Molting

[ADSipes02]

Hi all! I have an Asian Forest (my best guess is that he’s a Laoticus specifically if that helps answer this question at all), and he finally molted with me for the first time about a week ago. I got him February of 2023. He was about 2” or so fully stretched out walking from claw to tail. He is noticeably bigger now (I knew he would be but I never expected him to be this much bigger than he was before, pretty insane how it works actually). I believe he had just molted shortly before I brought him home though because he was super skinny and pretty tiny. He also had that gray colored exo rather than the deep black that he had after I had him for a bit. I know that the timeframe between each molt gets progressively longer for each instar. I’m just curious how long it would be for the next one considering that this one was about a year and a half (at the least). I don’t believe he’s fully grown yet but my best guess would be 6i. Since he’s still recovering from the molt I haven’t seen him out and about yet since he’s been hiding in his tunnel but I can see him well since he dug up against the glass. I just haven’t seen him walking to really get a sense of how big he actually is now. I know that he was about an inch long before when he was curled up sleeping, and now probably about 1 3/4” curled up. I know this is a very specific question and probably really hard to answer over a forum like this but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[MorbidArachnid]

If he's just darkened up in the most recent molt I doubt he is 6i right now.


Yours is also probably a Heterometrus silenus, which are much more common in the hobby. The first pic is when I first got this boy, unfortunately don't have great pictures of him when he was younger. I believe he was 2/3i then, then he molted on Dec 29th, then again on March 23. In this last picture he is either 4/5i, and he hasn't molted again yet. Molting times depend heavily on instar, feeding schedule, and temperature, so it's not really something anyone would be able to accurately gauge for you.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

If he's just darkened up in the most recent molt I doubt he is 6i right now.
View attachment 479383 View attachment 479382 View attachment 479381

Yours is also probably a Heterometrus silenus, which are much more common in the hobby. The first pic is when I first got this boy, unfortunately don't have great pictures of him when he was younger. I believe he was 2/3i then, then he molted on Dec 29th, then again on March 23. In this last picture he is either 4/5i, and he hasn't molted again yet. Molting times depend heavily on instar, feeding schedule, and temperature, so it's not really something anyone would be able to accurately gauge for you.

Are Heterometrus easy to care for ? Pet shop always has cheap afs. But I don’t know if they are healthy or sick like the s cal/ curly hair I bought .

 

[MorbidArachnid]

Are Heterometrus easy to care for ? Pet shop always has cheap afs. But I don’t know if they are healthy or sick like the s cal/ curly hair I bought .

Yea they are easy to care for, obligate burrowers but really just need slightly moist deep soil and a heat source imo. They also like to soak, so it's interesting to give them a deep water dish and watch them hang out in it. Two major mistakes are not keeping them warm enough (i would say at least 80F but def over 75F at least) and not giving them enough moisture, they should have constant access to a water dish and not keep on completely dry substrate (plus the moist sub helps hold a burrow too). Really the major problem with them is because they're so cheaply available WC not many people breed them, and wild caught are always going to be a gamble. I'd say if you're gonna buy a wild caught one at a petstore try to examine it carefully for any damage, get one that's a bit on the smaller side to hopefully get a subadult instead of an adult of unknown age, and don't get one that's rail thin. If it looks super thin and wrinkly it's dehydrated, and you might not be able to recover it's health.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Yea they are easy to care for, obligate burrowers but really just need slightly moist deep soil and a heat source imo. They also like to soak, so it's interesting to give them a deep water dish and watch them hang out in it. Two major mistakes are not keeping them warm enough (i would say at least 80F but def over 75F at least) and not giving them enough moisture, they should have constant access to a water dish and not keep on completely dry substrate (plus the moist sub helps hold a burrow too). Really the major problem with them is because they're so cheaply available WC not many people breed them, and wild caught are always going to be a gamble. I'd say if you're gonna buy a wild caught one at a petstore try to examine it carefully for any damage, get one that's a bit on the smaller side to hopefully get a subadult instead of an adult of unknown age, and don't get one that's rail thin. If it looks super thin and wrinkly it's dehydrated, and you might not be able to recover it's health.

comes down to how I’m going to heat it but I got no spare heatmats beside a 4w one . House is 72 avg. could be while to I can buy anything.
It’s weird two of the sick Ts I got looked healthy actually all 3. Lone survivor in this thread at end and my pictures.

Why Wc is Bad!!!

Wild caught tarantulas are often sold without labels saying they are. besides eradicating the wild stocks/populations of tarantulas they also can have bad health problems. for me I’ve been sold one t albo from pet stores that had underlying health issues and didn’t end well :sad: it lasted for...

arachnoboards.com