First molt of my little wolf spider!

[spoper]

I found him in mid-August and he finally molted today! Unfortunately it was so fast I missed it, but caught him sitting on top of the molt. I've noticed that lately his colour became a bit darker, and was suspecting he'll likely molt anytime soon. Is this normal or did I maybe just imagine this? Are there any signs that a molt is imminent?

One of the pics of the molt features a ruler with millimeters for scale. He's still tiny, but I'm ecstatic! Definitely keeping the molt, and I'm excited to see him grow.

 

[ladyratri]

I don't know anything about wolf spiders, but darkening before a molt is definitely a thing for tarantulas:


That's my decidedly pre-molt G. pulchra making a sudden color change this week.

I believe it has to do with seeing the new exoskeleton forming beneath the old one.

Your little spood is adorable

 

[jbooth]

Yeah not so much the darkening, but the fading of crisp colors, and sluggishness, fat and shiny, and the molt mat on the side. Refusal of food if they are huge or molting within hours, otherwise they'll usually keep eating too.

 

[Tentacle Toast]

Hahaha, yep...if they're anything like Ts, that darkening is a sure sign a molt is coming...

 

[spoper]

Unfortunately I do not have a very recent pre-molt picture where the colour difference is noticable due to different lighting conditions but yeah I definitely thought he changed colour. I gave him prey today which he did not eat even after molting. I assume he needs some time and that he's tired from molting - how long do they take to get back to normal behaviour?

 

[jbooth]

The fangs have to harden up like anything else before they can eat, similar time frame to tarantulas, few hours for a tiny sling, up to a week for a 3+" H. carolinensis.

 

[spoper]

Look at those boxing gloves! I think it might turn out to be male but might be too early to tell. Definitely gotten a darker shade of brown post-molt, and the pattern on its back is also sharper.

 

[jbooth]

Definitely male. Possibly mature. Sometimes they get big and shiny after penultimate molt (second to last) depending on the species. Some are very noticeable, some not.

 

[spoper]

Mature as in "ready to reproduce" or as in "won't grow anymore"? If the latter, he seems to small, no? He's about 1 cm long (legspan) or 0.3 inches!

 

[jbooth]

Mature as in "ready to reproduce" or as in "won't grow anymore"? If the latter, he seems to small, no? He's about 1 cm long (legspan) or 0.3 inches!

Both, they don't molt any more after maturity. Perhaps a case of tiny male lol. Not a huge species anyhow, but males are often smaller and sometimes way smaller than females. It may have one molt left if the pedipalps were completely indistinguishable from female before this.

 

[spoper]

Not sure how indistinguishable it was before, but here are some pics, on some it's a bit harder to make out, perhaps the last two are best.

 

[aaarg]

looks mature now. many wolf spiders are small, genera like Pardosa and Pirata

 

[spoper]

Aww I was hoping he'd grow bigger, but it is what it is! (It'd make feeding him a bit easier. Currently his favourite meal is mealmoths but it's too cold for those now. He wont touch worms and flies even if they're smaller than mealmoths).

He's a curious little fella, and I really enjoy observing him! I ended up ordering a smaller enclosure for him and I'll be scouting for a bigger specimen come Spring! I know we have bigger wolf spiders here, I spotted a female with slings on her back that had a leg span of 5-6cm (1.9-2.3 in).