annanlove19
Arachnosquire
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2014
- Messages
- 78
Note: I am completely aware that everything I am about to describe is really stupid and entirely my fault so please don't flame me because I'm already so upset about it I've been crying on and off.
My B. albo ~2" has been seeming like he might be in premolt for a week or two but I'm not positive but it's possible (balding abdomen, getting darker, etc.). He's been hanging out in his hide 99% of the time, although yesterday he came out, did a lap around his terrarium, and went right back in.
Just now when I checked on him in his hide (peeking in, not disruptively), he looked like he was half buried by substrate. I got kind of freaked out because I haven't ever seen any spiders half buried before. It was in an upward direction, probably about 45°, with his front buried upwards. I poked him a little bit and he didn't move and I started to really freak out. I took up his hide (this had no effect on where he was) and brushed him lightly with a small paintbrush; still no movement. I thought he was dead and had a breakdown before needing to be absolutely sure and bothering him a little more. He finally started to move (bless), slowly spreading his legs, and then sprinted up one side of the terrarium and down onto my bed and neatly onto my hand.
I put him back in his enclosure and the enclosure back in its spot, and then he climbed the wall again and has been hanging out in the upper corner. He does this sometimes, it has no bearing on his substrate, stress level, or anything else.
Only after all this did it occur to me that maybe he was laying a mat on the floor of his hide. He was in a position where his spinnerets were pointing at the floor, and there was some webbing around, though I'm not positive about if it was on the ground or not. Now I'm really worried that he was about to molt (even though he was half-buried, I wish I had taken a picture, I'm such an idiot) and I disrupted him and he's going to molt in the upper corner of his terrarium and fall and die.
If I did interrupt his mat-laying, will he have the time to make another before the molt happens? I'm not sure how in control of when they molt spiders are, and if I interrupted his only time window and he dies because of me, I'd hate myself forever. I know this whole thing is really dumb and absolutely my fault, but any insight/comfort/prepare yourself for deaths you guys could offer would be so so so appreciated. I'm really not okay.
My B. albo ~2" has been seeming like he might be in premolt for a week or two but I'm not positive but it's possible (balding abdomen, getting darker, etc.). He's been hanging out in his hide 99% of the time, although yesterday he came out, did a lap around his terrarium, and went right back in.
Just now when I checked on him in his hide (peeking in, not disruptively), he looked like he was half buried by substrate. I got kind of freaked out because I haven't ever seen any spiders half buried before. It was in an upward direction, probably about 45°, with his front buried upwards. I poked him a little bit and he didn't move and I started to really freak out. I took up his hide (this had no effect on where he was) and brushed him lightly with a small paintbrush; still no movement. I thought he was dead and had a breakdown before needing to be absolutely sure and bothering him a little more. He finally started to move (bless), slowly spreading his legs, and then sprinted up one side of the terrarium and down onto my bed and neatly onto my hand.
I put him back in his enclosure and the enclosure back in its spot, and then he climbed the wall again and has been hanging out in the upper corner. He does this sometimes, it has no bearing on his substrate, stress level, or anything else.
Only after all this did it occur to me that maybe he was laying a mat on the floor of his hide. He was in a position where his spinnerets were pointing at the floor, and there was some webbing around, though I'm not positive about if it was on the ground or not. Now I'm really worried that he was about to molt (even though he was half-buried, I wish I had taken a picture, I'm such an idiot) and I disrupted him and he's going to molt in the upper corner of his terrarium and fall and die.
If I did interrupt his mat-laying, will he have the time to make another before the molt happens? I'm not sure how in control of when they molt spiders are, and if I interrupted his only time window and he dies because of me, I'd hate myself forever. I know this whole thing is really dumb and absolutely my fault, but any insight/comfort/prepare yourself for deaths you guys could offer would be so so so appreciated. I'm really not okay.
