Another (Post) Molt Question, possible problem

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

I am an accidental beginner tarantula owner. I inherited a tarantula who is now 18 or 19 years old that was no longer wanted by her owner. She has just molted for the first time since I've had her. I first noticed her molt around 8pm last night. She had already shed her legs, etc, but I haven't seen her old carapace anywhere. She appears to have bits of her old exoskeleton still attached to her spinnerets. Also, there wasn't much of the abdomen exoskeleton attached to her molt. She is still on her back, and has been since 8pm last night. She's moved a little several times since then. We moved her cage to the bathroom for increased humidity, we removed crickets from her cage, and we replaced her nasty water with fresh water. She had plenty of water prior to the molt, but it was not clean. My husband who normally is very, very hands off and careful removed her shed from the cage. We are worried about her and don't know at what point we should try to do something to help her. Any advice on what we should or shouldn't do and when? Is it possible that her carapace is stuck on her?

 

[boina]

First question: What species is it? Second question: can you post a pic? It's much easier telling you what's what from a pic.

If it is, as I'd guess, a G. rosea (Chilean rose hair) you should remove her from the bathroom as soon as possible, they do not do well with high humidity, molting or not. And crickets should never roam free in a tarantula cage, especially not plural, but that's moot now.

On the other hand an 18 year old tarantula can take a long, long time to molt. The carapace is rarely stuck when the legs are out, but if she's still on her back she will be lying on it. Don't worry about it. She may also be lying on part of the old abdominal exosceleton - it tends to rip easily. As I said, it would be easier to judge in a pic. So far I'd say leave her be. It doesn't sound too worrying yet.

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

Thanks, yes, I was told she's a Chilean Rosehair. Photos attached. Yes, I've learned in my recent molt research that roaming crickets is a no-no. The molt caught us by surprise. Her fresh legs seem much smaller than the exoskeleton's legs.

 

[darkness975]

You should remove the enclosure from the bathroom , humidity is a no no for this species.

In general the solution to any issues is not an ICU or bathroom trip. All that does is make it worse.

Regarding the legs, are you sure that it's not just in a weird position that makes them appear to be smaller?

 

[Ungoliant]

She appears to have bits of her old exoskeleton still attached to her spinnerets. Also, there wasn't much of the abdomen exoskeleton attached to her molt.

If there are any pieces of the old exoskeleton stuck on her after she flips back over, you can moisten it with a Q-tip, hold it with tweezers, and see if the tarantula will pull it off while walking away. Be very careful, as the new exoskeleton is soft and easy to damage.

My husband who normally is very, very hands off and careful removed her shed from the cage. We are worried about her and don't know at what point we should try to do something to help her. Any advice on what we should or shouldn't do and when?

For future reference, it is best not to remove the exuviae (the shed exoskeleton or molt) while she is still flipped on her back and lying on part of it. Wait until the tarantula flips back over, and you can access the molt without risk of injuring the tarantula.

Is it possible that her carapace is stuck on her?

If she's still on her back, the carapace is underneath her, it should come off on its own when she flips back over. (This is one of the reasons not to remove the molt beforehand; with the carapace attached to the rest of the molt, it's easier for it to come off as she flips back over.)

If not, you can try to gently nudge the old carapace off with a Q-tip.

Her fresh legs seem much smaller than the exoskeleton's legs.

It's normal for the legs to look small at first. The way they hold their legs close to their bodies right after molting can be deceptive. Moreover, the new exoskeleton is kind of wrinkled up inside the old one, especially if the tarantula is growing. (An older tarantula like yours is not likely to get much bigger.)

After a tarantula molts, while the new exoskeleton is still soft, it spends time stretching it out. You may notice your spider in strange positions, like stretched out -- this is normal post-molt "spider yoga."

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It's been more than 24 hours now. I'm ready for her to flip over and do some spider yoga.

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

Still on her back more than 48 hours later. She wiggled her legs more frequently yesterday. Did anyone look at the stuff on her spinnarets? Should we wet that?

 

[Ungoliant]

Nevermind.

 

[mconnachan]

Still on her back more than 48 hours later. She wiggled her legs more frequently yesterday. Did anyone look at the stuff on her spinnarets? Should we wet that?

We can't see the spinnerets, the exuviae is covering them, to me there doesn't seem to be a problem. I'm sure in a little time she will flip over, just leave her in peace and quiet for now, @Ungoliant went into great detail about what you should do, post a picture from today, let's have a look and see what's going on.

 

[Anoplogaster]

That abdomen is not looking good. Can you get some close-ups of just the abdomen from a posterior view?

 

[mconnachan]

That abdomen is not looking good. Can you get some close-ups of just the abdomen from a posterior view?

It looks to be part of the exuviae covering the posterior of the abdomen, the flash is making it look wet, well that's what I'm seeing, agreed it doesn't look good but that looks to be from the exuviae. As you requested, a shot of the posterior of the abdomen would help.

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

Sorry, I didn't see the recent messages until today. Today is day 6, and she finally flipped over into the upright position. No carapace exuvium to be seen. Her abdomen is still bald. Sorry I didn't get additional pics of the underside of the abdomen, but they would have all looked the same. I am not with her, but my husband is looking after her. Included are some photos from him of her today. Hopefully, I can get some better ones from him tomorrow. He says that she's moving around relatively normal and not walking tons more than normal. He has noticed that she's bunching her legs up. He is very hesitant to do anything. I'm prepping him to paint her carapace with water, but he doesn't want to do it unless he's sure it needs to be done. Thanks all.

 

[sasker]

Her abdomen looks a bit weird, probably because there are pieces of the old skin still attached. These pieces usually come off within the next few days/weeks. Six days for a molting spider to flip back into position is very long, but it is an old spider and maybe that's the reason. However, she is not in a terrible state. Just give her a lot of time to recover, don't feed her for at least another week and provide a bowl with fresh water.

You say this tarantula is 18 years old. Did the previous owner have her for 18 years? If so, he probably bought a wild caught specimen that was already an adult, so there is not telling how old your spider is. She could be 38 years granny for all we know.

The tarantula is probably in the same enclosure as she was in with her previous owner. I read some alarming signals about multiple crickets in the enclosure, bowls with dirty water and I see all kinds of stones and pieces of wood in the enclosure. We have seen these kinds of setups more often on Arachnoboards and it looks like a typical enclosure of someone who bought one tarantula in the pet shop, took the advise of the pet shop owner and never looked back.

There is usually everything wrong with pet shop advice, but have no fear: the members of Arachnoboards are here! Please post a picture of the entire enclosure so we can see if you can improve a few things in the care of your tarantula.

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

The tarantula is probably in the same enclosure as she was in with her previous owner. I read some alarming signals about multiple crickets in the enclosure, bowls with dirty water and I see all kinds of stones and pieces of wood in the enclosure.

I'm her 5th owner. The first owner had her the longest (14 years?) and may have actually had her in an ideal enclosure. The 2nd owner had her in an elaborately decorated very busy cage that crickets could hide really well in. The 3rd owner had her in this finor the 6 months he had her in 2013 when I first met Buttercup. I helped get her to her 4th owner who bought and decorated her current enclosure . It's much better for her than the one it replaced, but I guess its still a little busy. The wood actually may be a recent addition put in there by my husband "to help her flip over." It was all he could do not to reach in there and flip her over. I'll see if I can get an enclosure picture from him to share.

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

So, my question is, if we can't find her carapace (and partial abdomen) exuvium, what are the odds it's still on her. And, would it be bad to leave it in her?

 

[KezyGLA]

It will come off next moult. As long as no parts of old exo are blocking anus or lungs it should be fine.

 

[mconnachan]

I've never came across this particular problem, but from what @KezyGLA has said I would go with what he has advised, as she's an old girl, supply plenty of clean fresh water. Post pictures of the entire enclosure, clean it up a bit, as has been posted it's most likely still in the same enclosure from the pet store, give it a good spruce up, tidy everything, then hopefully she'll make it through to another molt, then all the old exuviae will come off. Good luck with her, she's looking OK but not 100% but that's to be expected from an old girl.

 

[boina]

From the pics it looks to me as if part of the old skin still covers the abdomen. It's entirely possible that it's just dried on, because she was lying on it for so long. I'd soak it in water - well, paint water over it and try to peel it off. I can't see the old carapace on her anywhere, though - the carapace looks completely normal - see last pic: no way there's another carapace over the new one. So, please, do not try to peel off the carapace! That's the new one!

 

[sasker]

I'd soak it in water - well, paint water over it and try to peel it off.

My B. hamorii had a piece of her old skin stuck on her abdomen once and it fell off after a few weeks. Personally I don't think it could do much harm to leave it on. The skin will dry out and become crispy. If the abdomen start to swell after a few good meals, the lack of stretch in the old skin will make it come loose anyway.

 

[TrialAndErrorQueen]

Buttercup passed away this afternoon. :-( No attempt was made to help her out of her remaining exuvium. Thanks for all of your advice. I wanted to be sure and include the outcome in the thread for future users because I came across so many in here with lots of good information, but then you never hear the final end of the story.