Case of the missing exuvia

[Matttoadman]

One of my subadult female Cyriopagopus sp. minax molted two weeks ago. I could see the exuvia at the bottom of her burrow in a heap. She even crapped on it lol. Now it has completely vanished. There is a nice colony of local Ky springtails in with it but surely they would not have eaten all of it? Could she have drug it away and buried it? I am curious but no desire to rehouse her to find out lol.

 

[JoshDM020]

I believe i saw somewhere else that juuuust occasionally, they EAT them? I may be way wrong, but im pretty sure I've seen that on another thread

 

[Kendricks]

I believe i saw somewhere else that juuuust occasionally, they EAT them? I may be way wrong, but im pretty sure I've seen that on another thread

That's more or less an urban legend in this hobby. They don't eat their exuvia, however, people observed them "doing" something with it and from what I gathered, it might have been getting some moisture out if it.

 

[JoshDM020]

That's more or less an urban legend in this hobby. They don't eat their exuvia, however, people observed them "doing" something with it and from what I gathered, it might have been getting some moisture out if it.

This is the new thing i learned today. Thank you!

 

[EulersK]

They can't eat their exuvia

Fixed

Almost universally, spiders are wholly unable to eat anything but liquids. There's a reason we call it a sucking stomach. They do occasionally munch on their exuvia, and like you said, that's to take in some of the fluids that were left behind. Waste not, want not!

 

[Venom1080]

most like just stuffed it into the side of the burrow somewhere. they dont eat them, but sometimes smash them into little pieces that are impossible to sex.

 

[Kendricks]

Fixed

Well they don't because they can't, sooo...

 

[Ungoliant]

My Dolichothele diamantinensis hid his exuviae in the walls of his dirt cave. It was hidden so well that I was beginning to doubt that he had really molted. Then I found the carapace on the ground.

I'm pretty sure he was trying to keep me from learning that he was male, since I was hoping to sex him from the exuviae.

 

[Matttoadman]

Yeah I was hoping to exam it to perhaps I.d. Her species.

 

[viper69]

Yeah she might have drugged it like the OP mentioned

 

[Chris LXXIX]

No one can give a proper reply to this thread title without of course a magnifying glass, a pipe full with class A tobacco, a Sherlock dress and a disillusioned/romantic colonial Empire mentality u_u

Watch out for false prophets

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I believe i saw somewhere else that juuuust occasionally, they EAT them?

Yup but only if you upload at max. volume 'It - Pennywise theme song'

I may be way wrong, but im pretty sure I've seen that on another thread

Joking aside, of course not. But I've saw a couple of P.cambridgei literally sort of "fight" with their molts during years, a fun to watch

 

[Spidermolt]

Every cyriopagopus and chilobrachys I ever had takes every molt ever and shredded it to a thousand pieces from walking all over it and/or pulling it out of their burrow. The most intact piece I ever found was part of a leg from a C. Lividum

 

[Nightstalker47]

[/QUOTE]Joking aside, of course not. But I've saw a couple of P.cambridgei literally sort of "fight" with their molts during years, a fun to watch [/QUOTE]

Yeah I see my Ts doing this and I always get a kick out of it, some times when I go down to my T room they can be seen striking their old molts, having a territorial dispute with themselves lol! I even saw one of my difficilis slings strike her molt only to get her claws stuck to it and start freaking out, silly creatures haha!

 

[grayzone]

A lot of spiders tend to drain their exuviae of fluids, shred/mangle them, and turn their dried out pieces into decoration haha. If you look closely, you will surely find pieces of the olf molt everywhere in the substrate and (likely) the burrows your sp. "Minax" has created