# How long does pre-molt last?



## andreeew (Aug 2, 2010)

I'm a bit confused about how long does pre-molt last because my b.smithi spiderling fasted for about a week then molted but my Chaco spiderling ate last 7/30/10 then by 8/1/10 morning he molted! Is there a specific time for pre-molt fast or is it random?


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## J.huff23 (Aug 2, 2010)

Its different for every T. There is absolutley no way to know for sure when a T will molt.


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## Motorkar (Aug 2, 2010)

Only spider can anwser you that.  Normally it takes few days to few months, depends on the spider. My B. smithi's last premolt took about 2 months and 1  month pos molt. B. smithis are awsome becouse you will learn how to become patient.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## evicton (Aug 2, 2010)

Yeah premolts can be long and as your spider gets bigger they tend to last longer, I had a Rose Hair spend 6 months in premolt this year. I also had a B. Auratum go from september to July in premolt during this time she never ate.


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## smallara98 (Aug 6, 2010)

There is some species that can be in premolt for a few weeks as adults or slings , and then 6 months or more with some others . It really just depends .

Reactions: Funny 1


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## xhexdx (Aug 6, 2010)

smallara98 said:


> There is some species that can be in premolt for a few weeks as adults or slings , and then 6 months or more with some others . It really just depends .


Which species are in premolt for 6 months?


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## Motorkar (Aug 6, 2010)

xhexdx said:


> Which species are in premolt for 6 months?


I think he means G. rosea just becouse she starts to fast a long time before molt.


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## xhexdx (Aug 6, 2010)

Ok, well, that's still not accurate.  Fasting != premolt.


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## dRrosenber (Aug 6, 2010)

xhexdx said:


> Ok, well, that's still not accurate.  Fasting != premolt.


Really?!
Sorry for being a newbie, but I always (well  since I got my T, and prior research) though that the premolt was consisting of the T fasting and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## xhexdx (Aug 6, 2010)

It's more common with G. rosea to fast randomly, but other spiders can do it too.

Spiders will also fast if they're dehydrated...but hopefully that's something that doesn't happen very often.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Moltar (Aug 6, 2010)

G. rosea in particular and other slow metabolism T's to a lesser degree will just up and fast for months at a time. This doesn't necessarily indicate pre-molt at all. It just means they have enough calories stored up for the immediate future and as such, they're not hungry.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## CAK (Aug 6, 2010)

Moltar said:


> G. rosea in particular and other slow metabolism T's to a lesser degree will just up and fast for months at a time. This doesn't necessarily indicate pre-molt at all. It just means they have enough calories stored up for the immediate future and as such, they're not hungry.


Agree.  I had a rosea that hadn't eaten a single morsel of food from the day I got her to the day she molted 10 months later.


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## WARPIG (Aug 6, 2010)

smallara98 said:


> There is some species that can be in premolt for a few weeks as adults or slings , and then 6 months or more with some others . It really just depends .


The hits just keep on coming!!!


PIG-


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## Falk (Aug 6, 2010)

Some spiders can eat like pigs for a few weeks and they barricade themselvs in a burrow for a very long time.


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## Motorkar (Aug 6, 2010)

My A. versicolor didn't ate that much from the last molt to this one wich she had two days ago. She ate like 5 roaches and mealworms in two months.

My B. smithi for another example: Before last molt she didn't ate for two months. She didn't ate after molt for one month, just rejected food. Now about one and a half month ago she started to eat like lets say T. blondi for three straight weeks, every day she ate one bug from mealworms  and some mealworms. And boy she's a pig!  Now she started premolt fasting about three weeks ago I think. She stoped eating, her abdomen is almost all bald, started to work on a web....


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## dRrosenber (Aug 6, 2010)

are mealworms okay though?


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## Motorkar (Aug 6, 2010)

Depends. If they are smaller than the spider. Also the mealwormshave little nutrinian value for bigger spider and superworm have too much fat. I give my spiders mixed diet of mealworms, flour beetle wich turns from mealworms, blatta lateralis roaches, crickets, zophobas morio(superworms) and their beattles.

Reactions: Disagree 1


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## Falk (Aug 6, 2010)

Mealworms have also 90%fat


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## gvfarns (Aug 8, 2010)

We have not defined premolt carefully for this conversation, which is one reason we keep getting really varying opinions on the matter.  

We have a pretty hard time telling what's going on with our tarantulas.  Signs of impending molts are not real clear until right before it happens.  I think a good number of people consider premolt the period of time between when a tarantula stops taking food and when it molts.  Unfortunately, tarantulas can fast for reasons we don't understand.  If they do it right up to a molt, is that premolt?  Who can say?  I had a G pulchripes go 11 months without accepting food and then molted.  After that she ate real well.  Was she in premolt the whole time?  I'm inclined to think she just wasn't hungry.  Some T's will eat the day before they molt.  Does that mean their premolt is one day?  

Since the characteristics that define premolt have not been set in this discussion, it doesn't actually make sense to talk about how long it lasts.  Certainly going without food doesn't seem to be a reliable indicator.

Unfortunately the symptoms vary from tarantula to tarantula, molt to molt, species to species, etc.  For that reason I'm not sure we can say for sure when premolt begins.

If the tarantula has a bald patch, it gets dark something like a week before it molts in my experience.  They put a bunch of webbing around the walls of their enclosure a few hours before they flip over.  For some time (which may be long or short) before they molt, they don't eat.  That's about as specific as I think I can be about how long premolt lasts.


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## Urban Country Spider (May 18, 2017)

ok I got a B. Vagan and what it is doing is normal right?


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## boina (May 18, 2017)

I can't really see anything, sorry. What exactly do you mean?

Anyway, you should make your own thread instead of resurrecting old ones


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## cold blood (May 19, 2017)

boina said:


> I can't really see anything, sorry. What exactly do you mean?
> 
> Anyway, you should make your own thread instead of resurrecting old ones


yeah, this thread died almost 7 years ago...none of the people involved are even around any more.


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## Sean Romanos (Nov 15, 2017)

Why is it my Female Golden knee dont want to eat from the day I got her shes 7iches is this ok?


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## michael nelson (Jan 29, 2018)

Urban Country Spider said:


> ok I got a B. Vagan and what it is doing is normal right?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hard to see from that pick, but as long as it's legs aren't curled under it's body(but not if its on it's back, then in may be mid molt), Ts will burrow and sometimes they wont come out for a month, if they are going to molt it can be harmful to them to try and remove them so I'd let it chill, it will come up if its hungry


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