Nhandu Chromatus Moulting Problem

wyllomoon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
23
Hello Again,

I hate to be a pain in the butt here with all my questions, but your advice helped me to save the life of my T. blondi a few months ago when she lost a leg (thank you!), so this seems to be the best place to come for help.

I have a juvenile Nhandu Chromatus (aprox. a 2" leg span) that I just moved to a larger enclosure. Within an hour of being moved she/he flipped over on her back and started moulting. She wasn't showing any signs of moulting before the move or I wouldn't have disturbed her. She was still upright and walking around when she went into the new enclosure.

Anyhow, the moult took about 4 hours from start to finish, but she appears to be stuck. Six legs came out, two middle legs are dragging the exoskeleton along beneath her. I've read several articles about what to do about this and most include the following points:

- Wait 12 hours to see if the T gets out of the old skin on it's own.
- Mist the T with tepid water and hope for the best.
- Try pulling the skin gently with forceps or pushing it with a wet paint brush.
- Last resort: remove the legs.

I don't like the sound of that last suggestion.

Could anyone here offer additional advice? It's been about 8 hours now, I've misted the T with water and tried giving the old skin a little tug, but had no luck so far. Would it be wise to wait it out until morning before messing with the little critter anymore or does something need to be done immediately?

Thanks in advance.

Lisa

P.S. I did read the thread in the FAQ about this, but it seemed like a bit of a different situation than what was posted there.
 

Hamburglar

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
585
I am no expert so follow my advice at your own risk. I have heard that you can take some water and put a drop of dish soap in it. Then you can take a cotton swap and moisten the legs with the mixture. It should help lube the area and maybe the T can remove its leg. I have not tried this so I do not have any experience with it.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
My guess is that little Cromatus is not going to let you near her. I guess at this point you should just try to cut off as much of the old exo as you can. If the T think the legs are going to be a huge problem she will cast them off on her own. I have never resorted to cutting off a leg myself mainly cause I dont want to deal with stopping the bleeding.
Guess we will get an update from you soon. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 

Hamburglar

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
585
Yeah... 2 inches may be a bit small for what I suggested considering the swab may be quite large compared to the body....
 

wyllomoon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
23
Thanks for the advice Hamburglar and talkenlate04. You're absolutely right about her not wanting to let me anywhere near her. After spraying water on her overnight and even trying a drop of diluted dish soap (dripped from a syringe above her), with no luck, I went to bed in hopes that she'd find her own way out of that skin by morning.

Unfortunately, she didn't. So when I came downstairs this morning and saw that she was the same as last night, I grabbed hold of the exoskeleton with the forceps and gave it a gentle tug, hoping that she would try to get away and maybe pull herself out. No luck there, either... she pulled away hard enough that both trapped legs came off.

I got rid of the still twitching exoskeleton and used some dry peat moss to sort of dust the place where the legs were and hopefully stop the "bleeding" (this worked for my T. Blondi). I know people here suggest super glue for this but with such a small T I was afraid I might accidentally glue the wrong thing and make an even bigger mess.

Anyhow, got a chromatus with 6 legs now. I feel terrible about that, but I wasn't actually trying to remove her legs by holding that skin. :( I guess all I can do is keep an eye on her, cross my fingers that the bleeding stops, wait a few days then see if she'll eat and hope for the best.

Thanks again.

Lisa
 
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