R.junceus molting!

Arachnophilist

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Well last night I saw my R.junceus lookin like it was ready to go . so I was happy to see that I was right! it has started molting. This is day two of molts :D anyways I have a couple shots to start it off I will update as I get more.

first a pre molt picture


top view


focus on the molt


focus on the emerging scorp


and now my favorite, the face closeup :D


more to come...
 

Gigas

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Those are some very upclose and persona moult shots!
 

Thaedion

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That is a beautiful Scorpion. It is so amazing how helpless these guys are at a molt, and what else how they can escape the old exoskeleton. Beautiful pictures too. :cool:
 

Vixvy

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Great details! congrats! is it successful?
 

Arachnophilist

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The Rest of the show!!

Here goes. I took tons of pics and worked it down to these ones I am posting.. hope you like them.



















okay sorry for the long sequence but I wanted to try and show all the stages of it :D hope you enjoyed it!!

{D Christopher{D
 

cheetah13mo

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That's awsome man. You must have been there at just the right time.
 

Arachnophilist

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has to be I6 now.. cause I cant see my other one being less than I3. Im sure someone on here can tell by lookin at it
 

Selenops

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Amazing molting you caught in those pics.

I love the species' pumpkin orange body with that lavender/purple coloration of the legs, pleural membrane, and tail tip. One of the most beautiful I have seen.
 

Brian S

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I hope your other one is a female ;). That one appears to be a subadult male. How long is it?
 

Arachnophilist

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YAY! I was waiting for you to post. I thought it was male as soon as I saw the length on the claws. well I cant get a perfect measure but I would say around 2.5" now. and the other one is the same age but 3 instars behind now. I dont know why it grows so slow.. but it does. do you think I should look for an adult female in the meantime? maybe breeding by fall :)
 

Brian S

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If its only 2.5 inches then it has another molt to go. You dont sex the adults by the lenght of the claws, you do it like this.........

Rhopalurus junceus males are thinner than females with more bulbous chela. When adult the males chela looks like this. It will not close all the way since it is slightly curved. It is most likely built this way in order to court the females


Females like most species are much more robust than males. Although they have somewhat bulbous chela, it is not as pronounced as the males and they can close the claws all the way.
 

Lorgakor

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Wow those are really great pictures Christopher! The close up of the face looks so alien!
 

Arachnophilist

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Thanks Brian I appreciate your help. I am gonn have to look for another adult soon the way this one is growing :D my other one has lots of catching up to do. and thank you for the comment Laura! :D
 

Brian S

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Good luck on your endeavors. I hope you can find some. If you ever can acquire an adult pair, it gets pretty easy. They seem to be relatively easy to breed.
 

Arachnophilist

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This is the other one. anyone have an idea what instar and how long it may take to catch up? and Thanks Brian :D I hope I get something good happening soon enough.
 
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