Aphonopelma seemani question

[octoo]

I have a four inch female Aphonopelma seemani and I am concerned about a thing or two that I've tried searching for, but haven't really gotten any answers.

I've had her for around two weeks now. She is in a 10 gallon aquarium with more than enough peat moss to burrow in. I only use a water dish for humidity also. She is provided with a half log for a hide.

She usually makes rounds at night exploring and climbing around, but hasn't come out of her log tonight. She has webbed up a pretty thick layer at the entrance, but I am still capable of seeing through, and she has some peat moss stacked up stuck to the webs also. I haven't really noticed distinct signs of molting with her abdomen, but it does have a few dark patches. No bald patches though. She ate last Tuesday. I haven't fed her since, as I am concerned with molting.

My questions are: Is she possibly in premolt stage and is there anything I could do to keep her from harming herself during molting? And if it was normal that she hasn't burrowed. I also heard that most people do only keep a waterdish for humidity, but I am still unsure about that. Any replies would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

 

[cheetah13mo]

The signs seem to sugguest that she has enter premolt. The only thing you can do for a molting T is keep the water dish full and leave her alone. As the new skin separates from the old, they become very irritable and become more and more fragile. As far as the burrow goes. Aphonopelmas are opertunistic burrowers so if you provide a hide, she will probably not dig to much.

 

[octoo]

Thanks so much for your reply! I feel a lot better.. yeah, I figured she probably wouldn't feel the need to dig because I do keep it pretty dark in the room she's in and she does love her log.:}

I'll be sure she gets all the privacy she needs.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

No bald patches though

Baldness has absolutely nothing to do with an impending molt, it only means that the T has kicked hairs off at something.

 

[midnight_maiden]

Baldness has absolutely nothing to do with an impending molt, it only means that the T has kicked hairs off at something.

It just makes it easier to see the darkening of the abdomen.

 

[Cerbera]

Yep - pre-moult - almost definitely - (or at least this is exactly what mine does every year). Expect not to see her for around 8 weeks now (if she's sub adult size or thereabouts)... Save yourself the worry of feeling the need to disturb her and check that everything's fine - it will be, and you should wait til she breaks that barrier web at the entrance to her burrow and re-emerges before checking her out for moult problems.

If she chooses (as is likely) to moult underground, you won't be able to get the exuvium out until months afterwards without serious excavation, but I don't recommend this for the spider's stress levels, and write it off as a non-recoverable. Instead, I vote keep the soil dry, so the exuvium doesn't go mouldy underground, the water dish topped up all the time, but not overflowing, and mist the enclosure in the week immediately before you think the moult might happen.

If she is moulting in some other confined space, also worry not - They can moult perfectly successfully in spaces that would make you think it was damn near impossible. And seemanni, in my experience are never happier than when they can touch / feel the walls on all sides, and they consequently feel very safe.

Here is mine, on webcam, mid moult in the most ridiculously small space. And it was all fine.

And then get ready for climbing action, because a fully post-moult recovered seemanni with newly moulted feet is likely to use its new-found powers to test your tank security to the max !

 

[octoo]

Thanks so much guys for the information!

I wasn't sure about bald spots, but I was just told to look for big black bald patches... but now I know since mine doesn't even have a bald patch haha.

Also thanks for your information, Cerbera. She is choosing to molt inside her log I believe, well that's where she has currently sealed herself. I'll start misting as soon as I think she is getting ready to molt. And have no worries about her escape. I learned from day one I needed to make the enclosure seemani escape proof. She does love to climb. :razz:

 

[Amanda]

Funny... mine did the EXACT same thing. She was about that size when I got her. I put her in her new home, and she drank like a fish for a few days (she hadn't been kept well before I got her). Then she found her hide, excavated it a bit, and webbed it shut. She packed the webbing full of dirt to block out all light.

I didn't see her out for a full two months. Lucky for me, she dug to the bottom of the tank, so I could slide it off of the shelf a bit and see her. That was the only way I knew she molted.

She came out about a week and a half ago, so I hear, but I was out of town. Now she's back inside teasing me. :wall:

 

[octoo]

Haha aw, I'm so sorry for you. It must be hard only getting a peek at your seemani through the bottom. I heard they could be nice little pet holes though. Mine hasn't really taken to burrowing yet, which is sort of a blessing. She did do a little bit of excavating in the hide now that she is in premolt, but I think that was just to push some substrate up against the webs. They definitely are an interesting species. I am very excited to get a glimpse of her in her black phase since I've only seen her brown.