How often do bad molts occur?

[wrath of the olives]

I've had quite a lot (I think?) of bad molts among my slings the last 6ish months, and I was wondering if this is normal and just unlucky, or maybe something I am doing wrong.

So far I've had a P. metallica (~1") get stuck and die, a Hommoeomo sp. yellow (~1/4") get stuck and die, a LP (~1.5") get stuck and lose a leg and both fangs, and just yesterday my B. vagans (~2") got stuck and lost a pedipalp and a fang.

I initially thought it might have been from humidity (it gets very dry where I live), but I've read multiple sources that say humidity doesn't actually matter as much as you would think and that it doesn't affect molting at all as they should have more than enough moisture in their body.

 

[Thekla]

That's right, humidity in the air isn't that important, but some moisture in the substrate could indeed be vital. Especially slings usually need a bit more moisture in the sub than adults do.

I can't say anything about P. metallica or LP, but with my H. sp. fire and B. vagans slings I keep a part of the enclosure (usually around the water dish) a bit damp/moist (not soaking wet!).

And just to be sure... you do have a water dish in your enclosures, right?

 

[wrath of the olives]

Yeah, I have water dishes in all of them. I'll usually overflow it a bit so some spills out around it.

 

[the sith witch]

Ambient humidity matters for spiderlings more than for the adults in my limited experience. My basement apartment's ambient humidity lvl drops from very humid to dry as hell in a matter of a few hours as soon as heating kicks in winter and I have to be on top of watering substrate in sling vials/tiny pots to give them some humidity or I could (and did even while being careful) lose them to dehydration. I make it a point now to never buy slings in autumn, because the ventilation/watering that is fine for my slings before heating kicks in could well kill them in winter.

"Context" is everything, context being the conditions in your home/country. Someone in south Florida might barely need to water the substrate at all, while in Arizona(or my bi-polar Canadian apt.) it might be a near daily thing if the enclosures have too many ventilation holes. Make sure you have water dishes full and available at all times for the juveniles, having a T hover near or over a water dish is a sign that humidity is too low. Even adults can be lost to low humidity, we had to keep heating up way longer last spring due to odd weather and I had trouble adjusting my care schedule and probably lost my adult p. metallica due to dehydration after a molt. Using a humidifier in your T room could help! And am sure others with more experience than I have will chime in to help.

Edit: takes me too long to type, already replies XD

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I've only had three since I started in June 2016, only one of those resulted in the death of a tarantula (a Y. diversipes sling that failed to moult it's sucking stomach and died a week later).

Ambient humidity only affects how often you need to add water to the substrate/top up water dishes.

Slings should generally be kept on slightly moist substrate as they are more prone to dessication than their juvenile/adult counterparts.

B. vagans and L. parahybana prefer slightly moist substrate.
Pokies appreciate moisture in the substrate but can tolerate drier conditions.
I don't keep H. sp. 'Yellow' but I'd assume they do OK mostly dry with an overflowed water dish once they pass an inch or so.

 

[Anoplogaster]

I’ve never had a bad molt from any T. For most of mine, I just fill water dishes. For slings, I just keep half the enclosure moist (not wet). Just moist enough so that little substrate crumbs stick to my finger when I touch it.

I think the key to good conditions is moderation. And I’m an advocate of leaving Ts alone most of the time. There are some Ts I have that receive so little attention that I nearly forget I have them sometimes.... lol! I find that the less you mess with them, the better off they are.

 

[EulersK]

I've only had one bad molt from an adult, and just a couple from slings. But given that you don't have a collection of hundreds, I'd say that your rate of bad molts raises an eyebrow. You could simply be very unlucky, or something could be wrong with care. Humidity generally doesn't play a part, and I very much doubt that you're keeping these bone dry. I live in a dry climate as well, so we can rule that out for the most part. Can we see your setups? I know you probably don't have the setups from your dead specimens, but we should get an idea of how you keep tarantulas.

And chance of pesticides being sprayed around your house? Any decorations in the enclosures? What are your temps like? (just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks)

 

[Ellenantula]

I've had a couple bad moults a couple years back with a few slings -- I blame my newbieness in not keeping things damp and warm enough for them.
I think because we are a T hobbyist forum there's just naturally going to be a mass of bad moult reports here (sorta gives the impression most T moults are not successful, and which obviously isn't the case).
Ts have managed to survive millions of years. BUT, in fairness it's not just luck but by design that a female lays so many eggs.

 

[Goopyguy56]

Well in my life I have owned 18 t's. I havent experienced a bad molt to date but I HAVE GOT MY FINGERS CROSSED.

 

[cold blood]

Ambient humidity matters for spiderlings more than for the adults in my limited experience.

I agree...while for juvies and adults, its less important, if at all...for slings, they haven't developed their waxy exterior....as a result they are more prone to dehydration as they do/can have moisture loss (which can effect the molting precess)....keeping them damp...as all slings should be kept to a degree, definitely helps...in fact I would call it a requirement. This is why sling enclosures also require very little ventilation, because you do not want things drying out too quickly or for too long. I almost never have bad molts with slings, but the rare occasions, its almost always in an enclosure that's been allowed to dry out too much.

 

[viper69]

My my my...the first time I've seen TWO mods answer in the same thread in almost 10 years, well holy smokes!!

 

[wrath of the olives]

I've only had one bad molt from an adult, and just a couple from slings. But given that you don't have a collection of hundreds, I'd say that your rate of bad molts raises an eyebrow. You could simply be very unlucky, or something could be wrong with care. Humidity generally doesn't play a part, and I very much doubt that you're keeping these bone dry. I live in a dry climate as well, so we can rule that out for the most part. Can we see your setups? I know you probably don't have the setups from your dead specimens, but we should get an idea of how you keep tarantulas.

And chance of pesticides being sprayed around your house? Any decorations in the enclosures? What are your temps like? (just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks)

Here's a pic of the B. vagan's enclosure who had just molted a few days ago. I keep it around 74ish degrees in my apartment, no pesticides or anything nearby.

By the way one of her pedipalps is still stuck, should I be worried if she does not drop it?

 

[MKNoiL]

On the first photo, the substrate looks dryout completely.....

When I noticed a premolt on some of my T's I'm just watering substrate a bit more than usual...

 

[wrath of the olives]

On the first photo, the substrate looks dryout completely.....

When I noticed a premolt on some of my T's I'm just watering substrate a bit more than usual...

I was dumping some water in it every few days for the last week or so when I could tell the molt was imminent, the first pic looks kinda overexposed which may make it look dryer than it is (both are the same).

 

[EulersK]

I keep it around 74ish degrees in my apartment...

That was my guess. Houses are one thing, apartments are another. Most complexes have some kind of routine pesticide spraying, not even counting neighbors spraying pesticides. It's an American tradition to soak our homes in pesticides. My guess is that you're either extremely unlucky or your spiders are the victims of poisoning. A buddy of mine can't keep slings alive because of the same reason, he only keeps juvies/adults. Anecdotal evidence, I admit, but it's where I stand.