Bad molt in progress (~10 year old E. camp), and I need some advice.

[Megan]

It has been about nine years since I've posted in these forums, and sadly I've returned because I'm at a loss and don't know what to do about my one and only tarantula, an E. camp named Ripley (I actually got her through someone on these forums!).

I found her on her back molting over 24 hours ago--I'm not sure what time she started, but since I found her, she hasn't made any progress. She's still alive and I see her struggling/moving on occasion (though she is mostly not moving). I haven't messed with her at all since I know she is very fragile, but I just gently removed her hollow half-log that she was molting under so that I could see what was going on and get a picture for the forums. It doesn't look good and I'm just devastated--I was hoping she'd be done molting this morning and in her radiant and dark freshly-molted colors. ): My stomach is in knots thinking about her suffering and stuck like that.

I would appreciate any advice about what my options are at this point and which one you all would recommend--I have absolutely no experience with bad molts as she has always molted quickly and well in the past. Thank you in advance.

 

[cold blood]

What a mess

Its not gonna be easy and you may not be able to save it...but all you can do is try.....water, q tips or whatever you have and a fine tipped tweezers and go to work.

Its very time consuming and nerve wracking...just be patient.

The longer one waits to help, the lower the success rate.

 

[Megan]

Thanks for the response! I do worry that, in my caution, I've waited too long. I will get to work and hope for the best.

I cut away some of the molt and it really isn't looking good. Her legs appear to be very stuck. I have no clue what to do--I'm adding moisture with qtips at the moment. She's struggling really hard to get out but still isn't making progress.

 

[cold blood]

Good luck....not an easy one....i just lost my AF OBT to a molt that looked just like this.

 

[ThatsUnpossible]

Have you read this?
https://arachnoboards.com/threads/tarantula-stuck-in-its-molt-look-here-for-advice.306038/
Your poor T

 

[Megan]

Have you read this?
https://arachnoboards.com/threads/tarantula-stuck-in-its-molt-look-here-for-advice.306038/
Your poor T

I hadn't seen that! Thank you for the link. <3 I thankfully have tiny paintbrushes and qtips so I will try that! I haven't touched her in the 9 years I've had her so this is all quite intimidating. I haven't made much progress yet because I'm so afraid I'll puncture her!

I have amazing news!! I posted on my town's facebook post for help and the coordinator of our local insect zoo came over to my house and got her out in 20 minutes. I'm so relieved and thankful, holy moly! She did lose a leg and has another couple that are a bit sad looking, but the coordinator told me how to proceed from here. !!!

 

[ThatsUnpossible]

That’s awesome! Great news

 

[ghostly]

Amazing news! I read your posts earlier and couldn't get your poor T out of my head all day, so this is awesome to read!
Thanks for the update, and I hope you have many more years with your T ahead of you!

 

[Megan]

Amazing news! I read your posts earlier and couldn't get your poor T out of my head all day, so this is awesome to read!
Thanks for the update, and I hope you have many more years with your T ahead of you!

Thank you so much for the kind thoughts!! I hope so as well! <3

 

[Tortuga]

Holy Shnikies! How lucky are you to have an insect keeper make a house call!

What also amazes me is your level of self control! How you go 9 years with 1 tarantula?!:wideyed:

*edit* I just realized I'm assuming that you've only had 1 all these years. Still though, hope your lil fluff butt comes out ok.

 

[Megan]

Holy Shnikies! How lucky are you to have an insect keeper make a house call!

What also amazes me is your level of self control! How you go 9 years with 1 tarantula?!:wideyed:

*edit* I just realized I'm assuming that you've only had 1 all these years. Still though, hope your lil fluff butt comes out ok.

I got super lucky with the house call!! I didn't even know the university near me had an insect zoo and the coordinator dropped what she was doing to rush out to my house. She says she has 75 species of tarantula and has tons of experience helping with bad molts from all sorts of insects and arachnids! She encouraged me to go to the Insect Zoo and said she'd let me in for free, so I'm definitely going to oogle them this weekend for sure (and donate--she wouldn't take money for the house call! ).

And yes, I have had to have insane amounts of self-control.. I've only had the one tarantula all of these years! I had to stop visiting these boards because it made me want ALL THE THINGS. Going to see the tarantulas this weekend will probably fan the flames, and I'm now in a house where I could potentially add more... dangerous conditions.

 

[cold blood]

Great news! I can say experience doing this makes a monumental difference....most don't have collections large enough to see things like this regularly. I can say the first few I worked on didn't make it...learning experiences though that helped save others down the line. Having experienced hands on her probably saved her from becoming a learning experience instead of a success story.

Hope you gleaned some great removal tips to make you better prepared down the line should lightning strike twice.

Now get another t or three and spread the love a bit

 

[baconwrappedpikachu]

I got super lucky with the house call!! I didn't even know the university near me had an insect zoo and the coordinator dropped what she was doing to rush out to my house. She says she has 75 species of tarantula and has tons of experience helping with bad molts from all sorts of insects and arachnids! She encouraged me to go to the Insect Zoo and said she'd let me in for free, so I'm definitely going to oogle them this weekend for sure (and donate--she wouldn't take money for the house call! ).

And yes, I have had to have insane amounts of self-control.. I've only had the one tarantula all of these years! I had to stop visiting these boards because it made me want ALL THE THINGS. Going to see the tarantulas this weekend will probably fan the flames, and I'm now in a house where I could potentially add more... dangerous conditions.

Wow, what a great story! I'm so glad that things turned out okay.

Why do I have this nagging feeling that you're going to magically end up with some additional tarantulas after you visit your new friend at the bug zoo? I was doing well and keeping my collection small until I started getting free slings from a couple awesome new friends that I met through the T hobby. Seems we're all just a bunch of enablers. Anyways, yeah, you should definitely get some more tarantulas!

 

[Uial]

Amazing story. Thank you for sharing I'm so happy your T made it. E. campestratus are really rare in my country, and she looks like a beauty.

 

[Megan]

Wow, what a great story! I'm so glad that things turned out okay.

Why do I have this nagging feeling that you're going to magically end up with some additional tarantulas after you visit your new friend at the bug zoo? I was doing well and keeping my collection small until I started getting free slings from a couple awesome new friends that I met through the T hobby. Seems we're all just a bunch of enablers. Anyways, yeah, you should definitely get some more tarantulas!

I have a feeling you're right! Coming back to arachnoboards is also a reminder of how lovely this community is too--I spent so many hours here back when I was researching what tarantula to get. I will take a notebook with me to note the species I might be interested in...

Amazing story. Thank you for sharing I'm so happy your T made it. E. campestratus are really rare in my country, and she looks like a beauty.

You're welcome--I love that you all are interested in her!! I had a heck of a time finding an E. campestratus too once I decided that was the species I was most interested in--they aren't the most flashy but they sure are nice! I got lucky in that someone on the boards was willing to ship me one from Maryland--I still remember how scared I was taking her out of her shipping tube (I made a super dorky unboxing video at the time, ppffffttt).

 

[Rigor Mortis]

This is a great story! I'm so glad that you had access to someone who could help your T.

 

[viper69]

I'm really impressed w/this story. I love it!! I'm surprised how lucky you were to have someone local, what a surprise.

E. camp's are nice relatively docile (sometimes flicky), large Ts. Nice choice. Their pink is nice.

The few Ts I have had become a ball of legs never survived my attempts.

 

[aarachnid]

What a pleasant twist ending. I’m sad it happened, but it’s amazing to have made that connection! So happy for you for several reasons lol.

 

[Ungoliant]

@Megan How is your tarantula doing now?