911 I NEED ASSISSTANCE - Botched Molt

Aether Bunny

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
21
So my otherwise healthy Grammostola pulchripes has been in premolt lately until finally I saw her on her back this afternoon, after which I refilled her water dish and left to give her some privacy. Upon returning about 1.5-2 hours later I witnessed a gruesome scene: what appeared to be a spindly lifeless looking red bloody "wire frame" of a pulchripes lying inside the hide, blood and chunks of exosceleton all over the place and a half-shelled, suprisingly healthy looking pulpichres standing out in the open.

She is about 3.5" from front right to rear left, and I estimate she is about 3-4 years old.

First Question: IS this just a particularly messy molt and is there a chance she'll
be alright?

Second Question, if the answer to one is "NO".
What can I do for her? Should I prepare a damp ICU? Should I wait and see what happens?
This is my first t related medic emergency so I'm not happy over here.

She doesn't appear to need any old sub to be surgically removed btw. Of course I'll post man pics when my friend w a good camera gets here, any good advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

BobBarley

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,486
what appeared to be a spindly lifeless looking red bloody "wire frame" of a pulchripes lying inside the hide, blood and chunks of exosceleton all over the place and a half-shelled, suprisingly healthy looking pulpichres standing out in the open.
I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about, however, from what you're describing, it sounds like the t molted, then ripped up the molt and left pieces of it strewn about. If that is what happened, it's not a cause for concern at all and is quite normal.

Please provide pics as stated by @Leila
 

Nightstalker47

Arachnoking
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,612
Just sounds like it molted, what do you mean by half shelled? Maybe the old carapace from the molt is hanging onto the newly molted spider? We really need pictures to help... all we can do is guess without them.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
I can't decide if the "red bloody wire frame" is the live T or the exo; or if the "half-shelled, yet healthy looking T" is the live T or the exo.

A torn up shed exo is no big deal unless your T ("half-shelled"?) is still stuck in moult (and to what degree).
 

BobBarley

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,486
Um, nothing looks wrong. Looks to be a plump pulchripes. Judging by the size of the abdomen, it hasn't even molted yet.
 

Aether Bunny

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
21
Here's the rest. As you can see there are strange shell pieces and guts on the ground which makes me wonder if someone didn't sneak him and pitted him aganset God-know-what.



IMG_0840.JPG

When she comes out again I'll see if I can't get a video). I sure hope I don't have the last traces of exuvia lol

On a strange side note my 10yo Common Rose molted today, no bs. Hers went by ueventfully, the way I like my T's...
 

Attachments

user 666

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
355
Um, nothing looks wrong. Looks to be a plump pulchripes. Judging by the size of the abdomen, it hasn't even molted yet.
Agreed, on both points.

if there is a torn up exuvia, perhaps it was one that the T dragged out of its borrow.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
I can't see anything amiss, honestly.
I was dreading opening this thread -- fearing never getting that "red bloody wire frame" image out of my head -- but this just looks like an ordinary plump T to me.
I suppose (this may be a stretch) that the carapace could be at a slight angle (or could be how T itself (or camera) is angled). I only mention this as it creates the possibility that there's a piece of stuck-on old carapace exo over new one). And it's also quite possible that is just me trying to see something that simply isn't there.
Substrate is blurry in pix, so I can't really make out any bits/chunks of anything laying around.
Without a better pix, I would assume moult went fine.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
I don't see anything to worry about in those images.

Occasionally, they will be dragging around with a bit of the exuvia attached, usually to the rear of the abdomen. I usually just pinch the exuvia with some tweezers, and hold it still while the T pulls away from it. The sooner you can do this after a molt, the more easily it peels off.
 
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Nightstalker47

Arachnoking
Joined
Jul 2, 2016
Messages
2,612
Everything looks normal...I see no bloody anything. I am so confused.
I know right, we pretty much just read an unnecessarily graphic description of what sounded like a severely injured molting spider, only to see a perfectly healthy T in the pictures :D lol
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
675
Agreed. I don't see anything wrong. And as others have said, it also doesn't much look like a newly molted T. All's well from our perspective!
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
675
Btw, if any bits of exuvia is still hanging on the T, I personally just leave it the heck alone. Trying to remove it could be really dangerous when the spider is still soft. Ever try to help a chick out of an egg? Sometimes it works, but MAN is it sketchy! When you peel the shell, and the skin goes with it, then you've pretty much doomed it to death.

I'm more prone to trust that the T will eventually decide to groom itself and take care of what remains. I'm sure the T is well aware that it has something stuck to it's butt.
 

Haemus

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
128
Here's the rest. As you can see there are strange shell pieces and guts on the ground which makes me wonder if someone didn't sneak him and pitted him aganset God-know-what.



View attachment 242513

When she comes out again I'll see if I can't get a video). I sure hope I don't have the last traces of exuvia lol

On a strange side note my 10yo Common Rose molted today, no bs. Hers went by ueventfully, the way I like my T's...
I vaguely make out some limb exuvia in that image, but it's hard to tell. The white container lid in the image is reflecting into the glass and kind of obscures the contents.

To remedy this, put a black piece of paper or cloth there instead and the details behind the glass will be more visible. Hope this helps!
 
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