Rapid Moult!

[Richard Groves]

For a couple of weeks now my Poecilotheria regalis has looked fat, dull and very sluggish. I have known a moult was on the cards but what I witnessed today really blew my socks off!

10:30 am : I notice she has laid down some heavy webbing behind her slab of cork bark.

11:15am: After taking a breather, she has become active again, thickly webbing herself into a tight cocoon, not being too familiar with arboreal species I wonder if there will be enough room to complete her moult!

At this time I go out for a few hours

4:30pm: She is now on her back, head up with her longer legs secured with some silk. every few seconds I can see her pulsing her legs.

4:35pm: Her Chelicerae are free showing her bright grey/white fangs!

4:45pm: Her legs are half way out, not long to go!

5:00pm: Moult complete. She has lowered herself deeper into her funnel of webbing and I am able to remove the old skin (now confirmed she is female!)


After experiencing how long it seems to take for a terrestrial T to moult, this one seemed to happen in the blink of an eye! I'm looking forward to seeing her in all her bright clear colours.

[matthew spooner]

congrats on the successful moult richard. i am a bit jealous u got to monitor and document it though, mine always do it through the nite or while i at wrk so i never get to watch.
i love p.regalis, they a beautiful species, i bet those patterns and those bright yellow undersides on the legs look fantastic fresh from a moult
there are various possible reasons for why the moult was quicker then normal, one of the main ones i suppose would be humidity, how soft the skin is.