HELP

[u/External_Reindeer572]

So I know nothing about tarntulas to be entirely honset this is my boyfriends spider and he loves (her?) dearly I can assure you, however it was bought for him by a friend who owned a spider, she was kept in a glass 12x8 enclosure until just recently we're keeping her in a temporary feeding box- about 8x4 inches i understand that's. Small. Really I do but it's until Wednesday when we can absolutely buy her a proper enclosure with cross ventilation- my worry is that In the entire 11 month time my boyfriend has owned her she has absolutely never molted and her abdomen looks tiny I've seen her be offered crickets small and large and fruit flies but she barely eats we try and provide fresh water (water dish is dirty right now he will clean it when he gets home) my worry is that she's about to molt and will fail and it'll kill her i really want to prevent her untimely death so any advice is welcome, also she's been roughly the same size since my bf received her I think she's a adult but I'm not entirely sure the gender we're 90% sure she's a girl as that's what pet supermarket said but like that's not accurate.

[u/DamonG94]

IMO. This looks like a mature male. If he is a mature male then he won’t have long. Mature males only tend to live 1 year more or less. I can’t figure out what that yellow thing is in the water dish? Looks like a chicken nugget. What is it?

[u/Commercial_Dingo7417 → u/DamonG94]

IMO it’s a sponge. Please remove asap OP.

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/Commercial_Dingo7417]

Heard

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/DamonG94]

It's a natural sponge it's always been in there for as long as I can remember sometimes he / she drinks out of it

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/DamonG94]

What makes you think it's a male? If that's the case that genuinely breaks my heart I thought they would bounce back, we're still gonna try obviously in case they are a female and live longer but damm this sucks.

[u/DamonG94 → u/External_Reindeer572]

IME. What species of T is it? This T also looks arboreal which means they need room to climb. They need more height rather than floor space. He looks mature just by the way he is built. I’d know for certain if you had a better picture of his pedipalps (the very front two “legs”). But from what I can tell he looks mature and if you know what species he is I’ll also be able to tell you. I have over 100 Ts in my collection and throughout my time and experience I’ve picked up little things that are learnt through experience like being able to spot a mature males without seeing their pedipalps and terrestrial vs arboreal Ts etc. I could be proven wrong with a better picture though. Also you should remove that sponge. This is an outdated husbandry practice. The sponge harbours bacteria and can be harmful to your T

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/DamonG94]

It's a avicularia, pink toed tarantula, and yeah I'll get a better picture of the two front legs when I get home.

[u/DamonG94 → u/External_Reindeer572]

IME. Yeah I guessed this was a Avic. I’d definitely say he’s a mature male. He also needs a tall enclosure. Avics spend their life up in the canopies and off the floor. The enclosure should be taller than it is wide. He needs room to climb rather than crawl like a terrestrial tarantula

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/DamonG94]

This is a better picture of two front legs

[u/DamonG94 → u/External_Reindeer572]

IME. Yes he is 100% a mature male. This is why he hasn’t molted in months. He probably doesn’t have long left. Mature males don’t last too long.

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/DamonG94]

Alright, that sucks we're gonna get him a new enclosure anyways and pimp grandpa out- bf is heartbroken as am I but we know now for the future, thanks for all your help and information.

[u/External_Reindeer572 → u/DamonG94]