Before and after moulting.

[patsyking]

Here is my little B.smithi Poncho before moulting inside the film canister used for a hide.



Here is one after the moult. I can see the starts of colouring there very slightly.

[Leanne King-Smith]

Awww, he is a real cutie. Congrats Mum and about time Poncho

[patsyking]

Thanks Leanne It seemed he was never going to moult he took so long!

[Tom Forman]

well with all the moulting going on recently I was sure Hercules would join the trend. He has been looking ready for a moult for the past month atleast. And tonight is the night. Woohoo. Hes about half way through, this is the first time I caught one of my slings moulting!

[patsyking]

My GBB sling has been in her hammock since the beginning of April and still there! Got to be soon.........got to be!

[Tom Forman]

patsy, hasn't your gbb moulted once already this year?

If yours is about to moult again it would be a very fast grower. With Hercules done now,all 4 of mine have moulted once this year.

I'm not expecting them to moult again till autumn atleast but it would be cool if yours moults again now.

[patsyking]

Hi Tom

Yes, my GBB sling moulted on 10th March and my daughters sling (from the same batch) moulted no 9th March and hers moulted again Friday 9th May. Hers only made a flimsy hammock a day or two before it moulted but decided to moult on the substrate in the end whereas mine has been in the hammock for a good month now and is'nt coming down at all (same behaviour as last time before she moulted) and she has gone very dark all over for a week or so now.

[Tom Forman]

dunno, seems rather soon for her to moult again but maybe she is.

Sounds to me like she is just an awkward little spider lol.

[patsyking]

All I can do is wait and see what happens I suppose. She's not eating, just staying put in hammock and she's very very dark in colour.

[Nicola Dolby]

I wouldn't be too concerned Patsy. Sometime a tarantula will have a bad moult and as a result will go straight back into a new moulting cycle to correct the problem. I had the same with my P. murinus when she was little. Just be on hand with something for her to drink when she's finished, she'll be very thirsty!!!

[patsyking]

She's in a small tank about the size of a cricket keeper and she's webbed to the opening lid again like last time so I'm keeping the one end of the substrate a bit damp, not soaking by any means as I can't open the lid again this time to spray her as normal. It was two months ago she moulted last.

[patsyking]

Last night after being in her hammock for 5 weeks my GBB moulted. She is still in the hammock with her old skin.