Mastigoproctus giganteus--molting and awakening questions

Aquarimax

Arachnoprince
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I have a couple of young, CB vinegaroons (Mastigoproctus giganteus) that I have had since October. They were very active and good eaters until sometime in December, when they hunkered down into the deep substrate to hibernate, as they are supposed to. Now, one is starting to be active, although I am not sure whether it has molted or not. I have fed it a couple of times, and I think it is eating, as it looked quite a bit more rotund after I added a cricket, The other has a burrow up against the side of the enclosure, so it is clearly visible. It is really quite swollen, as if it is preparing to molt, but it has been like that for weeks. I put its enclosure in a box and surrounded the burrow area with paper to help keep it dark. Should I be concerned, or just wait and let nature take its course?
 

pannaking22

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I'd just wait and see what happens. Sometimes you can have early risers that wake up and become active much sooner than the rest. I'm sure the one you can see will molt eventually when it feels it's ready. If you don't see it in the next month or so and it still hasn't molted then maybe a cause for a little concern, but even then I'd just give it another month.
 

Aquarimax

Arachnoprince
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I'd just wait and see what happens. Sometimes you can have early risers that wake up and become active much sooner than the rest. I'm sure the one you can see will molt eventually when it feels it's ready. If you don't see it in the next month or so and it still hasn't molted then maybe a cause for a little concern, but even then I'd just give it another month.
Thanks! I was mainly concerned that they
might not be eating or hydrating sufficiently, but to sounds like they are pretty resilient when it comes to such things. Glad to hear it!
 

pannaking22

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The big thing would probably be to make sure they still have a decent amount of humidity in the enclosure, but they can go for months without eating and not be any worse for wear.
 

Aquarimax

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The big thing would probably be to make sure they still have a decent amount of humidity in the enclosure, but they can go for months without eating and not be any worse for wear.
Good to know. They're probably ok with regards to humidity. I use an approximately 50/50 cocofiber/plays and mix, and I add water a couple of times a week or as needed to keep it somewhat moist (at least under the surface) so that they can burrow properly.
 

InvertsandOi

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Good to know. They're probably ok with regards to humidity. I use an approximately 50/50 cocofiber/plays and mix, and I add water a couple of times a week or as needed to keep it somewhat moist (at least under the surface) so that they can burrow properly.
Coco fiber and play sand, huh? I'm glad you specified which kind of sand (or I'm assuming you did before autocorrect intervened). I'm getting one of these next week and I wanted to give it a good burrowing substrate. It seems like everyone says 'Coco fiber and sand', but never specifies what kind of sand. Play sand is the cheapest, and I have to buy some anyway, so I was hoping it would be sufficient.
 

Aquarimax

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Coco fiber and play sand, huh? I'm glad you specified which kind of sand (or I'm assuming you did before autocorrect intervened). I'm getting one of these next week and I wanted to give it a good burrowing substrate. It seems like everyone says 'Coco fiber and sand', but never specifies what kind of sand. Play sand is the cheapest, and I have to buy some anyway, so I was hoping it would be sufficient.
Ack! Curse the autocorrect function! :) I did use play sand, but I rinsed it very well beforehand...it was pretty dirty. When somewhat moist, the mix of play sand and cocofiber holds burrows very well.
 

Ranitomeya

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If they molted, you would definitely know. They do not molt many times, so they increase in size rather impressively with each molt.
 
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