B. Smithi motionless during a molt

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
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Jan 8, 2013
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433
Hello.

My adult female B. smithi turned on her back for a molt 11 hours ago.. She appears as she didn't move at all since the flip. I know that some molts might take up to 24 hours, but I have not yet had to wait more than 8 hours total.. Do any of you have similar experiences with happy endings?

The only thing that I can guess to be the problem is the temperature.. The T decided to molt at night and during the night the temperatures dropped significantly.. Might this be the cause of a slower process, or even stuck molt?

LZ
 

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
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Jan 8, 2013
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It has been 13 hours and still the same position. Two hours ago I saw one leg raised a bit more than before, and she twitched once, but the leg dropped again and is now in initial position..
 

Andrea82

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How much did the temperature drop?
I'm not sure if that could be the cause. 13 hours is a long time. How big is she? Can you post pics of enclosure and spider?
I'm not sure what help you can give, i'll tag some more experienced people for you.
@EulersK @cold blood @viper69
 

ledzeppelin

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Id say that it dropped to about 65F which is around 18C.. I won't take pictures right now because I have it in the dark and would need to flash.. I won't risk that. But the enclosure is up to standards I assure you :) She is around 15cm LS. She did start to pulsate more frequent now tho.. Possibly because the room warmed up because it is now 2PM.. and she started at midnight.. It is still a long way to go, but the pulsating is stronger every hour or so.. She is now 14 hours in. I just hope that there are no problems and that she is just taking her time. But she is doing something ATM. Ill keep you posted.
 

Andrea82

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Please do :)
Good to read there's some movement!
The USA users aren't awake yet, lol.
 

ledzeppelin

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I just went to check.. 20 minutes ago, she was laying on her back as if nothing is going on.. now half of her legs are out.. this is quite incredible.. I have witnessed A LOT of molts but have not seen anything like this before.. she just rocketed out :eek:
 

WeightedAbyss75

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I just went to check.. 20 minutes ago, she was laying on her back as if nothing is going on.. now half of her legs are out.. this is quite incredible.. I have witnessed A LOT of molts but have not seen anything like this before.. she just rocketed out :eek:
What do you mean? That sounds amazing!
 

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
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From the longest molt I've ever witnessed, to the fastest one, from a different point of view.. This smithi is something special I tell you.. Her behaviour is different from all my other ones.. I've been awake nights because of her in the past.. and yet nothing was ever wrong. Just like now. :p
 

EulersK

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Feb 22, 2013
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Glad to hear it all turned out! For the record, 13 hours isn't unheard of for an adult spider. My longest to date is a little over 24 hours for a G. rosea, and I've heard of longer. I personally would start worrying at the 48 hour mark.
 

cold blood

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Cold can be very disruptive to a molting or freshly molted t. I lost an albiceps that molted one night when my room dropped into the mid 60's. It was only 1.5" though. The larger the t, the less trouble it should be.

I'd bet the cool room just slowed her way down, good to see her get the job done once the room warmed.
 

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
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well not there quite yet. She is still on her back, most of the exoskeleton is removed, but she still appears to have a hind leg in the molt.. This is now worrying because she is not moving anymore. 18 hour mark.
 

Andrea82

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You should name her Rollercoaster..as in, the one swinging your emotions up and down...
Good to see some progress, hopefully she'll get the last part finished as well!
 

Misty Day

Arachnobaron
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Aug 9, 2013
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She's probably just exhausted from the molt. As long as she didn't lose too much fluid then the worst is over. (Getting out of the molt).
 

Quixtar

Arachnobaron
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Sep 22, 2007
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I had a Megaphobema mesomelas that took around 20 hours to molt as well. Sometimes it just happens.
 

dragonfire1577

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I've had a young 2.5 inch G. Pulchra flip onto its back around 7:00 one night and still be on its back not having started molting yet at 7:00 the next morning then when I got home at 2:30 it had molted successfully so they can definitely flip and then take over 10 hours to even start molting.
 
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