Molt-footed B. vagans

[jakykong]

Greetings,

I have a rather intriguing situation; it's not an emergency, but I'm not completely sure what (if anything) to do about it.

My B. vagans molted about a week ago (now just shy of 1"), when it came out of its burrow, its old exuvia's L3 was stuck at the joint between the metatarsus and the tarsus. It didn't drop the leg, instead, it's using the exuvia as a foot, literally picking it up and setting it down again with each step. Other than looking ridiculous, it doesn't seem to be causing the tarantula any distress. (Again, it's been walking around with this for about a week. I was hoping it'd fall off, but it hasn't.)

I'm concerned about what will happen next time it molts. Will this old exuvia (clearly too small to get its leg out of) interfere? Should I attempt to remove this exuvia in some manner? (My only attempt so far was to use tweezers to grab the exuvia and hold it while the tarantula tried to run off. The exuvia didn't budge.)

Sorry for lack of photos; I have some on my phone, but due to technical difficulties, it's not letting me get them onto my computer... ugh... I'll post some as soon as I figure out how to solve that.

 

[spiderengineer]

so if I am understanding you are you saying its like a shoe on him?

 

[jakykong]

Basically. Shoe is probably not a bad description, wish I'd thought of it!

It looks like it just didn't quite get that leg out. Which is why I'm not exactly sure what to do.

 

[spiderengineer]

Basically. Shoe is probably not a bad description, wish I'd thought of it!

It looks like it just didn't quite get that leg out. Which is why I'm not exactly sure what to do.

I would imagine it will eventually come off, but if it doesn't then I could see it coming off next molt since it would be falling off with the molt or he will molt the leg off and try again. so I wouldn't be to concern if he appears fine and is eating.

 

[Stan Schultz]

Basically. Shoe is probably not a bad description, wish I'd thought of it!

It looks like it just didn't quite get that leg out. Which is why I'm not exactly sure what to do.

As long as the tarantula still eats and moves around, leave it alone. If it becomes too much of a nuisance the tarantula will autotomize it all by itself. If it interferes too much during the next molt, the leg will likely come off during that molt. The chances, however, are pretty good that the leg (in its new, unhardened exoskeleton) will just slip out next time like it was supposed to this time.

Don't worry. Be happy!


How about renaming your little 8.5-legged buddy, "Thumpy." :biggrin:

 

[jakykong]

Thanks guys; "do nothing" is generally a good default, I guess I just needed a second opinion.