google A. versicolor, it might change your thoughts about that P. metallica. They're gorgeous!

I agree with most that as been said about getting certain t's as beginners and there's great advice from good people. But no one as mentioned how great the smithi and pulchra are to begin with, the G pulchra is simply stunning pictures don't do this species justice with the B smithi I'm sort of yeah whatever because although they are great ts ( I own 1) I think other Brachypelma are just as pretty and a little more interesting. Now if you want a truly beautiful t that's blue and easy for a beginner then look at Oligoxystre diamantinensis they are a dwarf species that get to around 4" problem is I think they are pricey in the USA.

johnny quango said:

Now if you want a truly beautiful t that's blue and easy for a beginner then look at Oligoxystre diamantinensis they are a dwarf species that get to around 4" problem is I think they are pricey in the USA.

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Or Thrixopelma cyaneolum:wink: Beautifully blue and as good of a beginner type t as I've ever seen.

cold blood said:

Or Thrixopelma cyaneolum:wink: Beautifully blue and as good of a beginner type t as I've ever seen.

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Good choice another stunning blue t. How did I forget about Thrixopelma genus man I even have another blue Thrixopelma myself in the shape of a lagunas thanks for the rescue from my blonde moment lol

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, OMG!!

I just Google Imaged "Thrixopelma cyaneolum" because that's one I haven't heard of yet.

Just like the little girl said in DESPICABLE ME: "OMG, THEY'RE SO FLUFFY, I'M GONNA DIE!!!" LOL

They're such a beautiful midnight blue color. That's another one to add to my beginner list

MissyMaguire said:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, OMG!!

I just Google Imaged "Thrixopelma cyaneolum" because that's one I haven't heard of yet.

Just like the little girl said in DESPICABLE ME: "OMG, THEY'RE SO FLUFFY, I'M GONNA DIE!!!" LOL

They're such a beautiful midnight blue color. That's another one to add to my beginner list

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Good luck, they are exceedingly difficult to locate here in the states...but if you come across one, do not hesitate.

MissyMaguire said:

....... That's another one to add to my beginner list

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LMAO... yep, you're hooked. just like the rest of us.

Start of with NW terrestrials (since most are slow growing try getting a juvie or sub-adult), I suggest getting species from Aphonopelma, Brachypelma, Grammostola (try to avoid rosea and porteri though, unless you want a moody spider that fasts months on end for no apparent reason), Thrixopelma, Euathlus, Eupalaestrus genera.. all great beginner genera, take care of those for a few months, or until you have a feel for them and are comfortable with them.. then get some NW tropical terrestrials.. such as Nhandu and Ephebopus.. same thing, raise them up to adulthood, get comfortable with those, and when you are completely comfortable (including when doing maintenance and rehouses) get yourself a NW aboreal. If you successfully kept NW terrestrials, their husbandry will prep you for an Avicularia, also great looking Ts.. then get some Tapinauchenius and Psalmopoeus. Tapies are fast, and Psalmos are very defensive and also fast, but not quite as fast as Tapies.. those two genera will then prep you well for an OW aboreal, so if you have rehoused and maintained those successfully then you can think about getting a Poecilotheria and research research research! Do lots of research, these boards will almost answer all you questions, you can ask or search, but this is the best place for T information