B. Smithi darkened abdomen. How long until molting?

[Hyeniik]

Okay, hello! So my B. Smithi Oncie has been sitting around on one spot for a few days now, didn't eat, and I was a bit worried about her, even tho I knew these were signs of premolt, and today when I checked on her I noticed her abdomen is turnimg black. How long do you think it will take until she starts molting?

 

[cold blood]

Anywhere between 24 hours and 8 months. Theres absolutely no way to accurrately predict how long pre molt will last.

 

[mconnachan]

Okay, hello! So my B. Smithi Oncie has been sitting around on one spot for a few days now, didn't eat, and I was a bit worried about her, even tho I knew these were signs of premolt, and today when I checked on her I noticed her abdomen is turnimg black. How long do you think it will take until she starts molting?

Going by how dark and shiny the abdomen is I would say 24-48hrs at the most, it'll become even darker which is the new setae under the exoskeleton, really won't be long IME, I've had two B. hamorii they are quite easy to predict when they will actually molt, keep us posted when it molts, thanks.

 

[cold blood]

Going by how dark and shiny the abdomen is I would say 24-48hrs at the most, it'll become even darker which is the new setae under the exoskeleton, really won't be long IME, I've had two B. hamorii they are quite easy to predict when they will actually molt, keep us posted when it molts, thanks.

yep, keep records and you can get an idea....but even thats not always accurrate...ive had many just like this one stay pre molt for 6 months or more.

 

[mconnachan]

yep, keep records and you can get an idea....but even thats not always accurrate...ive had many just like this one stay pre molt for 6 months or more.

Even with the abdomen being so dark - what sp. Was it B. hamorii or a different genus / species?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Even with the abdomen being so dark - what sp. Was it B. hamorii or a different genus / species?

My B. hamorii moulted about 2 weeks after her abdomen turned jet black and she may have been smaller than the OP's at the time.

 

[darkness975]

Okay, hello! So my B. Smithi Oncie has been sitting around on one spot for a few days now, didn't eat, and I was a bit worried about her, even tho I knew these were signs of premolt, and today when I checked on her I noticed her abdomen is turnimg black. How long do you think it will take until she starts molting?

Mine molted a week after this picture was taken.

B smithi (molt approaching)

• darkness975
• May 9, 2016
• 16

Female

Also, you should not handle your Spider anymore, not even after post molt. It's not good for the Spider and you risk getting urticating setae in your eyes.

 

[cold blood]

Even with the abdomen being so dark - what sp. Was it B. hamorii or a different genus / species?

lmao...it wasnt once with one spe ies...that kinda stuff happens....i had a 1/2" B. albiceps go 177 days...recently a 2" G. pulchripes looked like this in november...molted in april.

 

[mconnachan]

lmao...it wasnt once with one spe ies...that kinda stuff happens....i had a 1/2" B. albiceps go 177 days...recently a 2" G. pulchripes looked like this in november...molted in april.

I know it wasn't once with one species, I know you have kept inverts for a long time, LMAO that you thought I didn't know that.....

 

[Phases]

Mine looked about like that as I left for vacation few days back. Hoping for a suprise when I get home! There's a thread or gallery upload somewhere around here about it.

That reminds me. Do Ts ever eat or destroy the molts? Or are they always there for you to remove and check out?

 

[Robyn8]

Mine looked about like that as I left for vacation few days back. Hoping for a suprise when I get home! There's a thread or gallery upload somewhere around here about it.

That reminds me. Do Ts ever eat or destroy the molts? Or are they always there for you to remove and check out?

They tend to destroy or dump the molts somewhere (waterdish), but some of my Ts had the habit of keeping the molt in their hide and tossing them out 100 days later. Only take them if you can without upsetting the T. the one in my profile pic gave a threatpose when i attempted to get the molt last year.

 

[mconnachan]

Mine looked about like that as I left for vacation few days back. Hoping for a suprise when I get home! There's a thread or gallery upload somewhere around here about it.

That reminds me. Do Ts ever eat or destroy the molts? Or are they always there for you to remove and check out?

They tend to destroy them for good reason, so no critters (in the wild) are attracted to the exuviae,
(I think that's the logical reason) sometimes you'll be lucky and get a molt that hasn't been decimated by the spider, I usually try to get them out for sexing/display purposes if possible, without disturbing the spider.

 

[Phases]

yah that's what I was hoping to have mine for.

 

[mconnachan]

yah that's what I was hoping to have mine for.

Hope it's intact when you return, let us know how it goes....

 

[Hyeniik]

Mine molted a week after this picture was taken.

B smithi (molt approaching)

• darkness975
• May 9, 2016
• 16

Female

Also, you should not handle your Spider anymore, not even after post molt. It's not good for the Spider and you risk getting urticating setae in your eyes.

Don´t worry, I already know my way around handling my tarantulas. I have 3 tarantulas, two young ones, and one adult, the babies being this little lady and one B. Emilia, and the adult one being B. Vagans. I handle all 3 of them and they have never kicked hair, nor run. They usually very calmly walk around on my hand, or just sit for a while. Oncie (the spider I created this post about, my B. Smithi) is so bald, because she usually gets scared by a cricket I throw in there, so she kicks, or she gets spooked when I open the enaclosure way too fast by accident. Once she´s on my hand, she´s super calm tho. My B. Emilia Magdaléna even climbs on my hand by herself when I open the enclosure, as for the B. Vagans Lilith, she isn´t as social as the other two, but sometime she climbs out of her enclosure, so I put my hand in front of her and handle her for a while. All 3 of them are okay with it. I obviously won´t handle Oncie now, or after she molts, I don´t wanna disturb her.

 

[viper69]

No one can predict when it will molt, enjoy.

 

[darkness975]

All 3 of them are okay with it.

Actually they are not okay with it. Handling only benefits the keeper, not the animal. The slightest breeze can spook them and they can bolt or bite without warning. It does not matter how many times they appear to "calmly walk about."

I am just warning you of the risk is all.

 

[Phases]

They're still "okay" with it, clearly, I would argue. Maybe not happy or enjoying it particularly..

I keep seeing people say that phrase. Only benefits the keeper not the animal.. and implying they have absolute indifference to the experience. I'm not sure about that. Maybe a better argument is whether or not they are indifferent or could form bonds with the keeper. But, who's to say they don't enjoy time out or on a warm hand much like they like or enjoy their den or basking on a warm spot.

I'm not sure anyone will truly every really know. All we know is it endangers them to some degree. But so does letting them live indefinitely in some crap hole pet shop being shuffled around etc.. seems a fair tradeoff to put with a keeper who cares appropriately but with a periodic handling within the boundaries of what is determined as acceptable by the critter.

But.. that's a whole different thread.. not trying to hijack

To stay on topic. OP.. yours looks of similiar size and darkening..ness.. of mine:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/is-this-premolt-b-hamorii-smithi.295386/

Your seems slighly darker but mine was taken a few days back. I wonder how apart they will molt. I'll post when mind does, no doubt, we'll compare

edit: I guess yours seems slightly bigger..

 

[jaycied]

As previously stated, there's almost no way to predict when exactly a given T is going to molt. That being said, the abdomen looks quite dark, so it should be soon. It just depends on the individual spider's molt pattern.

Again, I would advise against handling at any point, but especially near a molt, whether before or after, no matter how experienced you are with handling. Tarantulas lack the intelligence to 'be okay' with handling. All it is is good for the keeper's ego. If you absolutely must handle your animals, it looks like you kept it not far from a surface, so that is good. But absolutely do not handle when a spider is nearing or just completed a molt. They are so fragile at this point. We could have just as easily judged the premolt with the spider on the ground in its enclosure with good lighting.

 

[Hyeniik]

As previously stated, there's almost no way to predict when exactly a given T is going to molt. That being said, the abdomen looks quite dark, so it should be soon. It just depends on the individual spider's molt pattern.

Again, I would advise against handling at any point, but especially near a molt, whether before or after, no matter how experienced you are with handling. Tarantulas lack the intelligence to 'be okay' with handling. All it is is good for the keeper's ego. If you absolutely must handle your animals, it looks like you kept it not far from a surface, so that is good. But absolutely do not handle when a spider is nearing or just completed a molt. They are so fragile at this point. We could have just as easily judged the premolt with the spider on the ground in its enclosure with good lighting.

I had no idea her abdomen has turned so dark tho, I was just going to check on her, and when she climbed onto me, only then I noticed she´s really ina pre-molt, so please, keep in mind that I was not avare of the fact she really WAS in a pre-molt, which, of course, was my bad, and I would´ve picked her up in the first place. I care about my spiders wth my whole heart and I love them to the Moon and beyond.

To stay on topic. OP.. yours looks of similiar size and darkening..ness.. of mine:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/is-this-premolt-b-hamorii-smithi.295386/

Your seems slighly darker but mine was taken a few days back. I wonder how apart they will molt. I'll post when mind does, no doubt, we'll compare

edit: I guess yours seems slightly bigger..

What a lovely little lady! Please, keep me updated on how everything goes. I wish her, and you the best of luck with molting! Hope everything will go okay!