Our 1st molt! We have ?'s

[Quickone4u]

Well my girlfriend and I came home to an exciting find, our Rosie molted! This is our first T and we have been expecting/hoping for this to happen since she webbed herself into her burrow about a month ago. We're so excited! She's still webbed into her burrow as I type but, we just wanted to ask a few questions about post molt care. We know we shouldn't atempt to feed her for at least a week to two weeks or until we can tell her fangs and exoskeleton have hardened. What we wanted to ask though, is how long should we wait before we attempt to remove the molt? Should we wait untill she decides to come out of her burrow and then retreive? If She doesn't come out of her burrow in a few days, would it be ok to reach through the web to get the molt as long as she has had a few days to rest and recover? We know this is a very tiring and stressful time for our T and want to give her the best care we can during this time.We know she doesn't need to be stressed anymore then she already is and that she needs her time to rest but, we would also like to recover the molt before any damage occurs to it in hopes of preserving it. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Also, are there any tips or certain ways to preserve a T molt the best? Sorry for all the ?s, We're both really excited and want to do whats best!

 

[GOMER113]

Congrats!

Yes, wait about two weeks before attempting to feed her, just to be on the safe side.

Wait until your T comes out of her burrow before attempting to pull the molt out. It would be a shame if she destroys it before coming out, but again, just to be on the safe side.

The best way to preserve a molt... you'll hear different things that have worked for different people. I hadn't seen my Pampho. in three days and when I finally did see him, he was dressed in a snazzy purple suit. I don't know exactly how long his molt was in his hide, but I pulled it out and it was pretty stiff and in a kind of weird position. I took a large bowl and filled it with warm water and then placed the molt in it and soaked it for about a half hour. I gently pressed down on it to keep it under water and when I pulled it out, I let it dry on top of a box with a plastic bag on top of it (the box, that is). A few hours later, it started drying up, but was still moist enough to curl the legs into a better position. It was nice and crispy the next day.

On other occassions, I've grabbed the molt a couple hours after the Ts had molted and just repositioned the legs at that point and let them dry. I keep them in plastic display containers on my desk at work.

The first time I tried preserving a molt, I used hairspray to keep it hardened. Some people, I've heard, have had success with this. Mine ended up looking like it went through hell.

 

[clam1991]

ive pulled molts right after the t molts
(more like an hour or two)
and it never has caused me problems
just be very careful not to disturb them
and it actually gives them more room to stretch after the molt

 

[Quickone4u]

Well, it's been a day since the molt and our t is still in her burrow, stretching across the back. From what I gather it would probably be best to just leave her be and wiat to get the molt then? I'm so impatient :wall: haha! But most of all, we just want to take care of our T in the best way. If ther appears to be a possibility to get the molt out of the burrow without disturbing the T do yall think it would be ok to try? How long after molting would anybody consider it to be ok to "disturb" our T enough to get the molt out if she doesn't come out of the burrow in the next few days? We really appreciate all the help and responses so far, Thanks:worship:

 

[mouse]

mine never hid in a burrow to molt. he just made a mat and flipped over in the middle of his tank. made me watch and go through the whole thing with him.
so it was easy to remove the molt.
i'd say wait a day or two.

right now i'm hoping my b.smithi would molt. i have yet to see her eat since i got her. but she got a big rump. hope she molts so i can post a pic of her molt to get checked if she is really a girl.

 

[xhexdx]

Depends on the species, really, and the individual.

I have pulled molts literally right after the spider finished the process.

Other times, I haven't noticed it for a day or two. Especially with the burrowers.

If it's hardened already (yours probably has), the method I prefer to soften it up again is to stick it in an airtight container with some damp paper towels and stick it someplace warm. The humidity will soften it right up. Usually I'll leave it in there for a few hours, but sometimes I'll forget and it'll stay there for a week.

Either way, it'll be nice and soft and ready for you to position.

Grats on the molt.

--Joe

 

[Quickone4u]

Thanks everbody for the advice and replies! I think I may see if I can get it out this evening after I get off of work. That is, as long as she looks like everything is ok and I don't have to disturb her much. Can't wait to get it and check it out, we're both really stoked that she molted and hope to confirm "she" is female. Man, we love our T :drool: