B. Emilia whole body color change but no molt

[Lyall005]

Still fairly new to this hobby, maybe 5 months in.

I have a B. Emilia sling that is about 1/3" or smaller. It's got a clear container and burrowed up against the side. I noticed that over the past week it's gone from a see through tan to a dark black but hasn't molted. The whole body has changed color, not just the abdomen. I've seen my other slings put on more color as the molt but never without one. Is this normal for very small slings? I know b. Emilia is a dark as an adult but I was under the impression it would start it's coloration as it molted.

It's not dead either, I've observed it moving around it's burrow.

2 photos posted. About 1.5 months apart. No molt in 5 months. Temps kept around 74°F.

 

[gabrieldezzi]

I've heard slings get real dark while in premolt. Specifically the abdomen, never heard of an entire body color shift though! Check around for an explanation like a tossed molt..

 

[Lyall005]

I've heard slings get real dark while in premolt. Specifically the abdomen, never heard of an entire body color shift though! Check around for an explanation like a tossed molt..

I sent a request to Tom Moran to see if he might be able to explain it. If I find anything I will reply

 

[gabrieldezzi]

I sent a request to Tom Moran to see if he might be able to explain it. If I find anything I will reply

Love Tom's Big Spiders as well, but yeah take a quick look first..

 

[jrh3]

This is probably the most perfect example of premolt I have ever seen here.

 

[Lyall005]

This is probably the most perfect example of premolt I have ever seen here.

Isn't a molt usually presented with a dark coloration in the abdomen, not the whole body?

 

[HOITrance]

Isn't a molt usually presented with a dark coloration in the abdomen, not the whole body?

When slings are super small, their whole body can darken. I found with some of my brachypelmas that the molt right before they start putting on a little bit of color they can go real dark. My G.pulchra did the same thing before putting on his black.

This is probably the most perfect example of premolt I have ever seen here.

Like it really can't get any more "textbook: haha

 

[Liquifin]

It's just in deep pre-molt.

 

[Lyall005]

It's just in deep pre-molt.

When slings are super small, their whole body can darken. I found with some of my brachypelmas that the molt right before they start putting on a little bit of color they can go real dark. My G.pulchra did the same thing before putting on his black.


Like it really can't get any more "textbook: haha

Thank you for letting me know! None of my other slings presented like this, but this one is the smallest I have so makes sense why I didn't see the same color change with the rest.

 

[viper69]

Some of mine have done this

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Something to do with forming new exo.

 

[Brewser]

I have a B. Emilia sling that is about 1/3"
it's gone from a see through tan to a dark black

2 photos posted. About 1.5 months apart. No molt in 5 months. Temps kept around 74°F.

Great Pictures

 

[cold blood]

100% normal

Isn't a molt usually presented with a dark coloration in the abdomen, not the whole body?

not with slings

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Molt imminent

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Isn't a molt usually presented with a dark coloration in the abdomen, not the whole body?

What is happening is that the new cuticle that makes up the exoskeleton is forming underneath the current one which turns the body dark; you are essentially seeing the new "skin" through the old. In adults the abdomen turns dark because there is no rigid hardened outer cuticle to hide the new cuticle. You typically won't see the new cuticle anywhere else such as the legs, carapace, sternum, etc. because the rigid outer cuticle is black. Without all of the "hairs" covering the body, a tarantula will look like a shiny black trapdoor spider with a light tan abdomen.

In spiderlings, the outer cuticle of the body is not as hard and rigid as the adults so the whole thing turns dark when the new cuticle is forming. Another aspect of the molting process is the dissolving of inner layers of cuticle which contribute to making the body translucent and the baby tarantula appears dark grey to black. So the darker your spiderling gets, the more developed the new "skin" is underneath it up until the inner layers are completely dissolved and your spiderling flips over and pops out of the old skin. Sometimes right after a baby tarantula molts, with bright light and magnification, you can see the hemolymph through the new "skin" before it fully hardens.

And by the way, this is what the colloquial terms "pre-molt", and "deep pre-molt"- such as what @Liquifin used- are referring to. They are informally describing how far along the new cuticle is forming underneath the old.