Ever notice something in the spider room?

[braekedaun]

Has anyone else ever noticed the phenomenon of groups of spiders seeming to molt in the room at once? I mean that if one spider molts, chances are there'll be another molt within a few days of it as well. I only keep about 10 spiders now and if one sheds, I'll likely get 1 or 2 others within a week. They are not from the same sac or species.

Do they give of a pherimone when they shed that could be picked up on by others?

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

Has anyone else ever noticed the phenomenon of groups of spiders seeming to molt in the room at once? I mean that if one spider molts, chances are there'll be another molt within a few days of it as well. I only keep about 10 spiders now and if one sheds, I'll likely get 1 or 2 others within a week. They are not from the same sac or species.

Do they give of a pherimone when they shed that could be picked up on by others?

I think its just a coincidence most of the time, but when there is a low pressure storm moving through, and like 5 of your T's molt at the same time, now that isn't a coincidence.

speaking of molting, I'm really really excited b/c my p. subfusca and my t. subcaeruleus are all due to molt in like 1-2 days.

 

[scar is my t]

i have heard this alot and i doubt you will get a very good answer as not many studies have been made but i think they have to almost. why is something im thinking of now. mabey so that a predator gets one but wont get the other?

 

[braekedaun]

So at least I'm not the only one that notices that they all seem to do it at once if they're close!

 

[scar is my t]

i only have 1 t so im not too acurate but many people have been saying this.

 

[Arachtis]

The more T's you have, the more common these "molt outbreaks" are. I get probably 2 molts a month on average, if not more.

 

[braekedaun]

protectyaaneck, do you think it has more to do with weather patterns? I hadnt thought of that really. Shed right before a rain for the humidity benifit?

 

[Sterlingspider]

Has anyone else ever noticed the phenomenon of groups of spiders seeming to molt in the room at once? I mean that if one spider molts, chances are there'll be another molt within a few days of it as well. I only keep about 10 spiders now and if one sheds, I'll likely get 1 or 2 others within a week. They are not from the same sac or species.

Do they give of a pherimone when they shed that could be picked up on by others?

Yeah, this question comes up periodically.

If one sheds I typically keep my eye on the rest of them as another one often follows within a few days.

 

[Skullptor]

I find it to be a numbers game. If you have a number of slings the same size their molting schedule will overlap giving you the appearance it might be coordinated. Of course, there may be something to it I don't know.

 

[gambite]

I think it has a lot to do with growth rates and feeding schedules. I tend to feed bunches of T's at once, so it would make sense for them to molt at roughly the same times.

 

[ReMoVeR]

I have 2 Ts. 1 Molted on November 18th and i got a sling that molted the next day i got it 2 weeks ago. a few days after it, my old T molted xD pure coincidence ?! i think so!

//Tiago

 

[billy28]

Last summer I had 4 T's molt in one week and on the 15th two of mine molted .

 

[kaydyn1512]

7 molts in 2 weeks

From 12/22-01/05 at the time I only had 17 T's and 7 molted within that 2 week period then within another 10 days another 5. I don't know why/what/how but I thought it was amazing myself. It's not like they were all the same size/species or... It was interesting. I never bothered to ask anyone about it though. It's nice to know others have gone through it.

 

[agent lead]

ive had 4 pokies, an obt and a c fasc all molt last week all sitting in the same room...

 

[gvfarns]

I've seen it too. It's pretty hard without a lot of data to establish whether we are just seeing patterns in what is just chance. Humans find patterns in just about everything and sometimes it's not there.

My opinion is that either a pheromone or a combination of environmental factors does indeed play a role in concentrating molt schedules (who would have believed girls rooming together would sync up either?). But like I say, I might be imagining things.

 

[braekedaun]

What about the "oil" they secrete between layers of skin before they shed? I've seen droplets of this all over them for days after shedding. This has to have some sort of chemical signature in it! Any research on that fluid?

Just like one ripening apple in a bag with unripe ones, all the rest will seem to pick up on the chemicals and follow suit.

 

[ReMoVeR]

I noticed that "oil" on my last molt too! I thought that it was water. That is pretty interesting if that fluid is not water and if it is something more!

//Tiago

 

[braekedaun]

It lasts too long to be just water! IT seems to stay on them for days.

 

[ph0bia]

In the wild they shed related to the seasons. It's merely a hangover from this that species from similar environments of similar size will all molt at approximately the same time.

 

[stevetastic]

In the wild they shed related to the seasons. It's merely a hangover from this that species from similar environments of similar size will all molt at approximately the same time.

Most T's don't live in areas where there are distinct seasons and they shed... or molt... based on the amount of food available.