Epigastric furrow doesn’t look right?

[lucyb663]

I’m sure there’s not much I can do, but my B smithi’s epigastric furrow doesn’t look normal, right? Has anyone seen this before or am I worrying for nothing?
Molted for the second time with me three days ago and I caught her out and about this morning. The epigastric furrow did not look like that after her last molt.
Not the greatest quality picture, but she’s still hardening up and I don’t want to bother her too much.

 

[fcat]

This doesn't look good now but let's remain hopeful since she's not done hardening.

I don't see any obvious leaking so that's good. If there is though...you'd have to be careful with corn starch placement as to no occlude her book lungs.

Continue not disturbing her except to top of her water dish...cover her enclosure with a towel...I'd be doing everything I could to minimize movement until she hardens.

Got pictures of the rest of the enclosure? I'm looking for fall space, hazards, climbing opportunities/obstacles, the soil condition...It's strange to me to see a 3 day post molt brachy at this size this active let alone climbing a wall...

If all goes well, you will want to keep her abdomen on the lean side...give her extra time before her first meal and feed sparingly until she molts again....expect progress to be minimal and not linear...I've been nursing a wound on the book lungs for almost 2 years and at least 4 molts now

 

[viper69]

Looks like fresh tissue, as if the flap is hanging out

 

[lucyb663]

This doesn't look good now but let's remain hopeful since she's not done hardening.

I don't see any obvious leaking so that's good. If there is though...you'd have to be careful with corn starch placement as to no occlude her book lungs.

Continue not disturbing her except to top of her water dish...cover her enclosure with a towel...I'd be doing everything I could to minimize movement until she hardens.

Got pictures of the rest of the enclosure? I'm looking for fall space, hazards, climbing opportunities/obstacles, the soil condition...It's strange to me to see a 3 day post molt brachy at this size this active let alone climbing a wall...

If all goes well, you will want to keep her abdomen on the lean side...give her extra time before her first meal and feed sparingly until she molts again....expect progress to be minimal and not linear...I've been nursing a wound on the book lungs for almost 2 years and at least 4 molts now

Let me see if I can find an older picture of enclosure. My lighting is really bad and I don’t want to move the enclosure.
It’s a 9x7x6 (medium) tarantula crib, filled halfway with reptisoil, some leaf litter, cork bark hide and a couple of small, fake plants. Moist corner by the water dish, but dry everywhere else. I have our electric fireplace on so I’m thinking that’s why she is out on the side

Looks like fresh tissue, as if the flap is hanging out

Yeah, it’s definitely protruding. Hoping she just needs a little more time to harden up? It has been cold, but the coldest it usually gets inside is 65 and it doesn’t stay that low for more than an hour

 

[fcat]

Let me see if I can find an older picture of enclosure. My lighting is really bad and I don’t want to move the enclosure.
It’s a 9x7x6 (medium) tarantula crib, filled halfway with reptisoil, some leaf litter, cork bark hide and a couple of small, fake plants. Moist corner by the water dish, but dry everywhere else. I have our electric fireplace on so I’m thinking that’s why she is out on the side

That sounds reasonable. Personally I would remove everything but the hide and the water dish...after she has hardened.

You don't know that she didn't sustain an injury before molting and this is the "progress" but I would scrutinize the leaf litter...if you can't rule out the slightest sharp edge it needs to go. IN A FEW WEEKS when she is hardened. Not yelling at you just emphasizing based on my experience telling other people to wait

Edit to say, it's possible that she also has part of her uterus externus sticking out, in addition to something off about the tissue above it. The little smiley portion sticking out...that would not be a big deal...we call them "outies" and it can be transient/stimulated at any time. Make sure you do not involve that specific anatomical structure if you do need corn starch.

 

[NMTs]

You're right - something went wrong during the molt. Looks like that section of exoskeleton didn't develop completely. If it's not actively leaking, then hopefully she'll be able to make it to the next molt and it will correct. I would feed sparingly through this molt cycle, and the good news is that she appears to still be in pretty good condition even after molting, so won't need to be fed much anyway.

 

[lucyb663]

This doesn't look good now but let's remain hopeful since she's not done hardening.

I don't see any obvious leaking so that's good. If there is though...you'd have to be careful with corn starch placement as to no occlude her book lungs.

Continue not disturbing her except to top of her water dish...cover her enclosure with a towel...I'd be doing everything I could to minimize movement until she hardens.

Got pictures of the rest of the enclosure? I'm looking for fall space, hazards, climbing opportunities/obstacles, the soil condition...It's strange to me to see a 3 day post molt brachy at this size this active let alone climbing a wall...

If all goes well, you will want to keep her abdomen on the lean side...give her extra time before her first meal and feed sparingly until she molts again....expect progress to be minimal and not linear...I've been nursing a wound on the book lungs for almost 2 years and at least 4 molts now

That sounds reasonable. Personally I would remove everything but the hide and the water dish...after she has hardened.

You don't know that she didn't sustain an injury before molting and this is the "progress" but I would scrutinize the leaf litter...if you can't rule out the slightest sharp edge it needs to go. IN A FEW WEEKS when she is hardened. Not yelling at you just emphasizing based on my experience telling other people to wait

Edit to say, it's possible that she also has part of her uterus externus sticking out, in addition to something off about the tissue above it. The little smiley portion sticking out...that would not be a big deal...we call them "outies" and it can be transient/stimulated at any time. Make sure you do not involve that specific anatomical structure if you do need corn starch.

Here’s some not great pictures. I’ll definitely pull some of the clutter out once she’s hardened back up if you think that will help! The plants are all soft rubber/plastic or silk. The ones on the cork bark are glued to it, but I have a couple other pieces that aren’t decorated that I can swap out.
She does have a small entrance to the burrow on the wall side, but I’ve only ever seen her climb out that way with her back to the bark

 

[fcat]

Here’s some not great pictures. I’ll definitely pull some of the clutter out once she’s hardened back up if you think that will help! The plants are all soft rubber/plastic or silk. The ones on the cork bark are glued to it, but I have a couple other pieces that aren’t decorated that I can swap out.
She does have a small entrance to the burrow on the wall side, but I’ve only ever seen her climb out that way with her back to the bark
View attachment 489408

It's beautiful but I would remove that stuff when it's safe to, to discourage climbing. She's going to be hungry and looking for food like my girl

 

[lucyb663]

That sounds reasonable. Personally I would remove everything but the hide and the water dish...after she has hardened.

You don't know that she didn't sustain an injury before molting and this is the "progress" but I would scrutinize the leaf litter...if you can't rule out the slightest sharp edge it needs to go. IN A FEW WEEKS when she is hardened. Not yelling at you just emphasizing based on my experience telling other people to wait

Edit to say, it's possible that she also has part of her uterus externus sticking out, in addition to something off about the tissue above it. The little smiley portion sticking out...that would not be a big deal...we call them "outies" and it can be transient/stimulated at any time. Make sure you do not involve that specific anatomical structure if you do need corn starch.

Got it! And I appreciate the the help. I’ll have had her a year next month and she was my first t, and is my only one of a decent size. I didn’t notice any leaking but I’ll keep a vigilant eye on her and clear out any potential dangers once she’s hardened up!

You're right - something went wrong during the molt. Looks like that section of exoskeleton didn't develop completely. If it's not actively leaking, then hopefully she'll be able to make it to the next molt and it will correct. I would feed sparingly through this molt cycle, and the good news is that she appears to still be in pretty good condition even after molting, so won't need to be fed much anyway.

I can’t see anything that looks wet right now, but I will definitely keep an eye on her in case she does start leaking or I notice anything weird around the enclosure. She’s never been a big eater, so she should be just fine with minimal feedings.
Thank you so much for the advice. Fingers crossed it’s nothing major and she’ll get through it.

It's beautiful but I would remove that stuff when it's safe to, to discourage climbing. She's going to be hungry and looking for food like my girl

Thank you for all your help!

 

[lucyb663]

Just an update:
She was out again today, but won’t venture far from her corkbark. I dropped some water through one of the ventilation holes and she’s drinking off the top of her corkbark. So I guess that’s a good sign so far?
I’ll update again next time I get a look at her underside to see if it looks any different down there

 

[TheraMygale]

If mouth part is intact, and defecation takes place, in time, then the most important parts are functioning.

of course, inside could be different. Keep an eye on how it feeds. If its actualy sucking the food. If it just always “chomps” on it but never gets around to actualy getting nutrients, and becomes obsessed with the water bowl, something else might be going on internaly.

it could just be the breeding organs that are affected, which arent of any use at this point.

with luck, and extra vigilant care on you part (no overfeeding and constant water being made available), it should want to molt again quicker then later. In order to get back to “normal”.

I dont think that is going to harden at this point, but who knows. These creatures can surprise us. Keep us posted. This is a learning opportunity.

 

[lucyb663]

If mouth part is intact, and defecation takes place, in time, then the most important parts are functioning.

of course, inside could be different. Keep an eye on how it feeds. If its actualy sucking the food. If it just always “chomps” on it but never gets around to actualy getting nutrients, and becomes obsessed with the water bowl, something else might be going on internaly.

it could just be the breeding organs that are affected, which arent of any use at this point.

with luck, and extra vigilant care on you part (no overfeeding and constant water being made available), it should want to molt again quicker then later. In order to get back to “normal”.

I dont think that is going to harden at this point, but who knows. These creatures can surprise us. Keep us posted. This is a learning opportunity.

Yeah I got another peek at her today, 8 days post-molt. No changes to the area.
I’m going to give her at least another week before attempting to feed. She’s acting normal as far as I can tell.
I haven’t been able to get the molt out yet, but if anything looks weird on it, then I’ll definitely share pictures!

 

[TheraMygale]

Yeah I got another peek at her today, 8 days post-molt. No changes to the area.
I’m going to give her at least another week before attempting to feed. She’s acting normal as far as I can tell.
I haven’t been able to get the molt out yet, but if anything looks weird on it, then I’ll definitely share pictures!
View attachment 489780

it would have hardened by now. It might harden, or in other terms, scar. Dry up but not normaly.

atleast its not important place like mouth and anus. Thats harder to get over.

i really hope it molts again and refreshes. And i appreciate you sharing this with us. It can happen to anyone. Its sad, of course, because we dont know how the tarantula experiences this. But if they get over losing legs, im sure it can get over losing this.

we dont know how they experience pain. It is certainly different then us. And since the genitals dont need to work to live, it might not even feel it. But it might feel the urge to “fix itself”. Imagine if we could do that!

its next molt will tell us more. And thats science right there. We need youre contributions.

i encourage you to create a thread on this situation, and document it. It could be here of course. I will be watching this and taking notes.

not every bad thing has a bad ending. This is going to have purpose now and in the future. Everyone that goes through this will come here to learn about it.

 

[lucyb663]

it would have hardened by now. It might harden, or in other terms, scar. Dry up but not normaly.

atleast its not important place like mouth and anus. Thats harder to get over.

i really hope it molts again and refreshes. And i appreciate you sharing this with us. It can happen to anyone. Its sad, of course, because we dont know how the tarantula experiences this. But if they get over losing legs, im sure it can get over losing this.

we dont know how they experience pain. It is certainly different then us. And since the genitals dont need to work to live, it might not even feel it. But it might feel the urge to “fix itself”. Imagine if we could do that!

its next molt will tell us more. And thats science right there. We need youre contributions.

i encourage you to create a thread on this situation, and document it. It could be here of course. I will be watching this and taking notes.

not every bad thing has a bad ending. This is going to have purpose now and in the future. Everyone that goes through this will come here to learn about it.

I’ll definitely keep updating here as time goes on and if I notice anything else “weird” with her.
Thank you so much!

 

[TheraMygale]

I’ll definitely keep updating here as time goes on and if I notice anything else “weird” with her.
Thank you so much!

no, Thank You. This is a very important contribution. Its time to get that camera out

 

[lucyb663]

She tossed the molt out today. Here are some (not great quality) pictures of it.
the epigastric furrow area of the molt is shiny, dark brown. I don’t know the right word for it, but where the abdomen meets the thorax, there is like a little knobby thing sticking out.
I’ll see if I can find a macro lens to borrow to take a better quality picture

 

[TheraMygale]

The molt definitely looks different, to me, then a regular molt.

as if something was wrong before in the first place.

perhaps its in the process of fixing it, or just disabled.

 

[lucyb663]

The molt definitely looks different, to me, then a regular molt.

as if something was wrong before in the first place.

perhaps its in the process of fixing it, or just disabled.

It definitely resembles a scab. I guess it’s a good thing that came off with the molt and didn’t cause any tearing. The area still seems dry and clean!

 

[TheraMygale]

It definitely resembles a scab. I guess it’s a good thing that came off with the molt and didn’t cause any tearing. The area still seems dry and clean!

yeah, scab like. And its so dark too. I have been looking at molted skins for the last half hour and really have not come across anything like this yet.

keep that if you can. Could be helpful. Its very curious. Id definitely be looking at that in some kind of microscope.

do you have old photos of ventral shots? Maybe clues to be found.

 

[A guy]

If it continues to eat, it can molt. If it can molt, it'll be fine