B.Hamorii appears to be molting, but makes no progress

[BlazinDevilify]

Today it appeared as though my Tarantula decided to molt, however she ended up in this position. I assumed that it's one of those uncommon instances where they molt upright but she's been in this position for more than 6 hours now. I checked if there was leg movement but she's perfectly still (or maybe she twitches when I'm not looking). This happened shortly after I rehoused her. I heard about molts taking several hours to complete but 6 hours and no progress? I didn't want to disturb her In case she's just very slow. I really hope she didn't die during molting or something like that, that'd be a devastating loss.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

This doesn't really look like an upright moulting position to me but I'll let someone else take a crack at it. If the spider IS actually moulting, there's really nothing else you can do but wait for progress. If the carapace doesn't pop there's not much intervention to be done. IME the caparace needs to be popped and chelicerae need to be out to even try to intervene.

 

[Smotzer]

This doesnt really look like molting, that being said it is possible, but tarantulas dont move a whole lot so are you sure its not just srunched up in that corner?

What makes you belive it is molting, has it been refusing food? When was the last time it molted?

 

[CommanderBacon]

What makes you belive it is molting, has it been refusing food? When was the last time it molted?

All of this ^^ From the color of the abdomen alone, I'd say this doesn't look like a molt to me.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

All of this ^^ From the color of the abdomen alone, I'd say this doesn't look like a molt to me.

That also threw me, the colouration.

 

[Coradams]

The abdomen of my hamorii practically turns black just before she molts. I do think your t will molt very soon but it may be still be a few days off. Be patient.

 

[BlazinDevilify]

Thank you all for responding.

I'm a doofus... just as I wanted to respond to you she moved to a different location. You guys were right, she wasn't molting. That awkward posture confused me.

This doesnt really look like molting, that being said it is possible, but tarantulas dont move a whole lot so are you sure its not just srunched up in that corner?

What makes you belive it is molting, has it been refusing food? When was the last time it molted?

I actually paused feeding her cause of the size of her abdomen. It's hard to say if she would've refused anything. The reason why I assumed that she was probably molting, was because on the post https://arachnoboards.com/threads/overfeeding-juveniles.339732/ people suggested that based on the size of her abdomen she might be ready for a molt soon. Last time she molted was on the 17th of august.

So could it be that she was stressed? She just settled in so maybe she has to get used to it. I keep the terrarium at about 25°c and 70% humidity.

All of this ^^ From the color of the abdomen alone, I'd say this doesn't look like a molt to me.

How could you tell it from the color? How is it supposed to be when molting?

Sorry for the goosechase, I feel a bit embarassed...

 

[Rigor Mortis]

How could you tell it from the color? How is it supposed to be when molting?

Sorry for the goosechase, I feel a bit embarassed...

Don't be embarrassed, no one has every answer to every question about their Ts from the get-go. Seeing that your spider is smallish, the abdomen would be dark coloured and sort of bruised looking before a moult. You won't be able to tell on an adult when the black setae fully comes in (unless they kick hairs and have a bald spot you can see through) but for now it's kind of convenient.

 

[Smotzer]

So could it be that she was stressed? She just settled in so maybe she has to get used to it. I keep the terrarium at about 25°c and 70% humidity.

No problem!

It very well could just be settling in and getting used to the enclosure if it was recently rehoused.

Okay so real quick, you should completely forget about humidity you dont need to measure it, and how exactly are you keeping it at that number and temperature?

 

[BlazinDevilify]

No problem!

It very well could just be settling in and getting used to the enclosure if it was recently rehoused.

Okay so real quick, you should completely forget about humidity you dont need to measure it, and how exactly are you keeping it at that number and temperature?

I just keep her in my room. My room is normally kind of hot and humid, because I keep the door closed and I just open the windows for brief periods. Sometimes I refill the water dish, when the air is dry. But other than that I don't do anything special to maintain the humidity and room temperature

 

[CommanderBacon]

What @Rigor Mortis said, basically.

When a Brachypelma is a baby like this, you can see the color of the abdominal flesh and its urticating hairs patch pretty well. As it gets closer to molt, the color will start to get darker and darker. A week or so before molt (could be a few days, even), the abdomen will look almost black and maybe even shiny. Your tarantula will stop being so active, as it's probably uncomfortable. It's developing a whole new body inside its current body, so I imagine it might feel like it's wearing three pairs of Spanx or something. I avoid feeding it when it looks like this.

A larger tarantula will start looking really crusty as it gets close to molt, too. It might lose hairs off of its abdomen and look like it has dandruff, the colors will get drab, and if there is a place where the hairs have rubbed off, the flesh underneath will appear darker than the pale yellow that you would normally see. My penultimate male Acanthoscurria geniculata looked like he rolled around under a cabinet before he molted.

If you're not sure, it's a good idea to start spacing feedings out when the abdomen is visibly larger than the carapace. This little baby is WELL FED XD I would have stopped feeding, too.

 

[Jess S]

How could you tell it from the color? How is it supposed to be when molting?

Here's a photo of my little B hamorri a few days before it moulted.