Brachypelma auratum premolt?

[MuddyBoots24]

Hey everyone this is my first tarantula, a 2.5" brachypelma auratum I purchased about two weeks ago. Do you all think the bald patch on its abdomen indicates it might be molting soon? It was there when I bought it, and the store manager didn't know when it last molted. I fed it crockets about 5 days ago and it readily ate them. There appears to be some dark spots on the abdomen but I don't know if they're getting darker. Thanks for any help!

 

[MuddyBoots24]

And here's a picture of the whole spider.

 

[Jeef]

My B auratum also came with a bald butt. It just means they were kicking hairs. Who knows why at this point. That bald spot will darken up before they molt. Here is mine's butt a week or two before they molted.

 

[MuddyBoots24]

Thanks Jeef. Will the whole butt just kinda turn black all at once uniformly, or will the black like close in on the tan, kind of gradually turning to black?

 

[Jeef]

I honestly didn't carefully monitor it. I just noticed it looked that way when it was facing away from me. It is new hair under there, so I imagine it all grows in at the same rate. Brachypelmas don't molt very often so be prepared for a long wait. There really isn't any reliable way to predict when it is going to happen.

 

[MuddyBoots24]

I honestly didn't carefully monitor it. I just noticed it looked that way when it was facing away from me. It is new hair under there, so I imagine it all grows in at the same rate. Brachypelmas don't molt very often so be prepared for a long wait. There really isn't any reliable way to predict when it is going to happen.

OK thanks. He doesn't seem to like his substrate so I want to redo his enclosure with some peet and coco coir. Or maybe Reptisoil, I'm still trying to figure that out. Plus I tried offering a dubia roach for the first time, the pet store was only feeding him crickets, but he didn't know what the heck to do with it so the roach scurried off and disappeared somewhere. Now I'm worried if he's in pre-molt the roach will be dangerous to him.

 

[MuddyBoots24]

Update! He's definitely in pre molt, his abdomen has darkened significantly in the past few days. It's completely black and shiny now.