spiders shed

[adam woods]

Do T's shed when they want to or when they have to?

I have a N coloratovillosus it has a black bum and not eating. So i thought it was ready to shed but nothing happened then we put him in a new pot and that night he shed was that because he was in the right pot that he/she liked or was that because he/she had to?

[Jeremy D. Hoge]

I'm not sure but I know they can help induce molting to fix an injury or something. I.M.O. I think they can get it started but I don't think they can controll it after it's started. I could be wrong though.

[Guy Tansley]

Probably just a co-incidence with the timing. Tarantulas that sustain an injury can sometimes 'force' a moult to repair any damage but as Jeremy points out, once the process is initialised, the spider can't stop it.