# Do i need to remove a tarantula's old molt out?



## kev48584 (Aug 30, 2012)

Can the tarantula's old molt stay in it's enclosure without any bacteria growing, mold, etc.? the reason why i'm asking is because i'm afraid to remove old world species molt out lolz, even with tweezers i'm afraid to take them out. any answers to my question is much appreciated, thanks


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## Anonymity82 (Aug 30, 2012)

You shouldn't need too. They usually dry out and I've noticed they're less likely to get moldy than a food bolus. If it gets moldy then you may want to take it out but IME they don't really get moldy and when something does get moldy you just remove it and let it dry a bit. It's not a death sentence (mold, fungi) just don't let it get out of hand


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## Tarac (Aug 30, 2012)

I generally try to remove it if possible but it isn't always feasible.  Some of my Ts are neat-nicks and consistently clean their own enclosures, piling up old molts, bolus, etc. in a specific corner of their enclosure- my LPs both do this without fail which is nice because it's really easy to tell if they molted and also easy to maintain.  But I have a P. antinous that is a hoarder.  She always keeps her molt inside her extensive burrow and I never see them, it's hard to tell if she has molted sometimes.  I only know it is a girl because I retrieved an early molt from her previous enclosure that was easier to get into, I have not been able to recover any of her larger molts at all since moving her into her current house.  I'd rather not destroy her whole burrow so I just let them stay where she is shoving them.  I don't even know where that is in fact, I just know that I can see a little piece of one of the legs from a molt in a far recess of her burrow that is against the side of the acrylic.  I figure she is using them as nest material or displaying some type of anti-predation behavior by not leaving signs of her presence outside her den.  Who really knows.  Whatever makes her comfy lol.


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## Storm76 (Aug 30, 2012)

kev48584 said:


> Can the tarantula's old molt stay in it's enclosure without any bacteria growing, mold, etc.? the reason why i'm asking is because i'm afraid to remove old world species molt out lolz, even with tweezers i'm afraid to take them out. any answers to my question is much appreciated, thanks


Do you take out food boluses or do any other kind of maintenance? Just curious...


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## SentinelPokie (Aug 30, 2012)

I guess a tarantula's molt can stay in in the enclosure without growing mold, because it will eventually dry out.  But I prefer to take the molts out for determining the gender (When I have the chance) and to keep the enclosure looking clean.


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## MikeInNC (Aug 30, 2012)

My GBB sling (Dita) which molted last weekend propped its molt atop its hide.  I was able to pluck it right out......  No problem.

The GBB (Magellan) which molted about three weeks ago finally pushed the molt out of its hide a few days ago.  It sits just 2 inches outside the hide, in a corner.  Everytime I try to pluck it out (with tweezers) it attacks, attacks, attacks.  It doesn't help that the molt is just barely webbed into the substrate in that area, but that causes all the substrate in the area to lift up, too.  I figure, why risk harming the T and/or just making it mad......... so I'll just leave the molt alone.

Needless to say, I can see that Magellan is going to be lots of fun to work with when it's time to rehouse 

-Mike in NC


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