How do i know if my mexican red knee terantula is male or female?

Question

How do i know if my mexican red knee terantula is male or female?

Answer 1

The only real accurate way to s*x a tarantula is by examining the epigynal area located between the anterior book lungs of the tarantulas shed skin but to do this you must first know what you are looking for.

Unless you have just retrieved the skin from a freshly moulted spider then the skin will be very dry and brittle making any attempt to s*x it almost impossible. The most common method to moisten the skin and make it pliable again is to soak it in water with a drop of washing up liquid however i find it is much easier just to give the skin a good spray with a mister for a few seconds.

Once the skin is pliable take hold of the abdomen skin where it joins the carapace and gently pull down on it so that the skin unwinds then cut off the excess skin below the posterior book lungs.

Next take a needle and run it down the abdomen skin from the pedicel (where the abdomen joins the cephalothorax) to the posterior book lungs and carefully open up the skin.

The skin is now ready to be sexed. Some large spiders can be sexed with the naked eye but most will need some kind of magnification. For most adult spiders anything from x2 - x20 will do and this can be achieved by using hand held lenses or jewellers loupes. For sub adults and large juveniles a higher magnification of x20 - x40 is needed and for this you will need a microscope. Finally for sexing spiderlings you will need an even higher magnification of x40 - x80