Question regarding Tarantula molt

Kisato

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
39
My Chilean Rose Hair is about 10 years old. I've had him for 10 years, but I'm not sure how old he was when I first got him (No more than a year old, I'd think). It has been a very long time since he's molted but I just found him in the molting position and he was exhibiting the common signs for pre-molting. I'm not sure if molting is supposed to occur frequently with Tarantulas or if it's random and is possible for a tarantula to go many years without molting so I'm a little scared and concerned. Also, I'm not 100 percent sure on his sex. I took my best educated guess with all of the information I did research on but there is a possibility that he could be a female. I had assumed that because it has been so many years since his last molt and that I figured he was a male that he had already gone through his ultimate molt. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!
 

crawltech

Arachnoprince
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Got any pics??...sounds like a long lived female....they could easily go a couple years between molts...
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
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I can't take a picture while he (I'll still refer to him as a he even if he is female until I know for sure) is molting because he's under an arched log and I really don't want to disturb him by lifting it up. I do have a picture of him from a few weeks ago...
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
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Jul 27, 2003
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39
Really?? Thank you. I'm not as concerned as I was before because that means it's not a post-ultimate molt. But I would still like to know if it's possible to go a very long time without molting. I know that since I moved, it's been 6 years and in those 6 years I haven't seen him(her) molt at all and no evidence to suggest he(she) molted. Also, what is the typical life span of a male tarantula?
 

RatKing216

Arachnopeon
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Male Tarantulas are pretty much alive for only 1 reason... To mate. That's about it. So males live on average 3-5 years of age. Females (depending on the species) will live anywhere from 7-25+ years! Unless you are a breeder, NO ONE wants a male! Females live an average of 4x the lifespan of their male counterparts. As for molting... Tarantulas only molt when they grow out of there skin if you will. If she is indeed that old, she will only molt once in a great while! Roses (if that's what she is. I forgot too look) are well known for fasting months at a time! Therefore, months (and possibly even years) without molting could very well be possible. BTW - Congrats... It's a girl.
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
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Jul 27, 2003
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39
Thank you VERY much!! I'm relieved! It will be hard calling him a her now, after 10 years of thinking she was a he... maybe I'll just stick with using male terms, I doubt he(she) would mind! And he(she) has a male name... Oh well. Thanks again, I REALLY appreciate it!!
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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That spider is definitely more than ten years old.

You bought it as an adult, right?

If so, that spider could easily be 20-30 years old.
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
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Jul 27, 2003
Messages
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I'm not exactly sure if she was an adult when I first got her. She was definitely a lot smaller, though. I'm not sure how fast tarantulas grow from when they are babies, but I know she wasn't a baby. She was in a cage right next to a baby Red Knee, and that baby was very small! My Tarantula was maybe the size of my palm. When I bought her, I was told she was "young" but that was by an employee of the store, not the breeder.
 

Musicwolf

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I'm not exactly sure if she was an adult when I first got her. She was definitely a lot smaller, though. I'm not sure how fast tarantulas grow from when they are babies, but I know she wasn't a baby. She was in a cage right next to a baby Red Knee, and that baby was very small! My Tarantula was maybe the size of my palm. When I bought her, I was told she was "young" but that was by an employee of the store, not the breeder.
Even a "young" rosie at that size could have easily been 5 years old (very hard to tell because roseas are generally slow growers). So, maybe 15+ years already? Nice old gal you've got there :).
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
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Jul 27, 2003
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39
Also, she wasn't bred, she was wild caught.
How can you tell from the information I gave? I've heard that G. Rosea's are wild caught a lot, but it would seem like you'd need more information to know for sure.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
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Nov 21, 2009
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How can you tell from the information I gave? I've heard that G. Rosea's are wild caught a lot, but it would seem like you'd need more information to know for sure.
99% of the time, rosies that big (and therefore that old) are wild caught. It was convenient to collect them in the wild 10-15 years ago, before breeding them was really an idea.
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
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Oooh, I see. Then that would explain why she was one of the few bigger tarantulas at the store. Most of the other tarantulas were definitely babies. I wish there was a way to tell the age of a tarantula more accurately! That would make things a lot easier.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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99% of the time, rosies that big (and therefore that old) are wild caught. It was convenient to collect them in the wild 10-15 years ago, before breeding them was really an idea.
It's still convenient to collect them in the wild.

Any G. rosea subadult/adult sold in a pet shop is wild caught and imported.

Oooh, I see. Then that would explain why she was one of the few bigger tarantulas at the store. Most of the other tarantulas were definitely babies. I wish there was a way to tell the age of a tarantula more accurately! That would make things a lot easier.
Cut them in half and count the rings.

Kidding.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
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Oooh, I see. Then that would explain why she was one of the few bigger tarantulas at the store. Most of the other tarantulas were definitely babies. I wish there was a way to tell the age of a tarantula more accurately! That would make things a lot easier.
Yeah, it can become frustrating. Only for sure way is to get 'em really really young.
 

Kisato

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
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Thanks for all the help! All of this information is greatly appreciated and helps a lot! If people ask me what her age is now, I'll tell them I've had her for 10 years, but she's 15+ years old! Vague but it works. Also, she finished her molt last night and it went well! Now I have to find a way to get the molted skin out without disturbing her!
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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Something else worth adding...

It's been speculated that G. rosea can actually live up to 50 years. The problem is, to my knowledge, every adult we have in the hobby right now is WC. Nobody has actually produced spiderlings and raised them all the way to adulthood, had them die of what we would consider 'old age', and recorded their lifespan. The hobby just hasn't been around that long and not enough time or interest has been put into this particular species because of how easy they are to just buy as adults at pet shops.

Hopefully I explained this well enough to understand what I'm trying to get across.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
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Something else worth adding...

It's been speculated that G. rosea can actually live up to 50 years. The problem is, to my knowledge, every adult we have in the hobby right now is WC. Nobody has actually produced spiderlings and raised them all the way to adulthood, had them die of what we would consider 'old age', and recorded their lifespan. The hobby just hasn't been around that long and not enough time or interest has been put into this particular species because of how easy they are to just buy as adults at pet shops.

Hopefully I explained this well enough to understand what I'm trying to get across.
+1. Very well put! :)
 
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