How to tell the difference between a male and female tarantula.....?

Question

I was wondering, what are some of the easiest ways to recognize the difference between a male and female tarantula? I have a mexican redknee tarantula who's got about 1.5-2 inches of legspan. How can I tell if it's male or female? I'd like to know since there is such a drastic range in the life expectancy between the two sexes. Are there any signs, physically or behaviorally that I should look out for? I appreciate any suggestions!

Answer 1

We sexed our rose haired tarantula after he shedded her exoskelton. We had named it Rosey and well she is a girl after all. We waited 6 months for her to shed.

I found these sites the first has a drawing for the male and female abdomen, this where you look. The second is an actual photo of them.

Good luck

Answer 2

the spinners on the back are different between the male and female spiders. Females i think have more than the males like three or four i could be wrong but you can google it. The female spinners should be more pronounced as well but if your buying it from a pet store ask the clerk they should know.

Answer 3

Hello. The females are bigger than the males are. I mean by a lot. As for behavior the females I think kill bigger prey than the males. This is all the info I know.

Answer 4

If it's laying on the couch eating chips and flipping through the channels with the remote, it's the male.

Answer 5

Females are much larger. You'll find out if it lives longer than a year then its a female. Males really don't live long.

Answer 6

Ewww. Why the hell would you want such an ugly thing as a pet?

Answer 7

this web page has the info you are looking for
http://www.angelfire.com/or2/thetarantulastop/sexing1.html