Please help! Eupalaestrus campestratus stuck in molt

[Brachyfan]

I have been waiting for months for the little guy to molt. I gave water 2 days ago and it was fine. No molt yet. Today I went to give it water and noticed it finally molted. But the abdomen is stuck on still. There is a crack in the old exo under the spinarrettes so I don't know if it is blocking the anus or not. There is also a big piece that is lifted up that extends to the carapace.The t is still moving around and drinking at the moment.

I am not sure what to do? Try to get it off or will it come off on its own? I have no experience with this as all my tarantulas have molted fine before.

I tried to get the best pick i can. Freaking out here and this is one of my favorite Ts. I am worried that I will hurt it because it is freshly molted. What do I do? Not much room to work with as it is in a pill jar. On visual inspection the exoskeleton does appear to be loose.

 

[Vanessa]

How big is the spider? I would take a cotton swab, or very, very, soft brush (like an eye makeup brush - not a paint brush) soak it down with water and try to very gently stroke it along the abdomen to see if it will come off. It doesn't look like it has cleared the anus, so this is not something you want to necessarily wait and see whether it comes off on it's own.

 

[Brachyfan]

How big is the spider? I would take a cotton swab, or very, very, soft brush (like an eye makeup brush - not a paint brush) soak it down with water and try to very gently stroke it along the abdomen to see if it will come off. It doesn't look like it has cleared the anus, so this is not something you want to necessarily wait and see whether it comes off on it's own.

Thanks for the advice! The t was 1/2" before the molt. I would say it gained a little size.

I got out a tiny brush and went to the tub to get to work. I checked out the t and that big chunk on top was gone.so I got out my phone to zoom in with the camera and I am not sure all the exoskeleton is off but I did confirm that the spinarrettes are free (albeit sticking up and kinda stuck to the abdomen) . Maybe it kicked the exo off? It still has a black spot on the abdomen like premolt but cold blood told me one time that that is the heart. It is definitely moving around and even climbed a bit. It is very hard to see anything with the naked eye as it is so tiny. Is there anything else I can do for it? The anus is just under and in between the spinarettes?

This has by far been the worst day for me keeping tarantulas. Just found my tiny 1/4" albopilosum (freebie from tarcan) death curled as well. Fed it 3 days ago and gave it water 2 days ago Not sure what happened there. Totally bummed out First loss for me.

 

[TriMac33]

his has by far been the worst day for me keeping tarantulas. Just found my tiny 1/4" albopilosum (freebie from tarcan) death curled as well. Fed it 3 days ago and gave it water 2 days ago Not sure what happened there. Totally bummed out

Sorry to hear about your luck. I have a tiny 1/4" sling in my care right now, also a freebie from TarCan. It can be very intimidating taking care of something so fragile and sometimes they just don't make it. I just wanted to offer my sympathies and hope your T keeping days get better soon.

 

[Brachyfan]

Sorry to hear about your luck. I have a tiny 1/4" sling in my care right now, also a freebie from TarCan. It can be very intimidating taking care of something so fragile and sometimes they just don't make it. I just wanted to offer my sympathies and hope your T keeping days get better soon.

Thanks! The little ones are harder to care for. Just hope my PZB is ok.

Update

I can definitely see spinarrettes with the naked eye. No idea if the bottom part came off as the t keeps putting it's abdomen on the ground whenever I try to check.

Will post a pic asap

Here's a pic. @Vanessa @Ungoliant @cold blood. You can clearly see the urticating setae and spinarrettes. Do you think it will be ok?

 

[Vanessa]

Everything looks fine.

 

[Brachyfan]

Everything looks fine.

That is great! It seems pretty exausted so I made sure to give it lots of water. Will rehouse in a few days to get it out of the pill jar.

Wish the albopilosum didn't die I tried to flip it over and drip a drop of water onto it's mouth but it was gone by then.

Thanks for the help @Vanessa! Means the world to me. Kinda feel like the worst keeper in the world right now.

 

[Vanessa]

That is great! It seems pretty exausted so I made sure to give it lots of water. Will rehouse in a few days to get it out of the pill jar.
Wish the albopilosum didn't die I tried to flip it over and drip a drop of water onto it's mouth but it was gone by then.
Thanks for the help @Vanessa! Means the world to me. Kinda feel like the worst keeper in the world right now.

I have always taken losses very personally myself, so I empathize. Don't be discouraged, there is an upcoming expo in Toronto at the end of January if you're in the GTA.

 

[Brachyfan]

I have always taken losses very personally myself, so I empathize. Don't be discouraged, there is an upcoming expo in Toronto at the end of January if you're in the GTA.

Me too. The first thought is husbandry errors that can be crippling. I'm not sure what happened to it. Made sure it had access to water and fed it at least once a week. I might just feed the tiny ones every 2 days to try to get them out of that stage faster.

Not in the gta unfortunately.

 

[Ungoliant]

Me too. The first thought is husbandry errors that can be crippling. I'm not sure what happened to it. Made sure it had access to water and fed it at least once a week. I might just feed the tiny ones every 2 days to try to get them out of that stage faster.

Sometimes slings die through no fault of the keeper. If you're worried about your setups or care, you can post pictures for feedback.

 

[Brachyfan]

Sometimes slings die through no fault of the keeper. If you're worried about your setups or care, you can post pictures for feedback.

I know that small slings are fragile and I am left scratching my head as to why this one didn't make it. I did what I could for it and kept it the same as my Dozer who grew like a weed! What I was saying is that I have a tendancy to take that personally and that can be where the mind goes. My belief is when that happens I try to do better for the other ones in my care. I will definitely post setups etc if there is doubt but as of right now I believe they are good. Want to maybe branch out into avicularia and some mantis next year and I will be looking for enclosure and husbandry advice at that time

Happy new year @Ungoliant @Vanessa @TriMac33 !

 

[TriMac33]

I know that small slings are fragile and I am left scratching my head as to why this one didn't make it. I did what I could for it and kept it the same as my Dozer who grew like a weed! What I was saying is that I have a tendancy to take that personally and that can be where the mind goes. My belief is when that happens I try to do better for the other ones in my care. I will definitely post setups etc if there is doubt but as of right now I believe they are good. Want to maybe branch out into avicularia and some mantis next year and I will be looking for enclosure and husbandry advice at that time

Happy new year @Ungoliant @Vanessa @TriMac33 !

Happy New Year!!