Am I doing something wrong?

[lilmoonrabbit]

Hey guys,

I used to post here all the time, but life kind of got in the way (got a new job, bought a house, stuff like that). Throughout all these changes, my one 4 in G. rosea RCF female has not changed at all... aka, she hasn't molted yet. I've been waiting and waiting and nothing. Not even signs of premolt. She still eats like a champ and her abdomen is the same color as it was the day I got her.

I bought her from BioMarine who said she molted in May of 2009. That's almost 2 years now. I thought they were supposed to molt, on average, once a year, for her size.

As far as care and feeding, it's pretty standard... bottled water, dry enclosure with just a little overflow when I fill her water dish. Due to living out in the country, we only get crickets every 3 weeks, but I feed her 5-6 each time and she eats every last one of them.

Just wanted to see if this was normal, and if there's something else I could do to speed up the process, without power feeding.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hassman789]

thats normal for them. And increasing heat and humidity speeds things up, but obviously don't increase TOO much. And it's fine if you just leave it, she will probably eventually molt.

 

[lilmoonrabbit]

Thanks. I am sure she will molt eventually... I am just dying to see it, lol.

Her color has dulled during the time I have had her. She used to be a more vibrant red and now she is a muddy brown. I know she'll be beautiful when she does molt, so I guess I am just getting impatient, lol.

But, I will love her just the same. She's a sweetie and she's out almost all the time, which is nice.

 

[Lolita]

my rose hairs take forever to molt i think thats just how they are maybe thats why they're so long lived but i wouldn't worry just keep up what your doing it'll molt eventually

 

[curiousme]

Welcome back! G. rosea are notoriously slow growing, so if you are doing everything right(which it sounds like you are) then you just have to be patient for that beautiful new outfit. You could up her temps. in hopes of upping her appetite and feeding her more, but when you live out in the country the distance may be prohibitive of this, or it is possible you could induce a fast. Personally I would go with the patient approach.