Female molting after laying.

[MingoArt]

Hello there.

I have a question regarding the possibility of females molting after laying eggs.

I have a few Honduran curly hairs, Tliltocatl albopilosus, all raised from slings by me. A male mated with a female last November (~2.5-3 years since I bought them as slings), and she laid an egg sack roughly in March of this year, the eggs never hatched and decomposed. She may have mated with the male again around June after gaining her weight back. Her abdomen became quite swollen after the mating, I assumed it was either more eggs or the diet. The male perished about a week ago from the making of this post. Strangely, today I found a fresh shed from her in the enclosure.

The male and female are not housed together, only for 1-2 week durations when I try to mate them.

So my questions are, how was it possible for the spider to lay eggs prior to their final molt? And does the fact that she wasn't in her final instar explain the infertile eggs?

Looking forward to y'all's opinions on this matter. Thanks.

Best regards,
M.

 

[ladyratri]

An adult female tarantula continues to molt periodically after she is sexually mature. Any stored sperm from prior mating attempts is discarded with the shed exuvia.

I don't know what may have happened that led to the bad sac, but if she was able to lay a sac at all, she's mature enough to have a fertile one. Now that she has molted, she would need to be paired again though.

 

[MingoArt]

An adult female tarantula continues to molt periodically after she is sexually mature. Any stored sperm from prior mating attempts is discarded with the shed exuvia.

I don't know what may have happened that led to the bad sac, but if she was able to lay a sac at all, she's mature enough to have a fertile one. Now that she has molted, she would need to be paired again though.

I see! Thank you for the information, I couldn't find much googling the subject the way I was phrasing it. The infertile part could be due to them being related? Since I bought them together as slings. Not sure how detrimental that is in arachnids.

 

[BoyFromLA]

I have a question regarding the possibility of females molting after laying eggs.

An adult female tarantula continues to molt periodically after she is sexually mature.

It is very possible for both male, and female tarantulas to continue to molt even after reaching their maturity. Although for matured males, it is highly likely be a death toll.

That being said, paired / matured females are very capable to molt before or after making an egg sac.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

When a male tarantula matures that is considered it's penultimate molt, meaning last molt to mature. However even though uncommon it's not exactly the last one.

I've had two mature males molt again, two different genus. One survived but lost it's right pedipalp and the other completely trapped in it's molt had to be euthanized.

Females that molt at old age have less percentage in surviving a molt process.

 

[FoxyGrandpa]

I see! Thank you for the information, I couldn't find much googling the subject the way I was phrasing it. The infertile part could be due to them being related? Since I bought them together as slings. Not sure how detrimental that is in arachnids.

So I'm not 100% sure, so someone correct me if I'm wrong; But I've had a similar discussion pertaining mating pairs from the same egg sac. It's to my understanding inbreeding in tarantulas has the same risks as any other creature. From the discussion I had plus what I've read they can still have genetic issues or have overall lower fitness, meaning biologically they have a lower ability to survive. What I've been told is they CAN have successful sacs however it's also common for inbred pairs to have unviable sacs.
Again, I'm not 100% sure though, so if I'm wrong someone please correct me.

From a biologists standpoint though, I would say that if they're from the same egg sac being paired together, that could potentially be the reason behind the bad sac that was laid.

 

[cold blood]

them being siblings likely had zero effect on the eggs viability....but i will say, mating siblings should always be avoided, and one should never pair brother and sister intentionally...for the good of the species within the hobby.

Sometimes sacs just go bad, its really that simple....anyone who has bred enough ts has had to deal with bad sacs...one bad egg within the sac can lead to the total devastation of the entire thing.

 

[MingoArt]

I see, it is my first time breeding spiders in general, I focus mainly on pythons, which isn't necessarily common for inbreeding because you'd typically want varied morphs to create more desirable morphs. So the breeder is likely to shop around from different breeders to get the ones desired.

I can see why it happens a lot more with spiders due to the "convenience" of buying a bunch at the same time.

But I will keep that in mind and spread out sling purchases in the future.

As for this female, I will shop around for sub-adult males, good thing she's got plenty of time left so there's no rush.

Speaking of which... I should get some new batches of GBBs and C. versicolor to mix in with my existing slings for the future.

Thanks for the info guys, really means a lot!

Sometimes sacs just go bad, its really that simple....anyone who has bred enough ts has had to deal with bad sacs...one bad egg within the sac can lead to the total devastation of the entire thing.
[/QUOTE]

About that, the sac was cut open around day 30, and the eggs were still "eggs" that appeared to have almost no development. When in theory there should be some development? They were put into an incubator with correct parameters but they eventually developed black spots and rotted away entirely at around day 50-60. I did try to put a few under a magnifier, and aside from some having a little speck within the eggs that were cloudy, they were pretty much clear on day 35-45.

I would assume the eggs were simply infertile, hence the lack of development in the eggs.

It was also the first time the female was laying, maybe the initial egg sacs are more likely to encounter those types of issues?

 

[viper69]

Peeps do mate siblings- is that wise from a genetic diversity standpoint No.

It should not be done.

 

[cold blood]

About that, the sac was cut open around day 30, and the eggs were still "eggs" that appeared to have almost no development. When in theory there should be some development?

there likely would have unless they were kept on the cool side....I have had good sacs that were still nondescript eggs at 30 days/

I would assume the eggs were simply infertile, hence the lack of development in the eggs.

you could be right for sure.

It was also the first time the female was laying, maybe the initial egg sacs are more likely to encounter those types of issues?

that hasnt been my experience, in fact, i always have the best luck with newly matured females as they really seem eager to drop sacs.....these are both from a female that's freshly matured before she was paired, and as usual, the sac was a great success....these are the last 2 sacs i opened.

pulchripes sac

• cold blood
• Sep 13, 2023
• 1

first instars

Albo

• cold blood
• Jun 5, 2023
• 2

Nicaraguan