molt...I think

[gilbert43]

Hi, I'm new here and have a question/problem. I have a Chilean Rose and we have had her for about 5 years now and she has only had one molt so far. Anyway, I came home last night to find her upside down in her water dish (didn't have a lot of water in it). Stupid me thought she was dead, so I put my hand in to find out if she was alive. After which I realized that I could kill her by doing that. So, I realized that she was getting ready to molt if I hadn't killed her by doing that. So, I went to bed and figured that by the time I woke up in the morning she would a new spider... wrong. She is still there on her back moving her legs around every little bit. The last time she molted we didn't know it until it was all said and done, but I'm really stressing this now because I'm afraid she will die. She is my husbands and he is in the navy out to sea right now and I don't want to be the bearer of bad news for him. I did spray the cage a bit to make sure there was enough humidity for her. So, what do y'all think? Is she ok? How long will it take for this process to be done? Is there anything I need to do for her, or just leave her be? How will I know if she does die? I've heard that they don't die on there backs, but what if they are already there and they die? Anyway, thanks in advance for any help and support.
Krista

 

[Nerri1029]

How much did you disturb her?

Just be patient.

you'll be surprised

Good Luck and welcome

 

[DrAce]

Breath in...

Now exhale...

You'll be fine. The Spider will be too.

It sounds, to me, like a moult. It'll come when she's ready.

If you're lucky, you will get to watch.

These things can go on for hours.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I did spray the cage a bit to make sure there was enough humidity for her.

Don't do this again, it DOESN'T help, and rosies hate being wet or in a damp environment--they'll cling to the walls for weeks if they so much as get a toe wet. All that did was stress her out and upset her.

Anyway, big spiders can take a LONG time. I wouldn't worry until it's been at least 24 hours.

 

[gilbert43]

What if she is still in the same position and still doing the same things that I had stated before? I came home just a bit ago and she still is in her water dish on her back and her carapice hasn't even come off yet. I'm just really worried about her.

 

[DrAce]

Maybe she's shy...

Seriously, just leave her.

There's not much you can do if she's in trouble anyway, not that you should be still worrying.

 

[gilbert43]

still the same

Is it possible that she will stay like this for a long time until she is ready to molt? As of today it has been 4 days that she has been like this. I'm trying not to worry about her because I know she is still alive, I'm just concerned about what is going on.

 

[Aurelia]

don't bother her, like everyone else said she is big and it's a little harder for her to get out of her old exo. she knows what she's doing, and Ts don't die naturally on their backs (unless from molt complications).

if she is going to die I wouldn't move her until it actually starts to smell and you know she's actually dead.

good luck!

 

[Lorgakor]

Four days is too long, even for a tarantula that old. Did she stop eating at all before she flipped over. Was her abdomen skin turning black? If the answer is no to either of those questions, I would flip her back over and check if she is still alive. If she's only moulted once in five years then chances are she is quite old, and possibly be nearing the end of her road.

 

[Pink_tarantula]

Four days is too long, even for a tarantula that old. Did she stop eating at all before she flipped over. Was her abdomen skin turning black? If the answer is no to either of those questions, I would flip her back over and check if she is still alive. If she's only moulted once in five years then chances are she is quite old, and possibly be nearing the end of her road.

do not fli[ her over that will kill her!!!
4 days!?
relax...this happened to me relax and don't disturb her i know it's hard but leave her be.
i think she might be a goner because by four days i'm pretty sure a new exoskeleton harden by then
good luck.

 

[Lorgakor]

Flipping her over will not kill her if she is not moulting, hence my questions about her recent feeding activity. There was a recent thread about this very thing, spider flipped onto its back in the water dish, stayed there for days but wasn't moulting. That spider was not moulting and the person flipped it back over. I've seen it myself, sick tarantulas will flip over onto their backs for whatever reason. It doesn't neccessarily indicate a moult.

Here is the thread. This spider too was quite old.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=89801&highlight=molt+water

 

[gilbert43]

Ok, so, I've been getting alot of conflicting suggestions. Well, since you said 4 days was too long and to flip her over...I did just that and she ran across to the other side of the cage. So, I may have just killed her huh? I thought that 4 days was quite long, but I don't know a whole lot about molting since it's only happened once. I hope she is a very strong girl and survives the stress, but if not, I guess I will have to deal.

 

[Lorgakor]

I would still like to know, did she stop eating, has her abdomen turned black?

 

[Talkenlate04]

I would still like to know, did she stop eating, has her abdomen turned black?

That is a great question. Cause if it ate 5 days ago then its not molting.
And if you flipped it over and it took off running it was not molting, in this case all around it sounds like it was not molting, playing dead maybe but not molting.

 

[gilbert43]

she hasn't eaten in a couple of months and I didn't know if her abdomen was black or not since she was on her back. But when I got her right side up there is a dark spot about the size of a dime. I'm just so freaking confused about this whole thing. I'm taking care of her for my husband who is deployed right now and I will feel bad if I kill her. Anyway, thanks for everyones help...

 

[Talkenlate04]

Ok so general rule is human intervention aside from feeding and watering, is bad interaction.
Just leave her be. Do you have a camera. You should try and take a picture so we all can see whats going on.

 

[bradk]

OMG!!!! She is alive!

I know some of your guys are going to think I am killing her but she had not moved or maid any progress in molt in almost 33 hours. So I decided she was most likely dead and was doing surgery cutting off the old exo.

I first freed around the legs to see if any movement. Nothing. Then thinking she was totally dead, I turned her over and cut from abdomen to head. The exo opened and she started moving immediately! I turned her right side up and put her back into your cage immediately. She has since stopped moving again.

Her front fangs still are caught but legs are free but they are still in the old exo. Any suggestions????

Brad