There are over 850 species of tarantulas, and several have become beloved family pets. After falling in love with one tarantula, pet owners may decide they want more and decide to breed. Understanding more about how pet tarantulas mate will allow owners to provide optimal care to both current and potential future spider families.
Can Tarantulas Live Together and Mate? Housing male and female tarantulas together should generally be avoided as they cannibalise one another. When both tarantulas reach sexual maturity, you can place one male inside another enclosure of one of your females for several days to a week to allow them to see and smell each other without harming either tarantula. While this occurs, ensure your female creates her burrow and has enough food so when meeting male they do not feel threatened when meeting him – then once mating takes place if she accepts. Once mating occurs it should be removed immediately so the female doesn’t become aggressive against him.
Paint sticks can be an invaluable resource when it comes to breaking up fights between tarantulas or helping remove males from female enclosures. If your tarantulas do not seem keen on mating, don’t attempt to force mating by keeping them together – instead separate their housing environments until mating occurs naturally.
When Can Tarantulas Breed? Once male tarantulas reach sexual maturity, they are capable of producing semen and breeding with sexually mature female tarantulas. Depending on species and the length of time spent living after reaching maturity (it typically doesn’t happen before several years old), your chances for breeding your male tarantula will likely be limited and it is wise to act quickly when trying to breed your tarantula males!
Reproductive Habits of Tarantulas
Mating usually happens once every year, though the way in which tarantulas mate may surprise you. Once male tarantulas reach maturity and are looking to mate, they rub their abdomen against a web mat they woven, this produces semen which the male then rubs off onto its fangs via pedipalps into a packet for later insertion into an opening called an Opisthosoma in a female’s abdomen before leaving before she no longer welcomes him for mating purposes!
Laying Eggs
Once mating occurs, eggs will typically be fertilized and laid several weeks or months later in an egg sac created by the female tarantula and rotated periodically within its burrow until hatchlings emerge from it. Aggression often arises while protecting their egg sac by this female.
Some tarantula breeders opt to separate the eggs when an egg sac is produced in order to protect the young from being eaten when they hatch, and make it easier for later separation as they grow. Once separated, these eggs would need to be kept warm and in another enclosure until their first molt occurs – or alternatively you could keep them with their mother spider until then.
How Many Babies Do Tarantulas Have? Tarantula species vary, but most pet tarantulas will produce 100 eggs on average per year. Some only lay 50 to 1,000, so breeding these creatures shouldn’t be taken on lightly for mere aesthetic pleasure or simply having one or two additional spiders to care for.
Mexican Red-Knee Tarantula eggs typically hatch from within their egg sac within three months and 200-400 babies will emerge approximately three weeks later. Each spiderling will go through several molts within its first year of life before eventually reaching adulthood based on how well you care for it.