Explain this molting behaviour please!

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

You could leave a prekilled outside more to stop you worrying than anything. Though if it's abdomen is very fat, I wouldn't bother.

I suspect it is in heavy premoult. If it was trying to moult but couldn't shed it's exuvia back when you first noticed, I personally think it would have already died by now.



Edit: you mention no movement today. Maybe take a photo at the same time over the next couple of days as you may pick up on subtle changes of position.

It is definitely moving positions.

so what was the flipping all about?

 

[Jess S]

It is definitely moving positions.

so what was the flipping all about?

I have no idea. My initial thought was it was on its back maybe webbing upside down to widen burrow for moulting later. But who knows the 'mind' of a tarantula lol

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Update: Everyday I find it in different positions. Weird, 2 weeks of on back, right side up....back and forth every day for hours. Now for the last week or two it's just hanging out in its burrow. I placed a pre-killed small cricket on the surface but I have to remove it as its been a couple of days.

Strange.

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Update: It never molted. Still alive. Still holed up in its burrow. I think its feeding because I leave tiny pre-killed crickets by the opening of the burrow (used to eat live before the strange behaviour) and it seems to nibble on some. No clue what happened/happening.

 

[8 legged]

Is the burrow open? My Pulchras went in their for Up to three month, but they always close it complete... So I so mit know what they' re doing inside. I think the only good Thing you could do is to give her rest for whatever she's up to.

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Sorry, should have mentioned. The burrow's closed. I put the pre-killed small cricket where the opening should be. I can see it inside the burrow because its up against the enclosure. It's a small sling.

 

[8 legged]

I would just leave her alone. If she is hungry she comes out by herself. If she is actually sick, there is usually nothing you can do about it anyway. Whenever I was too curious in the past, I usually made the situation worse instead of better!

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Still no molting. Still in its burrow. Not sure if its eating. Every few days I put a pre-killed small cricket by the burrow. No noticeable eating.

 

[Jess S]

One thing I never asked is when did it last moult? A 2" pulchra will go quite a lot of months before moulting again (dependant on temps and feeding). My one that's around the same size moulted 5 months ago and is kept on a warm shelf. I'm not expecting it to moult for quite a few more months.

Having said that as yours is sealed in and not very active, it does sound indicative of premoult

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Never molted in my care. Its a .75-1 inch sling. Its been a good couple of months that its sealed up like this. And if you saw my previous posts, it kept flipping on its back and several times over a good many days and never molted.

 

[Jess S]

Never molted in my care. Its a .75-1 inch sling. Its been a good couple of months that its sealed up like this. And if you saw my previous posts, it kept flipping on its back and several times over a good many days and never molted.

Sorry I do remember the beginning of the thread, just made a mistake on the size of the sling!

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Update: Buried for 7 months now! Never molted, doesn't eat.

 

[Jess S]

Update: Buried for 7 months now! Never molted, doesn't eat.

Have you considered opening up the burrow entrance and placing something like a meal worm with a very crushed head over the top of it? Something that'll twitch to alert the pulchra but not fall in and be alive to cause a problem.

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

Have you considered opening up the burrow entrance and placing something like a meal worm with a very crushed head over the top of it? Something that'll twitch to alert the pulchra but not fall in and be alive to cause a problem.

Will have to find the burrow....in other words.....excavation. I would have to order a pack of meal worms just for this 1 sling.......

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

Will have to find the burrow....in other words.....excavation. I would have to order a pack of meal worms just for this 1 sling.......

This is the most interesting thread I've read on this forum. Keep us updated. I can only guess he is fighting some disease or something, or just acting weird because he wants to lol.

 

[KaroKoenig]

On that topic, I suggest listening to this recent podcast by Tom Moran:

Power Outages and Burrowing Spiders That Won't Come Up to Eat (buzzsprout.com)

The part with the burrowing tarantulas starts at minute 17:45.

Some added information tho that topic is presented in the beginning of his next podcast , which you can listen to here:

Listener Question, Being Kind, and Reusing Substrate (buzzsprout.com)

 

[Jess S]

Will have to find the burrow....in other words.....excavation. I would have to order a pack of meal worms just for this 1 sling.......

If you can remember where it was, it's still there guaranteed. You'll find it when you start scooping the dirt , go millimetre by millimetre. Doesn't have to be mealworms, as long is it's appropriately sized and able to twitch for a bit after having the head crushed !!

 

[Jess S]

On that topic, I suggest listening to this recent podcast by Tom Moran:

Power Outages and Burrowing Spiders That Won't Come Up to Eat (buzzsprout.com)

The part with the burrowing tarantulas starts at minute 17:45.

Some added information tho that topic is presented in the beginning of his next podcast , which you can listen to here:

Listener Question, Being Kind, and Reusing Substrate (buzzsprout.com)

This is why I don't give more than 1-2 inches of substrate for fossorial slings, until the t has grown to a size where they have outgrown the enclosure and the burrow . It avoids these sorts of problems mentioned in the podcast.

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

This is why I don't give more than 1-2 inches of substrate for fossorial slings, until the t has grown to a size where they have outgrown the enclosure and the burrow . It avoids these sorts of problems mentioned in the podcast.

7 months later and I just caught it running back underground. It molted. 7 months no food for appx 1 cm sling! Madness. Well I least I was patient and didn't do something stupid during this time. Crazy. The other one at the same size never burrows or hides and molted out in the open.

P.S. The t had only about 1 inch of substrate.

 

[Jess S]

7 months later and I just caught it running back underground. It molted. 7 months no food for appx 1 cm sling! Madness. Well I least I was patient and didn't do something stupid during this time. Crazy. The other one at the same size never burrows or hides and molted out in the open.

P.S. The t had only about 1 inch of substrate.

That's crazy. Glad it all worked out though. My pulchra (granted it's around 2") is so fat it could easily go 7 months without food and still be in need of a diet lol