SPIDER MALES.. Breeding problems?

[Joe Massey]

Are there any known problems with Male Spiders being able to lock up?

i got this male spider about 800grms, aprroximately 16 months old and and i have been trying to get him to breed, all sorts of tips, tricks, from sperm plugs, to molts, adding males, putting the female to his tub, 3 day in - 3 day out, 1 week in, 3 day out, introducing him to the female when she's on shed and other tips.. all seems to have never worked. i havent seen him lock not even once. ive been trying to pair him since october 1st but till today, no visual locks.

im not trying to force him into breeding or something, here of age and weight.. i just gets frustrating sometimes when you feel you've tried everything but it didnt work.

any ideas?

[MarkS]

I've had male spiders that were perfectly able to lock up and breed, I think the troubles that you are having are more likely because the male is young. I've had several young males that had trouble figuring out what they were supposed to do no matter what morph they were or how large and theoretically capable. Most will figure it out eventually though some do seem to take a few years.

Also, as far as visual locks, that doesn't mean he's not breeding. I once had a male het albino that I bred for several years, not once did I ever see him lock up. Never saw him courting, never saw him showing any kind of interest whatsoever and yet all the females that I put him with produced eggs every year.

[PitOnTheProwl]

No problems with mine either. You might not be seeing it but it could still happen.
Then again some snakes just wont breed either.

[Joe Massey]

I've had male spiders that were perfectly able to lock up and breed, I think the troubles that you are having are more likely because the male is young. I've had several young males that had trouble figuring out what they were supposed to do no matter what morph they were or how large and theoretically capable. Most will figure it out eventually though some do seem to take a few years.

Also, as far as visual locks, that doesn't mean he's not breeding. I once had a male het albino that I bred for several years, not once did I ever see him lock up. Never saw him courting, never saw him showing any kind of interest whatsoever and yet all the females that I put him with produced eggs every year.

you think 1 year and 4 months might be young enough? how many more months/years might be a good age for him to breed? - you do have a point. how ever i have a 10 month old male lesser(first time breeder) and he's been doing locks with no problems at all.

- as far as visuals, you do make sense, i check them before sleeping and early morning as well, i haven't seen any locks but if they did lock up, you think it happened for just a few hours while i was asleep? what's the shortest number of hours you've seen a male lock up with a female?

[Joe Massey]

No problems with mine either. You might not be seeing it but it could still happen.
Then again some snakes just wont breed either.

really? have you seen males like this?(not breeding at all regardless or right age and size) - does this mean i would never get to see combos out of him forever? - huhuhu

[PitOnTheProwl]

I have a pair of "granites" that I have been trying to prove to be genetic for 4 years now. Never seen a good lock.

[Dave Green]

Some would argue that spiders are the best breeders. Keep trying him once a week or so, he should figure it out eventually.

[Joe Massey]

really? i hope so.. ive been trying to get him to lock for almost 3 months now.. u think thats long enough?

[Dave Green]

He may breed tomorrow or it may take another year. He'll breed when he's ready.

[MarkS]

you think 1 year and 4 months might be young enough? how many more months/years might be a good age for him to breed? - you do have a point. how ever i have a 10 month old male lesser(first time breeder) and he's been doing locks with no problems at all.

- as far as visuals, you do make sense, i check them before sleeping and early morning as well, i haven't seen any locks but if they did lock up, you think it happened for just a few hours while i was asleep? what's the shortest number of hours you've seen a male lock up with a female?

It depends on the individual, I've had a male yellowbelly that bred at 5 months of age, he produced a couple of clutches that year and then the following year he wouldn't lock up at all and didn't breed again until he was 3 years old.

Males do not need to be locked up for hours at a time to be successful, I would think that a few minutes is really all they need. Like I said, I've had a male that I never saw locked, I've got other males that I rarely see locked up but they still get the job done. One thing you can do is check for evidence the next day, breeding couples will often leave what look like little blood trails and musk smears on the paper (another reason I like using newspaper as a substrate)