Can adult female P. metallica molt again six months after its last molt?

[MathiasVG]

20170629203544

• MathiasVG
• Jun 29, 2017
• 2

The lighter colored one when received, found favor with the new hide within hours.

20170629203623

• MathiasVG
• Jun 29, 2017
• 2

Dorsal shot of the darker colored one when received.

20170629203643

• MathiasVG
• Jun 29, 2017

Ventral shot of the darker colored one when received.

20170629203752

• MathiasVG
• Jun 29, 2017

The darker colored one found the new hide after a day.

20170629203813

• MathiasVG
• Jun 29, 2017

The darker colored one got out of the hide, webed a cradle and molted the second day.

Days ago, I bought two adult female P. metallicas. The post advertised two possibly gravid female P. metallicas. I have been looking for subadult/adult female P. metallicas so I contacted the seller and asked him info about these two tarantulas. He told me that BOTH of the two P. metallicas:
1. were captive bred
2. were between 5" and 6"
3. were about 5 years old
4. molted late Jan or early Feb 2017
5. mated late Apr or early May 2017 and successful insertion was observed in both

I originally was planning to buy some subadult or young adult (2 to 3 years old) females to breed. But, if they were possibly gravid, then why not, since I was planning to breed P. metallica anyway. They were worth a shot. When I received those two beauties, I was really happy as their abdomens were huge as shown in the pictures above. The lighter colored one (the one in the first picture, just about 5") found favor with the new hide within hours but sealed both entrances of the hollow tree branch the second day. The darker colored one (the one in the rest of the pictures, about 5.5") found the new hide after a day but only stayed in it for several hours. Then she came out, made a web cradle and molted... I contacted the seller. He was surprised at first. Then he said that it was possible since they had been well fed prior to and after breeding, and they had been kept in a pretty hot room. But, can an adult female really molt half a year before due time merely due to the abundance of food and high temperature? Also, shouldn't heave feeding and high temperature be contributing factors to the development of the eggs privided there was a successful mating? I don't mind much that this one is no longer gravid or might not be gravid in the first place since I can now just wait for a month then try to pair her up with my mature male. But I do worry if the info the seller gave on these two tarantulas is all true, especially their age. Could they both be 5 years old? Does a light color suggest a young age whereas a dark color an old one? After molting, the blue she is showing is just as deep as it was before the molt. So, what do you guys think? Has anyone experienced anything like this in P. metallica or in any other adult female tarantulas? Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,
Mathias

 

[grayzone]

Dude spiders can molt when they want.
I have a diversipes that molted a month or so ago and ive been pairing her. About a week into cohabbing she molted again (within 2 months max from previous molt)

 

[cold blood]

Yes, its certainly possible...in fact, it happens most frequently with females that have been paired.

 

[grayzone]

Ive been told by lots of experienced breeders this is fairly common. Pairing can triggure a molt.. possibly to increase fertility rate?
I would suggest lining up another MM and get started

 

[MathiasVG]

Thank you very much for your replies, guys! You've put my mind at ease. And thank you for the info! You learn something new everyday!

 

[KezyGLA]

Yes its possible. This is why gravid females will often molt out.

Also, I find rehousing specimens sometimes seems to push them to moult. I dont know why this is, but I have experienced it a handful of times.

I think time of year plays a part in moults too for sure, with an influx in summer.

 

[spotropaicsav]

I think time of year plays a part in moults too for sure, with an influx in summer.

I appreciate you mentioning this, I have suspected this with my Ts

 

[mconnachan]

Yes of course it can, there's no definitive time scale as to when your P. metallica will or won't molt, it seems that this time of year, (summer) has a lot to do with it, feeding, heat, humidity, all play a role as to when your spider will or won't molt. I have noticed in the thread "Who molted today" has become extremely active recently, as you can see for yourself on the search option. Hope all goes well with the next pairing, good luck.

 

[MathiasVG]

Yes its possible. This is why gravid females will often molt out.

Also, I find rehousing specimens sometimes seems to push them to moult. I dont know why this is, but I have experienced it a handful of times.

I think time of year plays a part in moults too for sure, with an influx in summer.

I suspected it could be the rehousing. Thanks! And thank you all for your replies!

 

[Trenor]

Days ago, I bought two adult female P. metallicas. The post advertised two possibly gravid female P. metallicas.

This seems to be a trend lately on sale posts (especially on FB). I've seen some people pricing them for a lot more when they have supposedly been mated. Personally, unless it was with someone I knew really well, I wouldn't pay more for these "Mated" Ts than I would for them normally. It's just way to easy to say they were mated but hey sometimes they molt out. Which while true leaves you with no way to verify they had ever been mated. Given that, it would be hard for me to pay more regardless if they had been or not. Especially on high dollar species like P.metallicas where I see this most often.

 

[JoshDM020]

Especially on high dollar species like P.metallicas

Thats kinda what i was thinking... sure you could pump the price for one spider, but why/how, unless there was some drastic thing happening in your life, would/could you pass up EVEN more money for more spiders if you're a breeder/seller? As a scam victim, this sounds like a trap. Thanks for pointing this out.

 

[grayzone]

I've seen some people pricing them for a lot more when they have supposedly been mated. Personally, unless it was with someone I knew really well, I wouldn't pay more for these "Mated" Ts than I would for them normally. It's just way to easy to say they were mated but hey sometimes they molt out. Which while true leaves you with no way to verify they had ever been mated. Given that, it would be hard for me to pay more regardless if they had been or not.

exactly!
Even if they were same price as others on the market, them being "paired/possibly gravid" really gets peoples attention.

I have a hard time believing people go through the time and trouble to pair sp like Pmet just to sell them mid gestation.
I know life happens, but ive seen it a lot too.


Id never pay more because even if its been paired 100x it does not mean shes gravid or will produce.

 

[Andrea82]

This seems to be a trend lately on sale posts (especially on FB). I've seen some people pricing them for a lot more when they have supposedly been mated. Personally, unless it was with someone I knew really well, I wouldn't pay more for these "Mated" Ts than I would for them normally. It's just way to easy to say they were mated but hey sometimes they molt out. Which while true leaves you with no way to verify they had ever been mated. Given that, it would be hard for me to pay more regardless if they had been or not. Especially on high dollar species like P.metallicas where I see this most often.

Exactly. It sounds a little like the other trick breeders sometimes pull; selling a 'pair' of a species, leading people to believe they can mate that pair later on. Which never happens because the male matures way before the female....
Blegh. Stupid parlour tricks.

 

[mconnachan]

@MathiasVG , your P. met's are beautiful, gravid or not, this seems to be a tricky subject as you can only take the sellers word, as fact - hence the reasons people have posted why they feel the way they do. Obviously after a molt there is no way of telling whether the MF was gravid at all, I would be wary of any advertisement stating "gravid female" in future, I know it's not going to help now, but chin up, let's hope the seller was honest and your other P.met is gravid. Good luck pal.

 

[MathiasVG]

@MathiasVG , your P. met's are beautiful, gravid or not, this seems to be a tricky subject as you can only take the sellers word, as fact - hence the reasons people have posted why they feel the way they do. Obviously after a molt there is no way of telling whether the MF was gravid at all, I would be wary of any advertisement stating "gravid female" in future, I know it's not going to help now, but chin up, let's hope the seller was honest and your other P.met is gravid. Good luck pal.

Thanks!