Emergency: Help Needed!!!

[Telson]

Emergency: Help needed!!

Went to work with a smile thinking I'd come home to a freshly molted rosie, came home 4 hours later and she's still on her back barely having cracked the carapice. I CAREFULLY took her out and put her down on a clean surface and helped her shed the loosest parts of the old cuticle but am afraid of hurting her, should I continue or wait and pray?


Edit: tried to change the title of the thread since it's no longer an emergency, but still shows old title on thread list, so ignore the edit.

 

[arachnopunks]

Molting is a process that can take up to 24 hours to complete. Your moving of the spider while on its back trying to molt is not such a good idea. This can cause more harm than help. When we suspect a molt or happen to catch a molt in progress, we bump up the humidity a little. We do this by slightly overflowing the water dish. I have never lost a T to problematic molt by helping in only this way.

 

[Telson]

update:

She's moving, got her started and she seems to have some energy left thankfully. currently letting her work on freeing herself, and it looks promising. more as it progresses.... still want any advice please.

additional info:
Once they crack the carapace I've never had one take more than an hour to free itself. She's been making a web to lay in for about 3 days and was on her back this morning with the carapice cracked when I had to leave for work. When I got home her legs were caught up in the webbing she'd laid out and she was unable to push the old cuticle up and free of herself which was why I realised there was a problem and moved her. Normally I would agree that it is bad to move them in molt process though myself. thanks.

 

[Pixie]

How big is your tarantula???

I would strongly discourage any handling of your T as it is already a very stressful and weak moment for them that touching or moving them might do more damage. Make sure that the ambient humidity is up (make sure you do not spray anything directly onto your T) and let her do her thing.

When my b. smithi shed, she was on her back for 7 hours barely moving before anything happened. Then poof, in the following hour, she did the job.

Good luck,
Pixie

 

[Phillip]

As has been said moving one during a molt is not a good thing and it can take quite a while from start to finish. All you should do is raise the humidity if you have a concern about it being too dry but in truth the jury is still out on how needed that even is.

Being patient and letting them finish on their own is the best thing you can do for a molting T.

Phil

 

[Telson]

Wow

Someone says emergency and you guys all write in FAST! Thanks a ton!!

She seems to be doing ok now. I posted the "update" and went back to edit it and added a piece of info that is fairly relivant but already there had been responding posts.

Key issue was that she got her limbs tied up in her webbing that she laid out to molt on and was unable to push the old cuticle up and away any further. She was litereally stuck and needed help, I just didn't know how much to give so I gave minimal assistance and backed off as soon as she started working at freeing herself again.

My concern was that she might have been struggling for god knows how long with a old cuticle that was hung up and might have exhausted herself by this point.

She's almost all the way free now. thanks everyone for the fast responses.

 

[sunnymarcie]

It must be G.rosea molting season

My rosie "Fang" molted a few days ago.
It took about 6 hours from the flip.
I have heard of some T's taking up to 18 hours,
and now 24 was mentioned.

Does the size of the T make it take longer to molt?

 

[Telson]

in my experience...

I've never had a T bigger than about 5 or 6 inches, but the older they get and hence, the bigger, the longer it has always taken from seeing signs of pending molt, to the time they roll over and get to business, but the time difference in molting once they've flipped over and split the carapice has always been from 5 minutes for a sling to at most an hour for a sub or an adult.

My adult fem A. seemani molted last night and it took about 30-45 minutes from the time she cracked her carapice and actually started the process of shedding the old cuticle, which is about average in my experience for a T that size.

She was showing off a dark patch for well over a week before actually deciding to shed though.

My rosie is free now and lying on her back stretching and yawning. I expect it will be a little while before she is ready to roll over and get back on her feet. No leaking joints or obvious deformities noticed, but she's keeping herself pretty tucked in for the most part.

I'll post an update later to let you know how she progresses.

thanks again for the fast responses.

 

[Telson]

Rolled over!

Phwew!

She rolled over on her own and looks fine now.

 

[Lostkat]

Good, glad she's ok. For what it's worth I think you did the right thing. I know it's not advisable to move them during a moult but if she'd already popped her carapace and still not moved for a few hours then I'd be worried too. Mine normally lie around for hours on end and then suddenly pop the carapace off and leap out (well not literally )

Congratulations anyway

 

[Telson]

She got mobile very shortly after flipping over and promptly found her way back to the web she'd lain for the purpose and has been "napping" there ever since with only minimal movement.

I'm fairly certain that if I had not stepped in when I did she would have exhausted herself and died stuck in her old cuticle... Looking at it with a calm mind now, but I was indeed on the verge of panic when I discovered her in that situation.

I'll keep a close eye on her for a couple days, but looks like she's going to be fine.

 

[manville]

its better if you left it and let it do its own thing..

 

[Telson]

Re: Re: Emergency: Help Needed!!!

Originally posted by manville
its better if you left it and let it do its own thing..

As stated already, under normal conditions I would agree, but the tips of her legs were caught in the webbing and pinning her down under her own old cuticle and she was unable to push it off any further dispite having had hours (possible most of the night in addition to the 5 hours I was out of the house) to do so.

She is doing well now, and I strongly believe that had I not stepped in and done something she would now be dead. Had she been capable of resolving the situation on her own, unassisted, I'm sure she would have done so in the considerable amount of time she had before I got home from work.

Not to be obstinate, but what is you goal in posting a negative statement after the fact once things have been resolved and not so much as an explanation or reason to back up your opinion?

 

[Inuleki]

well... i understand the extenuating circumastances, and i hope i don't get put in that position with any of my guys/girls....

that would be nice if it was rosea molting season if such a thing exists... only have a little window to look at mine, she buried herself 3 months ago, and just sits there tormenting me... sigh

ya know, i'd really like to see her again, even if she is rather vicious... as a matter of fact, i see my cobalt more often
figure that one out...

anyways, got kinda sidetracked, sorry

-Joshua

 

[vulpina]

Hopefully everything goes well for the T. You definitely should not disturb them during a molt, let nature take it's course.

Andy

 

[manville]

Re: Re: Re: Emergency: Help Needed!!!

Its not negative if you think it is im sorry but i dont wish to argue about this..

 

[MrT]

If I thought one of my T's was having a problem while it was molting, I'd step in and do anything I could to help it along.
Its true that everybody says," don't touch or disturb a T during a molt, Yet I've moved a couple of mine that I thought didn't have enough room to molt, with no ill effects.

As care givers, I think we owe it to our T's, to do as we think best for them. Even if it doesn't always work out.

Is it better to do nothing and the T dies, or do something and the T dies?

Who better to make the call than the person sitting there with the T?

IMO,

Ernie

 

[manville]

I agree with you

 

[Telson]

It's a new day and she loks just fine.

I appriciate the input everyone. I'd just like to clarify for those that are telling me "don't touch a T when it's molting" that I'm not a newb to the hobby and I am fully aware that messing with a molting T under NORMAL conditions is a "VERY BAD THING TO DO" Normally I would never consider trying to assist a T in a molt, but I have been keeping NW T's for over 15 years and gone through a LOT of molts with MANY of my little critters and this was indeed a special circumstance. I do know when a T is having a REAL problem and when it is just taking time to get the job done.

Manville:
I was certainly not looking for an arguement with you, I was just confused at the way you wrote that post. It came across as though you were simply saying "You were wrong!", and if you think so, you certainly have a right to your own opinion, but I was simply put off by the way it was written without any explanation of why you think that, or any constructive input as to an alternative course of action. "Let her do her thing" was not an option at the time, as previously stated in more than one post, because she had clearly had several hours to do that and had proven unable without assistance of some kind due to a tangle that she could in no possible way free herself from.

For final clarification: She'd been spinning a molt web for 3 days, and the night previous to actually molting she had REALLY gone to work on it in earnest which told me the next morning she'd likely have finished her molt. When leaving for work the next morning, some 7 or so hours later, I saw she was on her back with a split caripace. In my 15+ years, I have NEVER had a T take longer than an hour to finish molting once that stage is reached. Upon my return 5 hours later she had not gained any progress and I saw that the tips of her legs were tangled and she would not be able to free herself, and realised she may well have been in this perdiciment most of the night in addition to the time I was at work...

I therefore checked for movement by blowing gently on her and got no response. Fearing exhaustion had taken it's toll on her I VERY GENTLY removed her and placed her on a clean surface and pulled the old cuticle away from her abdomen to at least clear her book lungs. At this point she began moving so I backed off and posted my thread for further advice, more or less hoping to confirm my inclination to let her take it from that point, which I did, and now she's fine.

 

[manville]

Im sorry Telson..i guess you are right then..I dont usually answer long..but next time i will support my sentence..