- Joined
- Mar 7, 2012
- Messages
- 4,096
She-Ra, a mature female Kukulcania hibernalis (southern house spider) I've had for over 7 years, was hopelessly stuck in her molt. I wasn't confident that I could help her, because these spiders are so small and delicate when compared to tarantulas, and she had not even begun to extract her abdomen. However, she was sure to die without intervention, so I figured I couldn't make her prognosis any worse.
First I worked on the two right legs that were stuck near the knee joint. I used my dropper to insert water into the femur tube as lubricant and gently pulled to free the legs. The first leg was easier than the second, as the second was closer to the abdomen, and I needed to cut away the rest of the sternum to free the leg without tearing her out of her abdomen.
Next I turned my attention to the abdomen. She had made no progress extracting her abdomen save for a small opening near the sternum. I used the water dropper to fill the abdominal cavity with water and then backlit the area so I could separate the old abdomen from the new one. I made a small incision along the side so I could begin removing the abdomen in sections.
Having removed the loose, easy sections, I could see that some of the abdomen appeared to be stuck around the book lungs and epigastric furrow. I continued using the water dropper to try to soften and separate.
Eventually I had removed as much of the old abdomen as I could without tearing the delicate skin of the new abdomen. (I'm not sure, but there might still be trace amounts around the pedicel and book lungs.) Then I saw that one of her left legs was still encased in the old exoskeleton, so I repeated the process described in picture #2 to free it.
Here she is after the surgery. She looks rough, and some of the legs may harden crooked, but she is very much alive.
I gently placed her back in her web so she can recover. She is a fighter, and I hope she pulls through. (The leg at the end of her abdomen is from a previous molt.)
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [1/7]
She-Ra, a mature female Kuk I've had for over 7 years, was hopelessly stuck in her molt. I...
First I worked on the two right legs that were stuck near the knee joint. I used my dropper to insert water into the femur tube as lubricant and gently pulled to free the legs. The first leg was easier than the second, as the second was closer to the abdomen, and I needed to cut away the rest of the sternum to free the leg without tearing her out of her abdomen.
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [2/7]
First I worked on the two right legs that were stuck near the knee joint. I used my dropper to...
Next I turned my attention to the abdomen. She had made no progress extracting her abdomen save for a small opening near the sternum. I used the water dropper to fill the abdominal cavity with water and then backlit the area so I could separate the old abdomen from the new one. I made a small incision along the side so I could begin removing the abdomen in sections.
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [3/7]
Next I turned my attention to the abdomen. She had made no progress extracting her abdomen save...
Having removed the loose, easy sections, I could see that some of the abdomen appeared to be stuck around the book lungs and epigastric furrow. I continued using the water dropper to try to soften and separate.
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [4/7]
Having removed the loose, easy sections, I could see that some of the abdomen appeared to be...
Eventually I had removed as much of the old abdomen as I could without tearing the delicate skin of the new abdomen. (I'm not sure, but there might still be trace amounts around the pedicel and book lungs.) Then I saw that one of her left legs was still encased in the old exoskeleton, so I repeated the process described in picture #2 to free it.
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [5/7]
Eventually I had removed as much of the old abdomen as I could without tearing the delicate skin...
Here she is after the surgery. She looks rough, and some of the legs may harden crooked, but she is very much alive.
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [6/7]
Here she is after the surgery. She looks rough, and some of the legs may harden crooked, but...
I gently placed her back in her web so she can recover. She is a fighter, and I hope she pulls through. (The leg at the end of her abdomen is from a previous molt.)
Kukulcania hibernalis Molt Surgery [7/7]
I gently placed her back in her web so she can recover. She is a fighter, and I hope she pulls...