OBT potential bad molt - abdomen molted only halfway

vicareux

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My 1.5 inch OBT molted just half an hour ago,and now i saw it flip over rightside up,however i think i see the posterior half of the abdomen is still completely on the spider. I can't grab any good image without completely dismantling and opening up its hide and having a 100% chance of disturbing the spider and making the situation potentially worse. What to do from here?
I hope that i am blind and the exuviae is just positioned weirdly which made me think i am seeing weird stuff,but im afraid its not the case.
 

vicareux

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Update: Decided to intervene because i saw the spider dragging its abdomen over the substrate eratically. I remembered a thread where there was a guide on bad molts. I opened up the hide,and the abdomen exuviae was wrapped around the posterior book lungs,and further below,completely.
I remember in that thread that the time was of the essence and the more time i spend debating,the higher the chances are it will go badly. So i took a wet paintbrush and begun brushing her abdomen until i got the whole thing off,including the spinneretes. Now i hope there arent any micro-pieces that are still stuck to the abdomen and anus,so hopefully everything will turn out to be all right. To whoever made that thread,youre a lifesaver. Cant find it now
 
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Edan bandoot

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Update: Decided to intervene because i remembered a thread where there was a guide on bad molts. I opened up the hide,and the abdomen exuviae was wrapped around the posterior book lungs,and further below,completely.
I remember in that thread that the time was of the essence and the more time i spend debating,the higher the chances are it will go badly. So i took a wet paintbrush and begun brushing her abdomen until i got the whole thing off,including the spinneretes. Now i hope there arent any micro-pieces that are still stuck to the abdomen and anus,so hopefully everything will turn out to be all right. To whoever made that thread,youre a lifesaver. Cant find it now
Ive done this once and they ended up fine, goodluck
 

vicareux

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This is when i did the first brush from the abdomen which removed most of the exuviae completely
20211020_044838.jpg

And this was after i removed the exuviae wrapped around the spinneretes
20211020_045356.jpg


I think i got it all off,now i hope i didn't do any damage by spooking the spider. But at least it's not a 100% chance that it will suffer from impaction or book lunk cover suffocation
 

vicareux

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The only weird thing about this molting process was that the sling was clinging to the top of the top of its hide with its legs instead of relaxing the legs as they normally do.
I decided to intervene when i saw the sling drag its abdomen across the substrate eratically which confirmed to me that the molt was indeed stuck to the sling - at the riskiest spot ,book lungs,spinerettes and anus.
The sling is resting now in the enclosure,without a proper hide,sadly,just there in the open.
On one hand i feel so damn guilty for having to mess with a freshly molted sling,but on the other hand im glad i intervened early that there was almost no issue removing the exuviae apart from the spinerettes,and impaction was a high possibility and i concluded that the risks of me messing with it was lower than the risks of just letting it harden on the spider which would make it impossible to remove.
I hope i made the right choice.
 

vicareux

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Update: This P.murinus molted again sometime in the past few days. I was relieved knowing the spider is out of the woods, but then i saw a piece of molt still stuck to a spinnerette. I saw this briefly as it went out of its burrow to rub its back end on the substrate to try to get the piece off (Unsuccessfuly)
Thankfully it's just one spinnerette, i looked at its anus and it is clear.

Bad molts on the rear end seem consistent with this specimen so far. When i saw it's in pre-molt, I've decided to put it on the bottom shelf where it's nice and cool.
Did anyone have a similar experience where a specimen consistently had incomplete molts, instar after instar? I hope its just a big coincidence or a chain reaction coming from the consequences of the first bad molt.
 

vicareux

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Further update:
I've found the stuck piece of molt on the substrate. Looks like the spider did manage to take the piece off, but it seems like one of the spinnerettes got ripped in the process.
spinn1.jpg
spinn2.jpg


I still didn't get the chance to inspect the spider itself since it's hiding in its burrow, but i hope it will regrow in the next couple of molts.
 

Smotzer

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It is interesting that it had a partial mismolt two times in a row, I have not experienced this.

Does it have access to a water dish?
 

Tarantuland

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I had an OBT have a bad molt and lose the back 4 legs, then it died a few months later. Hope yours pulls through. These have a reputation for being hardy species but they seem to have more trouble with molts than some other species
 

vicareux

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It is interesting that it had a partial mismolt two times in a row, I have not experienced this.

Does it have access to a water dish?
I didnt include a water dish since it's still a sling, and also being a P.murinus - it would get covered in webbing, so i just kept it moister (Bottom layers moist+sprinkle water on webbing). However i will include the water dish now somewhere. I have another P.murinus that i keep the same way, never had problems.
 

vicareux

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Disastorous update
This sling decided to molt again
Before i went to work i saw it molting in its burrow, and i was happy. I came back 8+ hours later to see it still in the same pose.
1.jpg
This is the pose i saw it in before and after i came back from work, i knew that this will be the worst one so far. The pedipalps were out, but all the legs were still in except for leg III on both sides. And i think i saw a piece of Pharynx under its fangs, which means the sucking stomach is not molted.
I honestly thought it was dead so i decided to intervene gently and see, and thankfully it started to wiggle when i opened it webbing.
I tried to gently brush the molt off of its legs with a wet painter brush, but thats when i noticed the abdomen is still completely in,wrapped like a candy.
2.jpg

As i was trying to brush the molt off of its legs, i saw it started to drop the legs one by one. I gave up on the legs because of that and just unwrapped its abdomen, gently, with a wet paintbrush. Doesn't seem like it's actively bleeding out of her leg wounds or anywhere else, so it mightve sealed those valves.
20220127_214530.jpg
What remains of this disaster:
2 legs, 2 pedipalps, and thankfully, a sizeable abdomen. I have just a tiny bit of hope for this little one. Even if it miraculously makes it to the next molt, with its record so far, i don't think its gonna be a good one.
20220127_214702.jpg
I wetted the area around the sling so it can,somehow, drink and recover lost fluids. I saw it wiggle to the droplets right away and try to drink them but i don't know how it will drink the water. I don't think its surviving the next couple of days.
This sling is 1 of the 2 sacmates i bought a few months ago. The same-sized male, in an identical setup, is thriving compared to this one: Eating like a champ, molting frequently and being active. And for this one? Weak genetics? I guess not all spiders are destined to make it. Sad and frustrating.

Okay thankfully i was wrong on the sucking stomach part, so it can absorb water. If it wasn't for this little straw of hope, i'd consider putting the T in the freezer to end its misery.
_MG_0165.JPG
 

Marlana

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I have seen this and usually the T doesn’t make it. It just continues to have bad molts. I hope yours pulls through.
 

vicareux

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I have seen this and usually the T doesn’t make it. It just continues to have bad molts. I hope yours pulls through.
Yeah it seems like this T's destiny is for it to not survive, but i'll try to fight against it.

I find it surprising that this T is mobile still. It pulls with the palps and pushes with legs. Just like any 4 legged animal does.
Reminds me of how opiliones still find ways to move despite loosing a lot of legs.
 

cold blood

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Meet Johnny 2 legs. After a bad molt this t lost almost everything and could barely even move around, yet it still ate the pre killed food offered on occasion and made it through and eventually regained all limbs.

Moral of the story....if its alive, never give up, nature often has a way of making it through even the most seemingly impossible odds.

Good luck.
 

vicareux

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Meet Johnny 2 legs. After a bad molt this t lost almost everything and could barely even move around, yet it still ate the pre killed food offered on occasion and made it through and eventually regained all limbs.

Moral of the story....if its alive, never give up, nature often has a way of making it through even the most seemingly impossible odds.

Good luck.
Johnny will surely be an inspiration and a morale booster for this struggle. I will keep this thread updated

I just came back home and checked on the T, it was outside and it managed to go back to its burrow as i flashed my phone flashlight

Its got a will to live and a will to survive, and i will support it in that wish
 

vicareux

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Looks like it tried to molt again, but couldnt pop the carapace. Thankfully its torture now ends, at least.
 
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