Pre molt?

[SethB]

Hi this is my first T and i have a question. My B.smithi has been refusing food for over 2 weeks now and has a dark spot, does this mean she is in pre molt and If so how long Will iT take?

 

[Nightstalker47]

Definitely pre molt, could be another week or longer...the abdomen will get real shiny when the molt is imminent.

 

[SethB]

Thank you ;-)

 

[Nightstalker47]

Thank you ;-)

Happy to help, welcome to the boards.

 

[SonsofArachne]

My B.smithi refused food for 3 months before she molted, but to be fair she was a little overfed. Not such a problem since I switched to B. lateralis from dubias for most of my T's.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Yeah, she'll moult within the next few weeks.

 

[PidderPeets]

Don't be concerned if you see her flip on her back and appear motionless or dead for hours at some point in the near future. That's what they do when they get ready to molt and it's nothing to worry about. They can lay on their backs for hours without starting the actual molting process, so don't panic.

Also, after it molts, be sure to wait until the fangs turn completely black before offering food again. The fangs will start out white, then turn red, and then finally black when they're fully hardened. That can take an additional 1 or 2 weeks depending on the spider size

Congrats on the new spider and welcome to the hobby! If you have any questions, feel free to ask on here

 

[SethB]

Thank you, lets us hope its a female ;-)

 

[Teal]

Thank you, lets us hope its a female ;-)

What is the DLS? Maybe with this molt it will be big enough to sex!

 

[SethB]

She molted today.

 

[cold blood]

She molted today.

Excellent...now to more important things. The enclosure, the tall exo terra with front opening doors, is completely inappropriate for a terrestrial t....its quite dangerous to have that excessive height, its a major fall risk. This enclosure would be suitable for arboreals only.


To effectively use this enclosure you would need to modify it. To do this, you would lay it on its back, so the front doors are at the top...and change the top screen to a plexi or acrylic, drilled out only at what would now be the top half, so the rest acts as a dam for the substrate.....this is the only way you can add the proper amount of sub to make it a safe home.

 

[SethB]

Yeah i know, i ordered a new one a few days ago, should be here in a week.