Mature Male G. rosea molted

[CodeWilster]

After already being mature for over 2 years I found this boy freshly molted. Always very interesting...

 

[moose35]

good stuff...is he fully intact?


moose

 

[CodeWilster]

He survived the molt beautifully, however his palps are either shriveled or partially absent (parts probably got stuck in the exuvium). It's difficult to tell, I'll get a closer look when he hardens up some more.

 

[micheldied]

awesomely cool.
read that rosea males are the only ones that molt after becoming mature.

 

[lilmoonrabbit]

he looks like he's trying to immitate an arboreal with that stance, lol. Looks almost pokie-ish

Congrats on the successful MM molt. That's really cool.

 

[Roski]

you go, boy! beat them odds! you must have been at least a little sad when he went through his ultimate molt, two years later... surprise!

 

[Moltar]

Awesome! I've heard of that acouple of times with G. rosea, but no other species. Anybody know of a succesful post-ultimate molt from something other than a rosie?

Also, how was his behavior in the months preceeding this molt? Usually MM's seem to run out of steam, lose interest in feeding, stuff like that. Was this not the case with yours?

 

[Jackuul]

Another candidate for Tarantula Jesus? Time will tell.

 

[biomarine2000]

Very cool. That gives my girlfriend hope that her MM rosea of almost 2 years has a fighting chance.

 

[BlackCat]

Makes me sad that mine didn't make it, but congrats, that is a big beautiful male rosie!

 

[Spyder 1.0]

This is the second post MM molt i've seen on AB.

Awesome!

 

[xhexdx]

awesomely cool.
read that rosea males are the only ones that molt after becoming mature.

Awesome! I've heard of that acouple of times with G. rosea, but no other species. Anybody know of a succesful post-ultimate molt from something other than a rosie?

I had a B. vagans do it and survive another several months. There were no complications with his molt.

 

[CodeWilster]

Also, how was his behavior in the months preceeding this molt? Usually MM's seem to run out of steam, lose interest in feeding, stuff like that. Was this not the case with yours?

When he first matured a couple years ago I bred him with my female twice about a month or two later (she did produce) then I've had him in anything from a small deli cup to the KK he is in now. He would on and off drink water and eat, but most of the time he was the typical "pet rock" rosies are. There were times he wanted nothing to do with food, then spontaneously he would eat several crickets or a roach, etc. I think within the past few months I did catch him drinking water frequently but no interest in food. He webbed a lot too which was abnormal for him (I swear he made a sperm web a few weeks before the molt). The molt was a total suprise. By the time I noticed him he was already done with it.

This spider is super special to me for several reasons. I had a rosie when I was little but this was the very first tarantula I bought before my big bang of an official personal tarantula hobby/collection. It was also the first male I had mature and end up to be a true 'father' within a few months. As someone mentioned, yes it is very large. I have a picture somewhere of him next to a ruler and I believe he appears to be about 5". What's neat is I am sure you guys are familiar with that sudden dramatic size increase (especially in the legs) that males experience with that maturity molt, and he must have gone through this again because at first glance he seems to have gained a lot of size (again, primarily leg length). I'll have to check him out more closely later. I'm letting him harden up at the moment as the molt was only a couple days ago.

Thanks for all of the replies!

 

[WARPIG]

Awesome! I've heard of that acouple of times with G. rosea, but no other species. Anybody know of a succesful post-ultimate molt from something other than a rosie?

Also, how was his behavior in the months preceeding this molt? Usually MM's seem to run out of steam, lose interest in feeding, stuff like that. Was this not the case with yours?

I received a MM A metallica who molted shortly after he arrived much to my surprise.

He lost a significant amount of his body size, one palp and the tip of the other. Boy was I shocked, he was freshly matured.

Post molt

Pre-molt

Never saw anything like this. Lil bugger continues to make sperm webs like its going out of style.

PIG-

 

[micheldied]

robc's blondi molted after maturing as well right?

 

[Jackuul]

What would be cool is if the male molted a second time, a post-post-ultimate molt.

Any male that does that is instantly a candidate for my Registry of Tarantula Jesuses/Highlanders. There can be only one!

Keep us updated on his behavior, eating, and general well being - and also pay close attention to his joints in case they get leaky or something (I have read, although I have not the link, that males that do make it past the Ultimate Molt sometimes start leaking from their joints - although again, I could be imagining things in my hyper-insomniatic state).

 

[ZergFront]

awesomely cool.
read that rosea males are the only ones that molt after becoming mature.

In the Tarantula Keeper's Guide, they talk about two Aphonopelma MMs that survived their postultimate molt but sadly became impotent after the molting proccess had damaged their palps. They have a theory that maybe if a keeper was aware early on to an upcoming molt that they could dip their bulbs into a glycerin solution to help the tarantula ease out of the old palps without getting caught in the old skin. I have not heard of a hobbyist doing this yet. Most mature males tend to run themselves out before then..

 

[CodeWilster]

UPDATE: sperm web! lol

Wow he made a sperm web! lol (resting on it in the pics) This guy has been doing extremely well. I have taken some much closer looks and have noticed that his tibial spurs have gained some significant size. His color is much more vibrant too. Here are some pics.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures, my camera broke so I only have a cheap point and shoot at the moment...

Appetite is wonderful too, he's eating an adult male dubia here.

 

[bholmes]

Wow his legs are absolutely huge.

 

[Bill S]

They have a theory that maybe if a keeper was aware early on to an upcoming molt that they could dip their bulbs into a glycerin solution to help the tarantula ease out of the old palps without getting caught in the old skin...

The glycerin would lubricate the OUTSIDE of the old exoskeleton, not the inside, where the problem would be. Also, the problem with pulling the new pedipalps out of the old exoskeleton is a mechanical one, not a matter of lubrication. It's one of pulling a large bulb through a small hole.

I do wonder, though, if a MM had to autotomize palps and hooks a while prior to a molt if he'd regrow them.