Feeding subadult males?

SpiderInTheBath · Nov 24, 2015

Those of you who have slings and juveniles you suspect or have confirmed to be male, do you alter their feeding schedule to slow growth and extend the lifespan?

I've got a couple and I'm not sure what I want to do there, they are voracious eaters and it's satisfying to feed them regularly but I also think of them as pets and wouldn't want them to die prematurely. I'm already contemplating breeding from one of them (years from now!) because he's a favourite. I might end up raising 200 of his offspring if successful [emoji14]

What do you do?

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EulersK · Nov 24, 2015

You're going to get a lot of opinions on this matter, so here is mine. Personally, I lean on the side of power feeding the slings until they are past that fragile stage. I want them out of the sling stage as quickly as possible, so I feed them a minimum of twice per day (so long as they're willing to eat) and keep them in a small side room that I can keep nice and toasty warm. Once that passes, I go on a normal feeding schedule, regardless of what sex I believe it to be. If it's female, then great. If it's male, then I'll either breed it myself or have him shipped off.

cold blood · Nov 24, 2015

For me I generally send my MM's out on loan, or I sell or trade them (my usual preference), so I keep them warm, feed them well and get them to maturity sooner rather than later....sooner I send him out, sooner I get new additions as a result. I'm not looking to set any longevity records for the lifespan of my males.

awiec · Nov 25, 2015

My first tarantula,"Bob" the Avicularia versicolor, took 28-29 months to mature and was a tad small compared to other males I've seen. I did not intentionally slow his growth but for a very long time I lived in a cold house and fed him once a week thus allowing me to have this male for quite a long time (for this species anyway). For me personally I would not intentionally slow the growth of males unless you plan on breeding him with a female you have as you can sell, trade or loan him as soon as he is mature. As soon as I find out I have a male then my mind goes to "Sweet I can get something new for free" . I've received about 20 spiders in trade for 3 males I had (I don't have room for a billion babies) and I have loaned out my A.versicolor as he is sentimental to me so I'd like some of his offspring.

Beary Strange · Nov 25, 2015

Like CB, I usually try to increase their growth speed rather than slow it down. For example, all but one of my current juvie males are species for which I don't have a female and don't have much of a desire to try and breed myself; if they're going to end up going out on breeding loans either way, I'd rather that be sooner rather than later. For my suspect male slings, it's much the same, except some of them I have adult or subadult females in which case I still want them to mature faster. Really the only circumstance I can see trying to slow the growth is if you have a female too close in size or you consider it a pet and are very attached to it.

Sana · Nov 25, 2015

I can understand wanting to prolong the life of your pet. My first tarantula, a G. pulchripes, turned out to be male. He's a sub adult right now. I thought about altering his feeding schedule because it breaks my heart to think of losing him. In the end though I decided that altering his environment and feeding wouldn't be worth it. If I start messing with temperature and feeding schedule I'm taking the chance that I will harm or kill the spider which would defeat the original purpose. My ultimate plan for him is to find a female or someone with one for a loan, that way I will have a part of him in the slings that are produced. His purpose in this world is to mature and procreate so I'm going to help him fulfill that as closely to the way nature intended as I can while keeping a wild creature in a glass box.

SpiderInTheBath · Nov 25, 2015

Thanks guys! I was feeling much the same way as the above responses, but wasn't sure it was the 'right' way to approach it.

Sana said:
I can understand wanting to prolong the life of your pet. My first tarantula, a G. pulchripes, turned out to be male. He's a sub adult right now. I thought about altering his feeding schedule because it breaks my heart to think of losing him. In the end though I decided that altering his environment and feeding wouldn't be worth it. If I start messing with temperature and feeding schedule I'm taking the chance that I will harm or kill the spider which would defeat the original purpose. My ultimate plan for him is to find a female or someone with one for a loan, that way I will have a part of him in the slings that are produced. His purpose in this world is to mature and procreate so I'm going to help him fulfill that as closely to the way nature intended as I can while keeping a wild creature in a glass box.

This attitude is close to the way I'm leaning personally. The only one of mine I have that's even close to maturing is a B. smithi I picked up from Gumtree that I didn't want to leave behind (I was buying an A. geniculata, really), so it's not an emergency decision. I think trading or breeding myself is definitely the way I'll be going. (I'm a bit softer about the other one I think is male, my C. fasciatum. He was one of the first slings I ever bought and because he was the biggest and most active, he's a character to me the way that subsequent spiders probably won't ever be.)

micheldied · Nov 28, 2015

I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with feeding a confirmed male less(not starving) so that they only mature when the females do IF your plan is to breed them. If you just want to prolong the life of your male, I don't think there's really anything wrong with that either as long as you're not starving the animal or keeping it in a fridge. But you may as well just send it on a loan when it matures and get more slings to raise.

Feeding subadult males?

SpiderInTheBath

Arachnosquire

EulersK

Arachnonomicon

cold blood

Moderator

awiec

Arachnoprince

Beary Strange

Arachnodemon

Sana

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SpiderInTheBath

Arachnosquire

micheldied

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