Signs of premolt

[eggsbenedict]

My G.pulchripes juvenile that I got on Wednesday seems to be busy excavating in and extending her hide pushing it up against the entrance like she's trying to block it, she also appears to be laying down web around/near the entrance too. From doing a little bit of research these seem to be two of the characteristic behaviors of a T going into premoult. She'll be due another cricket in the next few days so I guess if she doesn't take it that is an indicator too (?). I've read here (albeit the posts were a couple of years old) that it can be quite common for Ts to go into premoult following being introduced to a new home. I'm wondering if given these indicators if there's a chance that's what happening? I'm sure this is a very silly question but this behaviour couldn't also indicate stress could it? I'm less anxious currently, more excited by the possibility she's preparing herself.

 

[DaveM]

First of all, I'm glad for your excitement, and wishing you much more to come. You describe what many of us have felt on our tarantula keeping journeys.

You might be right about your spider. What you describe might be signs of going into premolt, but maybe not. This could be part of routine burrow excavation, and laying out a "welcome mat" of webbing is normal too. Premolt is not the only reason a T might seal off its burrow. In the wild, some silk over the burrow entrance each day to protect from the desiccating heat or dry air, or to protect against predators, or winter cold, and for many other reasons too.

I'm listing here for your reference a longer list of signs of premolt that you might notice:

* Darkening of the abdomen, especially visible in a "bald" area (if present) where the urticating setae have been kicked off. (MOST DEFINITIVE)
* Refusing food, sometimes attacking prey halfheartedly and then backing off to leave it alone. (They almost always refuse food close to a molt, but may refuse food for other reasons.)
* Having abnormal difficulty climbing glass. (In heavy premolt, their tarsi/"feet" can slip more on the glass.)
* Sometimes one can see that areas of the exoskeleton, especially on the legs, get a shiny, glassy look. (only sometimes observable on some spiders, and legs can look shiny from wear-and-tear / getting polished by rubbing on burrow walls as well, unrelated to molt cycles)
* Behaving differently than normal: sitting in unusual [cramped or asymmetrical/skewed, or to anthropomorphize: uncomfortable-looking] postures, being unusually jumpy, having altered levels of activity, sometimes unusually pacing, and [shamelessly anthropomorphizing again here] appearing more ornery or grumpy. (This can be subtle, spider-specific, but you may notice differences if you routinely observe your spiders keenly.)
* Laying down more webbing than usual. (this can happen for other reasons also, though)
* Blocking off entrances of burrows. (not definitive)

Mature spiders might molt on a fairly regular or predictable schedule. For spiderlings, the intermolt interval usually gets longer as they grow, but you might get a sense for approximately when they should be ready to molt next.
It's all very exciting trying to predict when the next molt will come. Yes, refusing food is a very common indicator, but overfed spiders may refuse food sometimes too. Integrate many pieces of evidence for the most reliable predictions.

How big is your juvenile? This genus has some very slow-growing members, but pulchripes is large and grows more/faster than other species in the genus.
Also, don't mind us Americans writing "molt" and "premolt". Noah Webster didn't seem to like the letter 'U' very much. We know that our brethren from across the pond speak Queen's English, or is it King's English now?
Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[kingshockey]

just pre kill the feeder all the way on its next feeding then and remove the next day if untouched. you have only had for 4 days what its doing is also very normal its just settling in making itself at home in its new cage digging out a burrow etc. is part of that. you will get a more accurate idea/guess by keeping track of the color of its buttt. do more reading about pre molt signs the color of its butt wont lie

 

[DaveM]

Pardon me. I missed seeing that you've only had the spider for 4 days. Just wait. Tarantulas will take time to adapt to their new enclosures, and yours has not had long enough to settle in and to establish baseline behaviors. Thanks, @kingshocky, for bringing up that important point.

 

[kingshockey]

Pardon me. I missed seeing that you've only had the spider for 4 days. Just wait. Tarantulas will take time to adapt to their new enclosures, and yours has not had long enough to settle in and to establish baseline behaviors. Thanks, @kingshocky, for bringing up that important point.

your reply was more helpful than mine

 

[eggsbenedict]

First of all, I'm glad for your excitement, and wishing you much more to come. You describe what many of us have felt on our tarantula keeping journeys.

You might be right about your spider. What you describe might be signs of going into premolt, but maybe not. This could be part of routine burrow excavation, and laying out a "welcome mat" of webbing is normal too. Premolt is not the only reason a T might seal off its burrow. In the wild, some silk over the burrow entrance each day to protect from the desiccating heat or dry air, or to protect against predators, or winter cold, and for many other reasons too.

I'm listing here for your reference a longer list of signs of premolt that you might notice:

* Darkening of the abdomen, especially visible in a "bald" area (if present) where the urticating setae have been kicked off. (MOST DEFINITIVE)
* Refusing food, sometimes attacking prey halfheartedly and then backing off to leave it alone. (They almost always refuse food close to a molt, but may refuse food for other reasons.)
* Having abnormal difficulty climbing glass. (In heavy premolt, their tarsi/"feet" can slip more on the glass.)
* Sometimes one can see that areas of the exoskeleton, especially on the legs, get a shiny, glassy look. (only sometimes observable on some spiders, and legs can look shiny from wear-an-tear / getting polished by rubbing on burrow walls as well, unrelated to molt cycles)
* Behaving differently than normal: sitting in unusual [cramped or asymmetrical/skewed, or to anthropomorphize: uncomfortable-looking] postures, being unusually jumping, having altered levels of activity, sometimes unusually pacing, and [shamelessly anthropomorphizing again here] appearing more ornery or grumpy. (This can be subtle, spider-specific, but you may notice differences if you routinely observe your spiders keenly.)
* Laying down more webbing than usual. (this can happen for other reasons also, though)
* Blocking off entrances of burrows. (not definitive)

Mature spiders might molt on a fairly regular or predictable schedule. For spiderlings, the intermolt interval usually gets longer as they grow, but you might get a sense for approximately when they should be ready to molt next.
It's all very exciting trying to predict when the next molt will come. Yes, refusing food is a very common indicator, but overfed spiders may refuse food sometimes too. Integrate many pieces of evidence for the most reliable predictions.

How big is your juvenile? This genus has some very slow-growing members, but pulchripes is large and grows more/faster than other species in the genus.
Also, don't mind us Americans writing "molt" and "premolt". Noah Webster didn't seem to like the letter 'U' very much. We know that our brethren from across the pond speak Queen's English, or is it King's English now?
Good luck, and enjoy!

So to update you, now that I've woken up part of my suspicions have been confirmed. So I saw her laying down alot of webbing at the entrance and pushing soil against it, and now the entrance has been almost completely blocked off. As for the question about bald spots, I can't be 100% sure but I thought I saw a small patch on her abdomen that was darker then the rest. Additionally, I did notice her struggling to climb the sides of the tank in the first few days, she would try and climb but only reach as far as her back legs could push her before slipping back down. As previously mentioned I'm going to give her a cricket sometime in the next few days so we'll see if she's responsive to that.

As for her size, I've not measured her legspan but I ordered her from a reputable seller as a 4-5cm juvenile, which looks about right to me.

And yes I think it would probably be fair to call it Kings English Now I suppose

Disclaimer: When I refer to her as she, I'll admit that's more wishful thinking on my part, I'd like a female as want them to be around for a long while!

 

[eggsbenedict]

just pre kill the feeder all the way on its next feeding then and remove the next day if untouched. you have only had for 4 days what its doing is also very normal its just settling in making itself at home in its new cage digging out a burrow etc. is part of that. you will get a more accurate idea/guess by keeping track of the color of its buttt. do more reading about pre molt signs the color of its butt wont lie

That's something I forgot to add initially but yeah I thought I did notice a small dark bald patch on her abdomen, but not 100% sure. I've been advised that Toms Big Spiders is a reliable resource so I've been reading a little bit on there about signs of premolt too.

 

[fcat]

If you do more reading here you will likely find the answers to your questions before you even have to ask them.

 

[eggsbenedict]

That's something I forgot to add initially but yeah I thought I did notice a small dark bald patch on her abdomen, but not 100% sure. I've been advised that Toms Big Spiders is a reliable resource so I've been reading a little bit on there about signs of premolt too.

I'll also add that there's a degree of wishful thinking here that could be biasing my perception as I'd be incredibly excited if she's going into pre molt

 

[Charliemum]

If you got her from tss there is a good chance she is preparing her burrow to moult they keep their t's thin so do cftn, the t's I get from them often come and moult within weeks days sometimes, just keep her water dish full n be patient she will either moult or decide she's still hungry and reopen the burrow.
Patients is key with a t .

 

[eggsbenedict]

If you got her from tss there is a good chance she is preparing her burrow to moult they keep their t's thin so do cftn, the t's I get from them often come and moult within weeks days sometimes, just keep her water dish full n be patient she will either moult or decide she's still hungry and reopen the burrow.
Patients is key with a t .

Got this one from SML! Yeah, reading some older posts on here before I opened an account I saw alot of people experienced their Ts moulting shortly after introducing them to their new home, plus I found it curious to read on Toms Big Spiders that blocking the entrance with soil is typical G.pulchripes premoult behaviour. I hope so at least In anycase, I don't think i have anything to worry about now and am genuinely excited to see if she comes out in a new fur coat

 

[Charliemum]

Got this one from SML! Yeah, reading some older posts on here before I opened an account I saw alot of people experienced their Ts moulting shortly after introducing them to their new home, plus I found it curious to read on Toms Big Spiders that blocking the entrance with soil is typical G.pulchripes premoult behaviour. I hope so at least In anycase, I don't think i have anything to worry about now and am genuinely excited to see if she comes out in a new fur coat

Your in for a treat when she does .

 

[Mustafa67]

My G.pulchripes juvenile that I got on Wednesday seems to be busy excavating in and extending her hide pushing it up against the entrance like she's trying to block it, she also appears to be laying down web around/near the entrance too. From doing a little bit of research these seem to be two of the characteristic behaviors of a T going into premoult. She'll be due another cricket in the next few days so I guess if she doesn't take it that is an indicator too (?). I've read here (albeit the posts were a couple of years old) that it can be quite common for Ts to go into premoult following being introduced to a new home. I'm wondering if given these indicators if there's a chance that's what happening? I'm sure this is a very silly question but this behaviour couldn't also indicate stress could it? I'm less anxious currently, more excited by the possibility she's preparing herself.

WAIT

 

[eggsbenedict]

WAIT

Oh yeah dw, I'm not wanting to bother her haha, just looking forward to seeing what happens!

 

[Gevo]

One of the things that I found surprising when I started was how long the premolt period can last, even after you’ve clearly identified that’s what it is. Now, my experience is with very slow growing species, but my G. pulchra was about the same size as your pulchripes, and he was burrowed and sealed up and refusing food for many months before he actually molted. Same with my other one, and both with the characteristic plump, shiny abdomen.

The abdomen darkening dramatically over 1-2 days was a clearer sign that things were moving along and we were getting closer, but it was still a couple of weeks before the molts happened. Molt mats are usually laid down just before the molt, like within a few hours of it happening, but not all tarantulas do that. It’s pretty distinctive from their other webbing behaviours, but you might not be able to intuit that at this point.

I think it’s going to be harder for you to tell after only a couple of days if these behaviours and signs you’re seeing are premolt or settling in, and we can’t tell you for sure either, so my hope for you is that she molts soon and you can start off with a fresh spider who comes out after a couple weeks in new clothes, hardened up and ready to eat and be seen (don’t feed them while they’re still soft!), but just know that if that doesn’t happen for a while, that’s normal too. Try not to drive yourself mad with the anticipation like I did!