Behavioral differences between genders?

My Ts are too small to sex right now(1.5" and 1")...so i was wondering if there are any behavioral differences with the genders?
i.e.
aggression
burrow or climb around container
more or less water drinking
frequency of grooming
speed
color
patterns
speed of growth
willingness to take food(lunge or gentle)
frequency of kicking hair
how bad the hairs are?
anything else?

IME, temperment isn't exactly affected by gender for the most part. There are exceptions, such as when a male matures or when a female is guarding an egg sac.

I haven't noticed a greater tendency to climb, kick hairs, drink or feed between the sexes. Speed of movement doesn't appear to be related either.

There are some species that show a marked difference in colouration and patterns between the sexes and males tend to mature faster but I'm not so sure about actually growing faster. Males tend to be smaller when mature - probably because they get there much quicker than the females.

Sathane said:

IME, temperment isn't exactly affected by gender for the most part. There are exceptions, such as when a male matures or when a female is guarding an egg sac.

I haven't noticed a greater tendency to climb, kick hairs, drink or feed between the sexes. Speed of movement doesn't appear to be related either.

There are some species that show a marked difference in colouration and patterns between the sexes and males tend to mature faster but I'm not so sure about actually growing faster. Males tend to be smaller when mature - probably because they get there much quicker than the females.

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hmmm interesting...i didnt think so, is there any way to sex slings/juvies?

Wait until 2-2.5" to attempt a spermathecae sexing with a microscope. Ryan (Talkenlate04) has had success with ventral sexing at that size too. I wouldn't worry to much about it just yet though as you've got quite a way to to before the sex becomes relevant (IE. planning a breeding project).

Triggerman73 said:

hmmm interesting...i didnt think so, is there any way to sex slings/juvies?

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Sathane, I want to append to your statement about males being smaller than females.

If you were to take 10 males and 10 females from the same sac and raise them all equally, the males will tend to grow more quickly and mature faster than the females will. This is nature's way of preventing inbreeding.

If you were to take ten mature males and ten mature females, then yes, your statement is true the majority of the time.

And the short answer to the OP's initial question (in my opinion) is no, there isn't a way based on temperment to sex a spider.

--Joe

In some species males tend to have longer legs in comparison to body size while the females tend to be a bit larger in body. A majority of the time it is still very hard to tell until the T matures somewhat. As far behavior there really isn't any difference until they mature. Males will tend to be more active as they mature, because they are in search of a mate.

Agreed. I should have elaborated more. Thanks.

xhexdx said:

Sathane, I want to append to your statement about males being smaller than females.

If you were to take 10 males and 10 females from the same sac and raise them all equally, the males will tend to grow more quickly and mature faster than the females will. This is nature's way of preventing inbreeding.

If you were to take ten mature males and ten mature females, then yes, your statement is true the majority of the time.

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wedge07 said:

Males will tend to be more active as they mature, because they are in search of a mate.

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Sorry wedge, I wanna clarify on this too.

They are more active once they mature, so even if they're a molt away, there's no difference in activity.

I know what you meant, but I just wanted to make sure it came across correctly.

--Joe

I would point out that often a mature male will undergo a change in temperament. I've found them in general to be less defensive than before, more active (obviously) and less hungry. Between females and non-mature males however, individuals have more variable behavior from one to another than any difference you may notice that seems gender based.

I think this may be species or individually specific. I've had the exact opposite happen with P. murinus. My males have always been relatively docile but become hellions after maturation.

etown_411 said:

I would point out that often a mature male will undergo a change in temperament. I've found them in general to be less defensive than before, more active (obviously) and less hungry. Between females and non-mature males however, individuals have more variable behavior from one to another than any difference you may notice that seems gender based.

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thanks for the suggestions but i have a good maybe 3 years before my Ts even get to molt 3 times so it isn't very relevant as for the whole ventral sexing comment, my vagans is upside down on his container 90% of the time unless i walk near the container nonchalantly, very jumpy little *guy*. My albiceps loves his water dish...i tried taking it out gently and he/she ended up pulling it away...random trivia also, another reason i want to know the sex, is to know how long i will have it for

A reply

aggression-In my experience male spiders have been a little more laid back than the Females that I have had. Actually most of my more docile T's were male now that i think about it; but that rule def doesn't always apply.

burrow or climb around container-Males will climb about a lot after their maturing molt.

more or less water drinking-Haven't really noticed a difference between male and female with this one.

frequency of grooming-No difference

speed-No difference, its from individual to individual

color-Mature males are usually brighter when they mature out; but there are exceptions. An example would be a Cyriopagopus sp. blue male which in my opinion is one of the ugliest male spiders when they mature. An example of a brightly colored male would be a Pamphobeteus platyomma.

patterns-Some are different Poecilotheria would be a good example

speed of growth-Varies from species to species; depends upon temperature and amount of food, but males mature quicker than females

willingness to take food(lunge or gentle)-Doesn't matter

frequency of kicking hair-Personally i think females are worse but i have nothing to back that up with.

how bad the hairs are?No difference

anything else?Nope

Age? Females can live in excess of 20+ years depending upon the species; males have much shorter life spans
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near mature males make me itch more than females from hairs in some species

Interesting topic... I thought about this too for a while and I tried studying with Acanthoscurria geniculata. I had 2. I saw differences: one used to stay out longer, one borrowed alot. One was 1 molt ahead of the other and still grows faster than the other. But still, both are females...
So the discussion is very interesting and love to hear more opinions on the subject.