Moulting Theraphosa Apophysis!

[Pociemon]

Hi everyone.

I have a big 0.1 Theraphosa apophysis who have not eaten since late november 07. She has lost a lot of weight and her butt is very dark right now. But my concern is, is it normal that they dont eat for so long(8 month now)?

I have heard about it being normal with not eating in 6 month prior to molting, but i am gettin a little worried right now.

Her behaviour is pretty docile at this time, she walks around a lot and spends a lot of the time outside her home. But normally she is a big devil and will not hesitate to attack everything in her home(including me)

The humidity in there is 75%.

greetings
Thomas

 

[squeaky10199]

well once you see the butt get very dark then you know for sure its about to molt any day.. but premolt for bigger tarantulas can take very long.. as long as it has fresh water available it should be fine... just be patient...

 

[Pociemon]

ok, i try to be patient. She is WC so dont know her age, so i has had some fears about there is no more molts in her.

 

[fartkowski]

About how big is she?
Are you sure it's a female?

 

[Londoner]

Wow Thomas. She must have been a right little fattie if you say she's dropped weight lol. Her abdomen looks a healthy size...nothing to worry about there. As long as her butt doesn't get too shrunken or shrivelled, and as long as she has a water source she's fine.
The fasting and docility are classic signs of pre-molt, but that bald patch will have to get much darker before a molt is imminent. It will darken and darken untill it looks shiney and black (sometimes it has a blueish tinge to it), and then you know the main event is just around the corner. Nothing you can do but watch and wait my friend. Good luck mate.

 

[Pociemon]

About how big is she?
Are you sure it's a female?

She is 100% a SHE, no doubts there. Have checked her below, and the person i bought her from is very good at sexing T´s, and he saw her old skin.

Her legspan is 25cm and when she was on her biggest weight 97gram. Dont now your size system, sorry, but am danish;-)

 

[Pociemon]

Wow Thomas. She must have been a right little fattie if you say she's dropped weight lol. Her abdomen looks a healthy size...nothing to worry about there. As long as her butt doesn't get too shrunken or shrivelled, and as long as she has a water source she's fine.
The fasting and docility are classic signs of pre-molt, but that bald patch will have to get much darker before a molt is imminent. It will darken and darken untill it looks shiney and black (sometimes it has a blueish tinge to it), and then you know the main event is just around the corner. Nothing you can do but watch and wait my friend. Good luck mate.

She is a very impressive size my girl, but she has lost much weight on her butt, butt still very firm and nothing loose skin there;-) I checked her for that(and it went well;-))
She has all the water she needs and good moisture, so i have to do the waiting game i guess

thanx for the replys guys.

 

[Londoner]

She is 100% a SHE, no doubts there. Have checked her below, and the person i bought her from is very good at sexing T´s, and he saw her old skin.

Her legspan is 25cm and when she was on her biggest weight 97gram. Dont now your size system, sorry, but am danish;-)

At 10 inches I'd say she's definately on the old side. Do you know when her last molt was? When they're adults they can spend an eternity in pre-molt.

 

[Pociemon]

At 10 inches I'd say she's definately on the old side. Do you know when her last molt was? When they're adults they can spend an eternity in pre-molt.

Last molt was approx 2 years ago i think. But she seems to be fine though and is walking as she should, not any sign of bad thing to come though, just my first experience with this big girl going into a molt.

I have bought 2 slings 1 year ago and the biggest one of these have a legspan of approx 18cm and are getting ready to molt also. Last molt she took 6 weeks to change. She is also the only one of my 3 apophysis who never flicks hairs, never seen it and never seen a bald spot on her butt. She does have a very nasty temper though, and i compare her and my Haplopelma huwenum regarding bad tempered T´s;-). The smallest one is around 15 cm legspan and has a very good temper, but flicks hairs a lot. All girls though. So i will be looking for a male soon;-)

btw, here is a picture from her prime;

 

[Zoltan]

She is also the only one of my 3 apophysis who never flicks hairs, never seen it and never seen a bald spot on her butt.

So what is that on the first picture in the starter post?

 

[Pociemon]

So what is that on the first picture in the starter post?

That is a bald spot on her butt my friend;-)

I have 3 of this species and i was referring to one of the others