premature molt?

[BigBadConrad]

I have a 4.5" B. boehmei that had a very problematic molt (see thread "Please help! Time critical" http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21926)

Abstract made a good point that maybe she began the molt too soon (only 36 days since last one). Besides the bent legs (and missing one), she just doesn't look "right", especially the carapace, so perhaps the new exoskeleton wasn't fully developed yet. Her coloration has a "faded", whitish look to it. I'll have to snap some pictures in the next couple days. I'm not sure I could have done anything about it since I didn't even recognize she was having trouble until a few hours after she should have been finished. Two questions:

1) I had just moved her into a new tank (identical size and setup) about 12 hours before she began the molt. The new tank is probably a couple degrees cooler than the old since it's near a window. The move went fine. I did the deli cup thing and slid cardboard underneath. She was a bit stressed and flicked hairs, but there were no injuries or apparent problems. Could a slight temp change or even the stress of the move have triggered a premature molt? I can't imagine it was all that stressful.

2) I was concerned that the molt might be trouble when I saw she lying against the glass and kinda wedged in against the cork bark. She also didn't make much of a hammock at all like last time. I actually thought there was a chance she might be dead but I hoped she was molting and didn't want to disturb her. While I know it's bad news to disturb a T at all during a molt for obvious reasons, in this case would it have been better to carefully move her away from the glass to an open area before she started to split open?

Thanks,
John

 

[BigBadConrad]

Anyone with experience or knowledge of premature molting?

 

[MrT]

Originally posted by BigBadConrad
I have a 4.5" B. boehmei that had a very problematic molt (see thread "Please help! Time critical" http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21926)



1) I had just moved her into a new tank (identical size and setup) about 12 hours before she began the molt. The new tank is probably a couple degrees cooler than the old since it's near a window. The move went fine. I did the deli cup thing and slid cardboard underneath. She was a bit stressed and flicked hairs, but there were no injuries or apparent problems. Could a slight temp change or even the stress of the move have triggered a premature molt? I can't imagine it was all that stressful.



Thanks,
John

I doubt moving her 12 hours prior to the start of the molt had anything to do with the difficult molt .
T's don't just force a molt on the spur of the moment either. She probably had a problem with her last molt in some form or the other which induced the force molt.
But this is all conjecture on my part and I don't think you'll ever know what caused the forced molt.

As far as moving a T that's starting to molt, I've done it before.
While I wouldn't recommend it as a normal course of business, I don't think its as disastrous as many make it out to be.
In retrospect it might have made a difference in this case, but one will never know.

Good luck with her John.

Ernie