Sweetie (G. porteri) is molting!

[Jackuul]

Sweetie is molting! Wooo!

This is her before the molt by a few weeks or so.

Here she is now.

I will be taking pictures as time allows to show each step hopefully. Last night she made the molt mat (and keeping with her style, she ignored her hide that she already webbed up and decided to use a corner she had started marking as "hers" weeks in advance).

 

[Ariel]

ooooh, cool! Hope all goes well! she's very beautiful!

 

[Jackuul]

Okay, when should I worry? She's been on her back, and I observed her this past hour and she does not move at all.

I have been monitoring her all day (12 hours now) and there has been no movement at all. Is it okay to tap a foot and see if she responds? This is the only spider I really worry about right now since she is my favorite. I just want her to molt successfully and have no issues at all...

When the G. rosea molted, it occasionally spasmed, and you could set a clock by how evenly the spasms were as it worked its old exuvium off. Sweetie hasn't twitched once, including during the time I watched for an entire hour...

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Don't worry, sometimes it takes a minute. The first time I saw my Rosie molt, Charlotte took 10 hours from the time she was on her back until she was finally out.

 

[Jackuul]

This is my second large-spider molt, and the reason I am concerned is the 12 hours without any sign of anything. The rose was fast, I will admit, but when she flipped you could tell she was doing something. Slight twitches every so often, etcetera.

Sweetie is just rolled on her back and looking paralyzed. For 12 hours now.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

If she is still moving, it is a good sign. The fact that she is in plain view is also a boon should she need help. I've read threads where people have a T that takes a couple of days to molt, though I would run a search on molt problems if you already haven't.

During Charlotte's last molt, I discovered a trick. It's important to understand that she had already completed her molt and this technique was used to aid in her recovery. However, I would use it with caution during a molt.

You could quickly spike the humidity in her enclosure by taking her enclosure into the bathroom, and running a hot shower. Place the enclosure as far away from the shower as you can, though preferably on a counter top. I would start with the shower at just under your normal shower temperature. When you see condensation on your mirror, slowly increase the water temperature over the next fifteen minutes, run your hot water out, and turn off the shower. Leave her in the humidified bathroom with the door shut for an hour or so, checking on her every fifteen minutes or so. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Jackuul]

She has yet to even pop her top. Unmolted, just upside down and motionless.

 

[Teal]

From what I've heard, sometimes the larger Ts can take awhile to molt... but I don't know if 12 hours without any movement is normal...

Good luck, I hope it turns out well for you!

 

[Abby]

Just like xsyorra said you can try increasing the humidity level to make it easier on her.
You can wet the substrate if you don't want to move her tank.
Or what I did, I just got a clump of coco fiber wet and put it in a dish inside her tank.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for her so it's a smooth molt

 

[Jackuul]

She is a 4 inch (guestimating) G. porteri, who hates water, and she's been my little friend for a while (July is when I got her). So, since about 6 this morning to about 8:45pm now she has been immobile.

I probably did a bad thing, but I went in and just touched her foot - there was no reaction. So I wiggled it a tiny bit, just at the tip with a capped pen and she did move everything weakly. She's gone floppy from what I saw when I wiggled. Her abdomen is full, as you can see in the picture, so I don't think she is dehydrated - but she just is... comatose.

I added some more water to her dish and did a tiny bit of over-fill so that humidity would go up a bit, however that was about an hour ago.

I just want to know if anyone else has had a tarantula basically go into a coma for a day after flipping right before a molt.

 

[Mad Hatter]

They can remain on their backs for several hours before they finally molt. My first G. rosea was on her back for 2 days before she actually molted.

Whatever you do - let it be.

Place it in a dark quiet place, where it is the least likely to be disturbed. Since it's a G. porteri, it shouldn't require tons of extra humidity in order to molt.

I added some more water to her dish and did a tiny bit of over-fill so that humidity would go up a bit

That's perfect.

 

[Jackuul]

Well, she decided to do it after I went to bed. I see what she did there - she didn't want her private moment disturbed by a camera.

 

[Abby]

Woohoo!!!

Give her a few days, and then we want to see pictures of your newly molted beauty

 

[Jackuul]

Here she is around Midnight. I decided to go to bed after this picture - and missed the whole show. I am sure she did it on purpose so that I wouldn't be able to take pictures.

Here I am at 4am, taking pictures after missing the majority of the molt. What you see is the old skin, and her. She purposely made sure I went to bed so I would not take pictures of her I think.

This is where she is stretching after the molt. I went back to bed and let her be after these two.

And here she is right now, flipped back over and just drying. Her fangs will be white until they dry as well, and this could take around two weeks (to three weeks). I will not be offering her any food during this time, but she will have plenty of clean water (as always) so that she will stay hydrated. Any kind of feeding attempt right now while her fangs are soft is a bad idea, as it could end up breaking or deforming them.

When I measured her molt in a relaxed (not stretched) position her leg span from front right to rear left was actually 5 inches - bigger than what I thought, while her body was just around 3 inches head to butt. She may be a bit older than I first thought.

I also confirmed her as being female based on the molted skin. Her head has also gone to a copper color now, which means she may not be a G. porteri after all, or that G. porteri might in fact be the same as G. rosea. I will have to see after she dries since she is still rather brown, while the other roses I have are much redder.

 

[Abby]

Woot!
She looks awesome!!!

Great pictures, by the way

 

[Redneck]

Wow she sure is purddy!! Glad to see she pulled through for ya..

Oh I might be mistaken but I dont think it is 100% confirmed that the G. porteri is not the G. rosea.. From my understand they MIGHT be the same SP.. Though like I said I am not to sure.. But I heard its just a rumor so far..
(Could be wrong..)

 

[Jackuul]

Well, she went from being pretty much 100% brown, to now having a copper head.

Thus, I am inclined to question.

However I will wait a few weeks so that she dries up and starts to have her final colors.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Wow she sure is purddy!! Glad to see she pulled through for ya..

Oh I might be mistaken but I dont think it is 100% confirmed that the G. porteri is not the G. rosea.. From my understand they MIGHT be the same SP.. Though like I said I am not to sure.. But I heard its just a rumor so far..
(Could be wrong..)

Tommy, I have been looking into this issue for the last few months. Supposedly, the rumor is that G. porteri is what we are currently calling G. rosea, and the G. rosea RCF is actually G. rosea. Until there's a thread linked to a scientific paper that states otherwise, I am going to keep calling my Rosie.....a Rosie!!!!!!
(Seriously, nothing has yet been changed. They are still, to my knowledge, Grammostola rosea.)

Glad she molted for you, Jackuul!!!!!

 

[Teal]

Well, she went from being pretty much 100% brown, to now having a copper head.

My G. rosea did this with her last molt... she was in premolt for awhile, and was a ruddy brown. After she molted, she had a lovely shiny copper sheen to her.
Not G. rosea RCF, or whatever they call it these days LOL

 

[Jackuul]

Huh.

If Porteri is everything BUT RCF, then that means... I have two real roses in the house, and two porteri...

....huh.

I need official sources though.

At least I know my G.pulchras are G.pulchras. But then, of course, there is the "Gray Pulchra" aka Grammostola sp. formosa.

So much confusion...