2 moults today - bitter sweet

[Will]

So I got home from work, and after saying hello to my wife and kids I went to check my T's. I have 4 of them and none of them have moulted before today. The first one I checked was my 1" P. Metallica and it was at the end of a moult but had one leg stuck so I left it and moved onto my others.

My 2 tiny OBT slings have disappeared into their substrate. Maybe they're moulting too!

But, my Juvenile GBB I could just about see in its burrow was on its back with the exuviae next to her. I was super excited as I've been waiting over a month for this! An hour later and now she is sat half way out of her burrow and looks beautifu! Her legs are really blue now and her abdomen is very colourful. I will get a photo when she is properly out.

When I went back to my Pokie though, it had also completed the moult but I only counted 7 legs so she must not have been able to get the stuck one out.

How common is it for slings to lose a legs during a moult? I feel gutted about it but do I feel bad for no reason?

Also, is it imperative that I get my GBB exuviae out of her burrow? It will be very tricky indeed.

P.S. Sorry about the long post, just very exciting times for me as I'm new to the hobby.

 

[SasyStace]

your sling will be fine and could go into another early molt to repair the leg but 1 leg down for a sling isn't anything to worry about. As for the GBB that happens to be the only sling I have that guards her exo she sits on it for about a week and then pushes it aside and I am able to remove it. I don't know if it's bad to leave it in but I like to spot clean anything like that out, maybe give it a few days. PS. No need to apologize for asking questions EVER. Congrats on the molts and try not to feel badly about the leg- you've still got a live T

 

[micheldied]

The sling should be fine. Losing the leg is better than being stuck in the molt.

 

[Enn49]

As SasyStace says, don't worry it happens occasionally but a moult or 2 and you won't be able to tell.

As for your GBB holding onto its moult, it won't do any harm and it will eventually push it out or at least bits of it. My OBT uses bits to decorate both the inside and outside of her cave.

 

[Will]

Thanks for the replies. Nice to have some reassuring comments! I will leave the exuviae for now then.

My GBB looks like her carapace is blue now. Was copper before. Can't wait until she's out and about again!

 

[SasyStace]

As SasyStace says, don't worry it happens occasionally but a moult or 2 and you won't be able to tell.

As for your GBB holding onto its moult, it won't do any harm and it will eventually push it out or at least bits of it. My OBT uses bits to decorate both the inside and outside of her cave.

HA! I thought my OBT was the only one to build with his exo- it's the coolest!

 

[Will]

So it's been 5 days now since my juvenile GBB and P. mettalica sling moulted.

My GBB's fangs don't look black yet, they're sort of dark red. They don't seem to have got any darker in the last couple of days. Should I wait a bit longer before feeding?

My P. mettalica sling just seems terrified of everything, including crickets the same size as its abdomen. I've heard they wont feed if their substrate is too wet so I'm going to try letting it dry out a bit before trying food again. Anyone got any experience with these slings? Are they all this skittish?

Cheers
Will

 

[Tomoran]

Five days is a decent amount of time, but if you've seen the fangs and they don't look completely hardened, then it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer. I usually give my larger specimens a week or so.

What size is your P. metallica? Was it eating fine before its molt? As a sling, mine was the most skittish of all of my pokies, bolting around it's enclosure with the slightest bump and sometimes freaking out and threat posing prey I dropped in for it. Unlike my other Poecilotheria species that would easily take larger prey, for a while I had to drop in smaller crickets for my P. metallica. If she was startled, it would sometimes be a couple hours before she settled down and actually captured the prey, even with the small crickets. As she picked up some size, she outgrew this behavior, though. She's now a stone cold killer.

If it came down to it, you could always pre-kill something and see if she'll scavenge feed. I've never had to do this with a pokie, but I've done it with several other species. It may just be that the bad molt took a lot out of her and she's taking longer to recover.

On the missing leg: I actually bought a P. smithi sling knowing it was missing a leg as I wanted to watch it grow back. It was VERY cool to watch. Three molts, and you couldn't tell which leg it was.

 

[micheldied]

So it's been 5 days now since my juvenile GBB and P. mettalica sling moulted.

My GBB's fangs don't look black yet, they're sort of dark red. They don't seem to have got any darker in the last couple of days. Should I wait a bit longer before feeding?

My P. mettalica sling just seems terrified of everything, including crickets the same size as its abdomen. I've heard they wont feed if their substrate is too wet so I'm going to try letting it dry out a bit before trying food again. Anyone got any experience with these slings? Are they all this skittish?

Cheers
Will

Wait til the fangs are black. It won't hurt it to wait a few more days.

I have two P. metallica slings now, and they're the most skittish Pokie slings I've ever had(I've had several other species). They've never fed in front of me, and go into hiding the minute I touch the enclosure. But they feed some time in the night when I leave prey there. They can tackle crickets their own size, and they will when they aren't feeling nervous.

 

[Will]

Five days is a decent amount of time, but if you've seen the fangs and they don't look completely hardened, then it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer. I usually give my larger specimens a week or so.

What size is your P. metallica? Was it eating fine before its molt? As a sling, mine was the most skittish of all of my pokies, bolting around it's enclosure with the slightest bump and sometimes freaking out and threat posing prey I dropped in for it. Unlike my other Poecilotheria species that would easily take larger prey, for a while I had to drop in smaller crickets for my P. metallica. If she was startled, it would sometimes be a couple hours before she settled down and actually captured the prey, even with the small crickets. As she picked up some size, she outgrew this behavior, though. She's now a stone cold killer.

If it came down to it, you could always pre-kill something and see if she'll scavenge feed. I've never had to do this with a pokie, but I've done it with several other species. It may just be that the bad molt took a lot out of her and she's taking longer to recover.

On the missing leg: I actually bought a P. smithi sling knowing it was missing a leg as I wanted to watch it grow back. It was VERY cool to watch. Three molts, and you couldn't tell which leg it was.

Yeah I suppose it won't do any harm waiting, I'm just really looking forward to seeing her awesome feeding response again! I will wait another 2 or 3 days and see if they go black.

My P. mettalica is about 1" or maybe just over. I got it on Nov 27th and the only thing it's eaten in my care is a large cricket leg as I had no suitable feeders at the time. Then it just ran away from anything living since. Moulted on Dec 2nd and I dropped a small cricket in on Saturday midday and it was still there 24 later so I removed it. Before I removed it I even got the cricket in some tongs and put it right in front of her but she just bolted!

I think I'll try a pre-killed cricket like you suggested, or maybe a couple of pars of a large cricket.

Yes I'm looking forward to watching the leg regrow. I was gutted when it first happened but I think that was just a noob reaction and I'm sure it will be fine. Hopefully she won't lose another one next time!

 

[Will]

Wait til the fangs are black. It won't hurt it to wait a few more days.

I have two P. metallica slings now, and they're the most skittish Pokie slings I've ever had(I've had several other species). They've never fed in front of me, and go into hiding the minute I touch the enclosure. But they feed some time in the night when I leave prey there. They can tackle crickets their own size, and they will when they aren't feeling nervous.

Yes you're right I will wait another 2 or 3 days! Just excited to watch her feed again!

Mine is the same. The slightest vibration on her enclosure and she's almost doing laps around it!

 

[micheldied]

Yes you're right I will wait another 2 or 3 days! Just excited to watch her feed again!

Mine is the same. The slightest vibration on her enclosure and she's almost doing laps around it!

They'll take pre-killed food just fine as well, if you're worried about leaving a live prey item in there.