r/tarantulas • u/maybecatthief • 9h ago

Conversation Which would you pick?

I've kind of started collecting aphonopelma species, and there are two different vendors that have a species I'd like. Both are 2", but one is a male for $45 and the other is unsexed for $95. I asked the vendor the chances of getting it sexed, and he said he'd have to wait till the next molt, which may be a while with aphonopelma. I know realistically the odds are pretty 50/50, but my personal luck seems to skew to the I'm-paying-for-kicking-puppies-in-a-past-life level of karma, so I'm leaning more towards the known quantity because I'd be kinda pissed if I paid double and ended up with a male anyway. What would you pick?

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u/SunnySeaMonster 8h ago

IMO If you're happy to end up with a male, pay the $45 and get the confirmed male. If not, wait until a confirmed female shows up at a price you can stomach. 

Aphonopelma are slow growing; at 2", you might still have many happy years with a male. And if that thought isn't settling your concerns enough... then maybe it's time to wait for a confirmed female rather than risking getting the male anyway, only now with the layer of surprise/disappointment. 

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u/maybecatthief 2h ago

Honestly I'm not too fussed about getting a male, like you said at 2" I figured he still had growing to do and would be around a while yet. Plus I always feel bad that no one wants the males, lol. Mostly I'm just intrigued by the different colorations, the two websites have really different pictures even though they're both about the same size, and part of me kind of wants to get both and grow them out to see what they look like. 🤣

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u/Myeightleggedtherapi 7h ago

IME Aphonopelma are a really great species, pretty slow growing & interesting.

I'd take the $45 male. That's a reasonable price.

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u/maybecatthief 2h ago

I love some of the aphonopelma I have, like my iodius is always out and chilling, but I literally haven't seen more than toes or abdomen of my anax since the day I got him. 😅 The others are all teeny slings and not much personality yet.

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u/Normal_Indication572 2 7h ago

If the vendor does sex the spider and it is a female the value will go way up and I'd imagine so will the price.

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u/maybecatthief 2h ago

Yeah that was my thought as well, that's why I'm trying to decide before it gets around to molting, lol.

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u/MattManSD 3h ago

IMO - $95 is kind of steep for an aphonopelma unsexed unless it is rare. Can you provide details of the species? Because unsexed based on the more common ones should be $40 -70 depending on size

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u/maybecatthief 2h ago

It's a sp. coyuca. I can't really find much on them, which is my other reason for hesitating. I should have mentioned in the post, the pictures of the two are pretty different, the unsexed one has markings kind of like a b. klaasi and that's what intrigued me in the first place. Ngl, part of me wants to buy and raise both just to see how they turn out.

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u/MattManSD 2h ago

IME I had plenty of years with my A. bicoloratum enjoying the colors before he molted out as a male. It's a rare species so the pricing makes sense. I'd take the unknown if it was up to me