Molting season?

[gloost]

I have had a few of my slings molt, and some of my adults are very lethargic and not taking food. What month should one expect molts for southern hemisphere new world species, sub and full adults?

 

[Kazaam]

They don't have a special season for molting, you can expect them to molt whenever they want to.

 

[Poec54]

Many of mine are triggered to molt during very rainy periods. Adul females molt after their egg sacs hatch out.

In captivity mating seasons become much looser, as we keep them at different temps than the wild, and can (sometimes deliberately) alter their growth and maturity by how much and how often we feed them.

 

[WadeG]

:biggrin:This is related to your other thread about weather and molting. Here in NM we had an unexpected cold front with rain and two of my juvenile T's went into molting behavior. One actually molted and the other has completely sealed herself in her burrow as if she is going to molt. I have 3 GBB slings, one molted 2 weeks ago in transit to my home, The other two have stopped eating and are isolating in there webs... looks like premolt to me. From this, I can only assume, that barometric pressure and humidity have something to do with the to do with molting. Thanks for your help on other questions.

 

[Stan Schultz]

I have had a few of my slings molt, and some of my adults are very lethargic and not taking food. What month should one expect molts for southern hemisphere new world species, sub and full adults?

First, refer to Growing Your Own for more meaningful definitions.

Second, these comments deal with tarantulas in captivity. Life in the wild is vastly different and only predictable with extremely wide margins for error.

As babies emerge from the eggsac, their molting frequency may be as fast as every 3 to 4 weeks, depending on species, feeding and temperature among other things. For these there is no such thing as a "molting season."

As they age and grow, babies' and later spiderlings' ("slings") molt frequencies slow. By the time they're 3/4 grown they usually slow down to molting only once a year, again depending on species, feeding and temperature among other things. Only after they settle into an annual molt pattern can we see a tendency towards a "molting season," and that season usually occurs during the local late winter through late spring.

Wild caught tarantulas that are shipped either from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere or the other way 'round almost always undergo a "Hemisphere shift syndrome" to synchronize their calendar with the local seasons. However, for almost all, this period of acclimatization is either obscure to us, or a very mild event for the tarantula. The only species that I know of that has great difficulty in this respect is Grammostola rosea, the Chilean rose. (See Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula.) I have recently heard of only one or two instances of related Grammostola species that also seemed to suffer the same effect, but to a much lesser degree.

During this Hemisphere shift period the tarantulas typically stop eating and molting, sometimes for extended periods of time. Eventually, most acclimatize within about two years, a very rare few may require three years.

It is important to note as well that only the wild caught individuals suffer this Hemisphere shift syndrome. Cage bred and raised tarantulas seem to automagically adjust to the local seasons almost from the eggsac regardless of where the species originated.

A further complication is that once a tarantula is old enough to have its molting schedule entrained with the seasons, once the seasonal clues have been reduced or removed, the tarantula will often "free wheel." That is it will molt more or less at random, sometimes in as little a 6 months, sometimes as long as 4 or 5 years. (Obviously, if your tarantula seems to be one of these you should try to supply seasonal clues to help it recalibrate its annual cycle.)

And lastly, you must keep in mind that all this depends on species, sex, age, feeding, temperature, day length, water/humidity availability, and perhaps dozens of other factors we have no clue about.

And they told you that keeping a tarantula was as simple as tuning your television. And, you believed them! :roflmao:


"The magnitude of our ignorance [about tarantulas] is staggering."
- S. A. Schultz, TKG3

 

[gloost]

My juvies are kicking skins, and my slings very recently molted. I've got two larger Tz that are hiding and looking hungover and I will assume they are in premolt. 6 Tz kicked out in January, so I'll expect some action from them again in Jan. Our weather here has been inconsistent year to year though and I hope it doesn't mess with their bio clocks.
Thanks again.