What's the longest you have had to wait for a tarantula to molt in premolt?

[klawfran3]

My Rosie avocado has been in premolt for six months now, and I started to wonder how long other people have had to wait for a molt when you notice it's in premolt. So who can top six months?

 

[JadeWilliamson]

I don't think I can top six months. Are you sure she's in premolt? G rosea can go on weird fasting periods and start eating again and then not molt. I've gone through six months of that a few times. If you're impatient, one way to induce a molt is to raise the temperature and humidity some.
A dead giveaway that your girl is preparing to molt is that her urticating hairs will be missing and the bald spot will turn very dark.

 

[Poec54]

How do you know it's premolt and not an impatient owner? When does the meter start running: when you think it should molt, or when it's body decides it's time? There's other reasons some of them stop eating.

 

[JadeWilliamson]

Thanks Poec, now we have that base covered.

 

[Kazaam]

Five million and two nine dubble zero years and a half.

 

[klawfran3]

How do you know it's premolt and not an impatient owner? When does the meter start running: when you think it should molt, or when it's body decides it's time? There's other reasons some of them stop eating.

As it was a female purchase from a pet store, she had a bald spot on her which was fleshy pink when I got her. Six months ago it darkened to almost black and she has sort of barricaded herself in Her burrow wih a thin veil of silk. I see her out in the open osometimes, but her abdomen bald spot is still almost black.

 

[Yentlequible]

I had a .5" rosie sling go for 10 months of denying food before it molted. It was crazy, especially since it was just a little sling. Now it's 1" and is back to a normal molting schedule.

 

[klawfran3]

I had a .5" rosie sling go for 10 months of denying food before it molted. It was crazy, especially since it was just a little sling. Now it's 1" and is back to a normal molting schedule.

Ten months for a sling that big? Dang. Glad she's okay.

 

[JadeWilliamson]

I had a .5" rosie sling go for 10 months of denying food before it molted. It was crazy, especially since it was just a little sling. Now it's 1" and is back to a normal molting schedule.

I think my sling's doing the same thing haha

 

[Fins]

I have a female rosea that hasn't molted in 2yrs. She was given to me by a customer at the pet store. I took a picture of her in Nov 2011 after her molt but I'm not sure how long. She isn't showing any signs of premolt either.

 

[Mariner1]

I have had my Rosie(Shelia) since Sept. and she came with a weird looking patch on her abdomen that looks like dirt. I have seen this in pictures of other rosies and still have no idea what it is. I would like to take my brush and clean her off, but I don't think she would appreciate that. She eats like a pig, sometimes she looks at me as if I was on the menu. Right now she is about 3.5, maybe 4 inches. I can't wait for her to molt.

 

[Femangel]

Our L. parahybana has been in pre-molt quite some time now. I guess it takes a lot longer when they are adults. I can tell u one thing: she is a crabby little thing now thats she is in pre molt! Tried to do spme maintenance the other day, u know scoop some poop, not having any of it! She's all like: get out of my house, NOW! Am just leaving her to it now, she will molt when she is good and ready, probabbly in the middle of the night when noone is looking

 

[friendttyy]

G.Roseas go under a condition called hemishperic shift or something like that please correct me if im wrong. They will go months and even a year with out eating. Those who owns G.roseas will probably know what im talking about. The longest i had to wait was my B.Vagans went 3 months into premolt then molted.

---------- Post added 11-08-2013 at 09:38 AM ----------

I have had my Rosie(Shelia) since Sept. and she came with a weird looking patch on her abdomen that looks like dirt. I have seen this in pictures of other rosies and still have no idea what it is..

I think its the mirror patch that is found in some species of tarantulas. Anyways i also see it on my G.Pulchripes ever since this molt and it doesnt bother him/her.

 

[SuzukiSwift]

G.Roseas go under a condition called hemishperic shift or something like that please correct me if im wrong

You're not wrong and I think this might have something to do with the OP's roseas circumstance, perhaps because of hemispheric shift it has been in premoult for a long time.

Very interesting though, what you describe is classic premoult behaviour, barricading in the burrow, black abdomen, and it's been going on for six months? Pretty impressive even for a rosea!

I've never had to wait longer than a month (except for my roseas) for my Ts to moult, something about the humidity here makes them go through the process fairly quickly

 

[Poec54]

G.Roseas go under a condition called hemishperic shift or something like that please correct me if im wrong.

Hemispheric shift is possible for any wild caught animal that gets shipped to the opposite hemisphere. If they're in spring in the wild (warming with longer days), and then go to the other half of the world where it's suddenly autumn (cooling with shorter days) their internal cycles can be thrown off for a while. They missed summer altogether. Or they may be in autumn and go into spring, and never have a winter rest period. The further from the equator, the greater the adjustment the spider would have to go thru, as the differences in temperatures and length of days are more extreme.

 

[klawfran3]

You're not wrong and I think this might have something to do with the OP's roseas circumstance, perhaps because of hemispheric shift it has been in premoult for a long time.

Very interesting though, what you describe is classic premoult behaviour, barricading in the burrow, black abdomen, and it's been going on for six months? Pretty impressive even for a rosea!

I've never had to wait longer than a month (except for my roseas) for my Ts to moult, something about the humidity here makes them go through the process fairly quickly

Now it's just kind of a pain because t has been so long, and I would enjoy being able to sex the molt to be sure. This girl is my most finky little bug, too.Not even my Psycho avic can top her when she's in a bad mood. She's either cuddly sweet or a murderous psychopath. It sucks having to remove Uneaten prey because she changes on a dime.

 

[tangoblue37]

In the two or three years I had my G. Rosea before she died she only ever moulted once. It's a shame because it is very interesting to see.

 

[BobGrill]

G. rosea once went 3 years between molting. P. regalis went 13 months which is a bit over average I believe.

 

[Stan Schultz]

As it was a female purchase from a pet store, she had a bald spot on her which was fleshy pink when I got her. Six months ago it darkened to almost black and she has sort of barricaded herself in Her burrow wih a thin veil of silk. I see her out in the open osometimes, but her abdomen bald spot is still almost black.

"Almost" doesn't count very much. I've been fooled by them as well. It's gotta be jet black. Many of those that we've had over the years would darken appreciably and not molt seemingly forever. I'd eventually give up worrying about them, and they'd molt the next day!

I don't know if the darkening is due to the exoskeleton on the rump merely darkening with age, or if a new exoskeleton begins to form then halts, or if something completely different and unexpected is happening. From your description, it would appear that she is midstream in her Hemisphere Shift. Don't fret, she'll do just fine. Have you read Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula?

Go get yourself a different tarantula, maybe a B. albopilosum for instance, to play with and leave your rosy to her personal crisis.


We need to learn to view the world from the perspective of a large, fuzzy spider!

 

[klawfran3]

Go get yourself a different tarantula, maybe a B. albopilosum for instance, to play with and leave your rosy to her personal crisis

I have three smithis and two avics. I don't need any more to play with. XD
I need some more intermediate ones.