Molting coincedence?

smitje

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
Messages
75
we, me and me son, are pretty new to tarantula keeping. We have nine species, all NW but in various ages and sizes. From a 1cm LP to an 8 cm GBB. Over the last two weeks almost ALL of them molted. Temperatures are pretty tropical here at the moment.

Is this just a coincedence or could the rise in temperature trigger the molting proces for all of them?
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
Temperatures and humidity certainly have some effect on the moulting process. Every spring, a bunch of my T´s decides to moult at the same time.
 

KezyGLA

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
3,013
Higher temperatures speed up a Ts metabolism. This means in the hotter months they can grow faster.

To me May-September is moulting season in my T room heheh
 

smitje

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
Messages
75
That's kind of interesting. I knew about higher temperatures and powerfeeding to increase growth rates. This also seems to shorten the lifespan.

Would it be possible to introduce "fast seasons" by altering the temperature? I mean as in a cold month and couple of weeks later a warm month. Just to trick the T into molting because summer is on it's way (4 times a year)?
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
That's kind of interesting. I knew about higher temperatures and powerfeeding to increase growth rates. This also seems to shorten the lifespan.

Would it be possible to introduce "fast seasons" by altering the temperature? I mean as in a cold month and couple of weeks later a warm month. Just to trick the T into molting because summer is on it's way (4 times a year)?
Do yo have scientific data to support the claim that too much food shortens lifespans? If so, would love to read it!

There's no such thing as powerfeeding in my opinion. In order to have such a term one would need to know how often they eat in the wild. They are opportunistic ambush predators.
 

smitje

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
Messages
75
Sadly I dont have that data. As I mentioned we just got into the hobby. Seems to make sense to me however. Just in case, id rather not heat up my T's and feed them so much that they cant lift their arses anymore :)

But I would like them to grow faster, especialy my 1cm slings.

Thats why i raised the question, would it be possible to make them grow faster by manipulating the seasons? Again Im just wondering, not making any statements.
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
Sadly I dont have that data. As I mentioned we just got into the hobby. Seems to make sense to me however. Just in case, id rather not heat up my T's and feed them so much that they cant lift their arses anymore :)

But I would like them to grow faster, especialy my 1cm slings.

Thats why i raised the question, would it be possible to make them grow faster by manipulating the seasons? Again Im just wondering, not making any statements.
You cannot overfeed slings, so just offer them as much food as they wish (if they don´t eat the prey items, take them out and try later). With higher temperatures, they will moult more frequently. I can´t see a reason for "manipulating the seasons", just keep them at temperatures around 25° C or so.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Seems to make sense to me however
Ah I see, the way you wrote the statement was as a statement of fact, hence my request for data, but now I see it's only an opinion.

Your best bet is to increase temps. That's the most practical and easy way to increase growth rates.
 

KezyGLA

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
3,013
Even if it did shorten the lifespan of a specimen(which I doubt it does), i dont think it would take any significant amount of time from them.
 

smitje

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
Messages
75
So my T would grow faster with a permanent higher temperature and ofcourse plenty of food then when I would simulate a cold month and a hot one and so on? To me its kind of curious that all T's molted at about the same time whilst being different species and sizes. Could you trigger more molts basically? Just by altering temperatures?

Down here temperatures have been tropical over the last weeks. Not only my T's molted but more people in my region experience the same. As if the rise over the last weeks triggered the various T's to molt.

I also wonder about this because of the molting stories I have been reading. Where one spider molts in 2 months and another takes several more. Is the fast molt developing its skeleton faster or is the slow molter not picking up some kind of start signal (like a fluctuation in temp,humidity,daylight hours etc.) ?

Sorry if I ask to many questions :)
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
So my T would grow faster with a permanent higher temperature and ofcourse plenty of food then when I would simulate a cold month and a hot one and so on? To me its kind of curious that all T's molted at about the same time whilst being different species and sizes. Could you trigger more molts basically? Just by altering temperatures?

Down here temperatures have been tropical over the last weeks. Not only my T's molted but more people in my region experience the same. As if the rise over the last weeks triggered the various T's to molt.

I also wonder about this because of the molting stories I have been reading. Where one spider molts in 2 months and another takes several more. Is the fast molt developing its skeleton faster or is the slow molter not picking up some kind of start signal (like a fluctuation in temp,humidity,daylight hours etc.) ?

Sorry if I ask to many questions :)
I think environmental cues and T biology are a relevant topic. It could be all of those factors, and it would depend upon species I suspect, and if the Ts were WC vs CB as well
 

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,668
So my T would grow faster with a permanent higher temperature and ofcourse plenty of food then when I would simulate a cold month and a hot one and so on? To me its kind of curious that all T's molted at about the same time whilst being different species and sizes. Could you trigger more molts basically? Just by altering temperatures?

Down here temperatures have been tropical over the last weeks. Not only my T's molted but more people in my region experience the same. As if the rise over the last weeks triggered the various T's to molt.

I also wonder about this because of the molting stories I have been reading. Where one spider molts in 2 months and another takes several more. Is the fast molt developing its skeleton faster or is the slow molter not picking up some kind of start signal (like a fluctuation in temp,humidity,daylight hours etc.) ?

Sorry if I ask to many questions :)
You can't 'trigger' molts per say, but they can get into premolt faster with higher temps. and more food. I keep some of my smaller slings in an incubator I made that stay right around 87 during the day and 80 during the night and they've seemed to molt quite a bit faster with the higher temps (I do feed the slings multiple times a week though).

Also, as for Ts that molt 'faster' than others, it depends on the species. Even with high temps and an abundant food supply, you can't expect a G. rosea to have the same growth rate as a P. cancerides. Tropical species tend to grow faster than desert species as a general rule of thumb.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
Sadly I dont have that data. As I mentioned we just got into the hobby. Seems to make sense to me however. Just in case, id rather not heat up my T's and feed them so much that they cant lift their arses anymore :)

But I would like them to grow faster, especialy my 1cm slings.

Thats why i raised the question, would it be possible to make them grow faster by manipulating the seasons? Again Im just wondering, not making any statements.
I agree with Viper. I don't think you need to manipulate "seasons" with hot/cold fake seasons. T's aren't quite like our reptilian hobby counterparts. Just raising their temps in the room/area you keep them should be sufficient.

So my T would grow faster with a permanent higher temperature and ofcourse plenty of food then when I would simulate a cold month and a hot one and so on? To me its kind of curious that all T's molted at about the same time whilst being different species and sizes. Could you trigger more molts basically? Just by altering temperatures?

Down here temperatures have been tropical over the last weeks. Not only my T's molted but more people in my region experience the same. As if the rise over the last weeks triggered the various T's to molt.

I also wonder about this because of the molting stories I have been reading. Where one spider molts in 2 months and another takes several more. Is the fast molt developing its skeleton faster or is the slow molter not picking up some kind of start signal (like a fluctuation in temp,humidity,daylight hours etc.) ?

Sorry if I ask to many questions :)
yep, permanent higher temps will be better over all imo. The plenty of food thing is something a LOT of us do. One thing I have learned from Poec is feeding slings as much as they will eat. The reason is that the sling stage is the most vulnerable time for a spider. They are more delicate at that stage and as such are more subject to temperature fluctuations, desiccation and the like. So to help get them over that fragile stage quicker Poec recommends keeping slings at a slightly higher temp then their adult versions combined with feeding them more frequently. I'm not sure how often Poec feeds his slings but for me, I try to feed them every 3 days as much as they will eat. This way, they grow faster. Once they reach about 2 - 2.5 inches DLS I will scale their diet down to once per week and then as they approach adulthood, I will feed them once a month, and for some species, every 6 - 8 weeks. That's for my Grammostola species. ;)

If I've said anything that needs correcting I hope one of you more experienced people will chime in. :)
 

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,668
Just to add in my feeding schedule, I feed the slings (under 2") every day until they refuse food then wait a few days. For 2"+ I feed whenever I get food, usually will feed them every day for a week and then stop for a couple, then repeat. A bit different than others, but it's how I pass time some weeks haha.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
Just to add in my feeding schedule, I feed the slings (under 2") every day until they refuse food then wait a few days. For 2"+ I feed whenever I get food, usually will feed them every day for a week and then stop for a couple, then repeat. A bit different than others, but it's how I pass time some weeks haha.
there probably is no "right" answer to the question of feeding schedules or what an "appropriate" or "correct" feeding schedule is as long as the animal in question is getting enough food to live/thrive. :)
 
Top