Jumping Spider Bad Molt Help

[chibicricket]

I recently just got a phidippus regius sub adult female a couple weeks ago. She built a nest almost immediately, so I just left her alone, figured she was getting ready to molt. My home office is the same room I keep all my animals in and I was lucky to catch her mid molt, and instead of staying in her nest and kicking the molt out, she did the opposite, and fell curled up. I immediately scooped her out and put her on my desk, she'll move every so often so I know she's still alive, and she seems to be getting fuzzier as time progresses. But this is a first for me, I'm not sure what to do. Just keep watching her until she's moving around enough to put her back into her enclosure?

 

[chibicricket]

She's OK! That was pretty panic induced. It's been a couple hours now and she's been doing all her grooming and is acting like a normal jumping spider. I really hope that doesn't happen again! I have 9 spiders, never seen one try to molt right outside their nest before. I'm just glad I caught her in time! Otherwise I probably would've come back to a curled up dead spider.

 

[Nicole C G]

Glad it worked out! She probably just fell out while she was still regaining control of herself after molting. It happens some times. Next time, I would recommend not moving them, because they are extremely fragile during and after molt. I understand it can be tempting to swoop in and try to “save” them, but most of the time it’s better to just leave them be and ask us what to do.