Mature Male Question?

[AviculariaRob]

I have a MM (Phormictopus Cancerides) Haitian Brown and he's actually molting again?!?! He successfully mated with my female and she is still currently gravid. Just last night he flipped on his back and has been molting all night, he has still not finished but I've never heard of this happening. Anybody know whats going on?

 

[jdl]

It happens from time to time. Is is extremely rare that the male will survive a molt when mature. I have seen it twice in my collection, once with a Grammastola sp. and once from a Brachypelma sp. Both died during the molt. I have heard of males surviving and breeding again, but I have no idea if this is true. The rumor was that if they weren't so run down from molting and able to breed the female, there was a very high rate of infertility. I have no idea if this is true. In the 90's I had head that a few people cut the bulbs off the mature male when their abdomens went dark and they successfully molted minus the bulbs. I never actually talked to anybody that did it, so it is probably just a rumor. Keep us posted and let us know what happens with your male.

 

[catfishrod69]

A postultimate molt is rare, and not a good thing. About 99% of the time the males dies during the molt. I had a mature male Metriopelma sp. Carabobo attempt this, and only got his abdomen loose, then died. I have seen a few on here make it all the way through. Mostly if they do, they lose thier palpal emboli due to them getting stuck in the molt.

 

[Philth]

I've had my share of post ultimate molts over the years, and had a few that survived. But as catfishrod69 mentioned the ones that live usually loose their emboli, or their palps are a bit mangled afterwards. I doubt anybody has successfully mated them again after this has happened. I had a T. stirmi recently do this. See this.

Later, Tom