Rapid molts???

[bkelley02]

I have a C. fasciatum that has molted twice in 2 weeks. Is this normal for this sling? I had it for about 2 months and it did nothing and now, twice in less then a month. It was about 1/4" when I bought it.

It buried itself in in burrow for the first time around 7/5. I could see it moving around and it hadn't molted till about 7/15-7/16. Came out of it's burrow on 7/23 and ate well twice. Went back in it's burrow and blocked the entrance again on 7/30 and I can see that it's molted again.

Anyone else have this happen with any sling?

 

[gvfarns]

Yeah, slings in general molt pretty quickly. My C fasciatum is particularly quick it seems. Not sure I've ever seen two weeks, but I've definitely seen three. Those little guys grow fast!

I've also seen serial molts. My B vagans didn't molt for a long time, and then three times in a row within a few months (she's an adult). Sometimes this will happen because there was a problem with the last molt. There may be other reasons as well. It doesn't seem to be a problem, from what I've seen, though.

 

[bkelley02]

Thanks. It seems to be doing ok and has really doubled in size with the two molts. I have several dozen ( I'm addicted ) slings and this is the only one that done this so far.

I had a few others that have molted 2-3 times, but there was usually a month or so in between.

Definitely came into some color now though. I'm liking it.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Fast-growing hasn't been my experience. I got my C. fasciatum about two months ago, at .75". It went into premolt three weeks after I got it......and it finally molted........about two and a half weeks ago. It's now currently 1.25", and not showing any sign of premolt. It was fed three times a week, but only ate once or twice out of those three feedings, so now I feed it every four or five days.

Incidentally, I got my B. smithi (reportedly a slow-grower, AFAIK) about the same time I got the C. fasciatum. The smithi was 1.75" when I bought her. She has molted twice in my care, and is now a hair shy of 3.5". T's will sometimes suprise you like that.