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CK
Lv 6
CK asked in PetsOther - Pets · 1 decade ago

N. Chromatus sling's bad molt?

I don't have too much experience with tarantulas. The only one I've really had is a 7 year old G. Rosea and because of the abuse she was put through before I received her (or at least that's what I think it is), she's only molted once, and it was a good clean molt. I did have a A. Geniculata sling for a few months but it died during a molt, suffocated because it could not free it's book lungs and I was not present at the time to help free her.

I now bought my N. Chromatus and she was a few molts in. This is the first molt I've seen her go through. She molted on her belly NOT on her back, which I know is WRONG, about three days ago. I've left her alone until today. I tried to gently remove the molt from her side to see if I could sex her from the caste and apparently a leg is stuck, and it's been stuck that way the entire time. This is the second main leg on the left side.

I know they are SO fragile at this stage, but I carefully removed all of the molt except for the caste still left around the affected leg and, upon examining her, also noticed that the leg in front of that one was bent all the way back and curled around the wrong way. It's still soft but she does not wriggle it at all like she does the rest unaffected legs.

I did NOT attempt to bend it back OR pull the rest of the caste off the other leg.

Unfortunately, despite being as gentle as I could it woke her up. She jumped up to her belly and struggled a little. I gently put her back on her back and she jumped back up and I'm just leaving her alone again. She's wriggling about once more, stretching her new body out while it hardens.

I'm worried though, not so much that I've damaged her from waking her up a little early, but that the two legs that seem damaged are in the front on the same side. I know legs can regrow with another molt or two, but the problem is will she be able to hunt and eat and support herself long enough to reach that point? I'm pretty sure those two legs won't be usable as they are.

Update:

I also misted the cage, dampened the trapped leg, and raised humidity and kept her book lungs clear of fluids. I know I should not have stressed her during this time, but felt that she had been trapped too long and was hoping I would be able to help. She's beyond help at this point though, I believe, and any more 'help' seems as if it would have hurt.

Update 2:

She is acting as she was, not walking but shifting around slowly to stretch and harden her new body but on her belly this time. I can't believe how much she's grown! She is very young still though, her water dish is not much more than a very small, very shallow lid with just a small bit of water in it for the moment with a ramp.

I'll try meal worms if it seems like pinheads are too challenging for now though, that's an idea I never thought of.

2 Answers

Relevance
  • Dani R
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago
    Favourite answer

    She should be fine as long as she has a water dish near by so she can replenish any moisture lost during the molt. If she was several days post-molt, moving her didn't cause any damage and sometimes we've had to move them immediately following a molt if they are stuck in it. Ours have always pulled through, if we could get them out fast enough. She may cast those legs off and regrow them and she should be able to still get around well enough to still hunt down her prey and eat. They don't need to eat much and if she does cast those legs, she'll probably push a molt faster to recover.

    Source(s): Many years keeping and breeding hundreds of tarantulas.
  • Allison
    1 decade ago

    how is she acting now? the only thing that may be difficult is hunting. if she is still young though she may eat freshly killed prey. my baby b smithi will eat crickets dead or alive. if that does not work you can try meal worms, something that may be easier to catch, or try moving the dead prey around to help her catch it. you probably know how much she normally eats as it is. use that as a guideline.

    Source(s): own 2 tarantulas
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