How To Know Post-Molt Exoskeleton Is Hardened?

[fluffytocatl]

What it says basically. My first tarantula (t. albo) molted for the first time since I've had her, and I've been trying to be very careful not to disturb her afterwards and making sure there's water in there for her to rehydrate. I know the goal is to not feed again until her exoskeleton has molted, but I've seen a wide range of timeframes (from 1 week to a month for an adult depending on size) and I'm not entirely sure what to look for or how to know I'm looking at the right thing. Her fangs look black to me, but they're also in a reddish area of her body and I'm not sure if maybe they're also red at the tips or pale at the base and unhardened?

I also noticed the underside of her joints being shiny a few days after the molt and they're not quite so shiny anymore, but I don't honestly remember what her joints looked like before she molted. I wasn't exactly looking closely at her elbows, lol.

Low quality spood pics to demonstrate what I mean:

For reference, it's been two weeks exactly since she molted, and she's a mature female. If I had to guess based on my information, I think she may be ready to try feeding again, but I want to doublecheck just in case, because I don't want to damage her fangs. Could I get some confirmation, and maybe some tips about how to know for sure I'm looking at a hardened exoskeleton?

 

[fluffytocatl]

*goal is not feed again until her exoskeleton has hardened.

Just found out posts can't be edited, lol

 

[m0lsx]

For normal sized T's all we do, is not feed any T that has molted during the previous 7 days. So any molts we find from & thus including, the last feeding day onwards. Do not get fed. We have never had an issue. But just to say. We do feed our T's, nice soft crickets & we do leave our larger ladies, for example stirmi's/ LP's. for two weeks after a molt. As we assume, they may take a little longer.

Feeding takes two of us, two hours. So this keeps things simple & has worked well for us. But a T can go months without food. So two weeks without a cricket/mealworm/roach. Is no problem at all, if you want to leave it that long.

We keep a molt diary & never feed without checking the diary.

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

If she's been molted two weeks she should be ready to strap the feed bag on.

 

[x_raphael_xx]

A good indicator is to check the fangs, if they are still pinky-white, they are still soft. You want a nice dark black to make sure they've hardened properly.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

The answer, like so much in biology, is "it depends".

The new cuticle is hardened through an interaction of proteins, sugars (mostly chitin), and chemicals called catecholamines. These ingredients get linked together in a fairly complex chemical reaction that also removes water from the new cuticle. The whole process also requires trace minerals such as zinc and calcium that need to come from the T's diet.

Once hardened the new exoskeleton is filled in and coated with a waxy substance to make it watertight. That's probably what you're seeing with the change in shininess you witnessed.

How fast the new cuticle hardens is therefore dependent on the T's nutritional state. A well-fed animal that has sufficient stores of protein and other required nutrients can harden its new cuticle in less than a day. One that has a some sort of nutritional deficiency or has been on a hunger strike for a long time might take several days to get the job done.

So, it depends. I think the one week rule is pretty good. If the new cuticle hasn't properly hardened by then you have a very sick spider and feeding it probably isn't going to do much to save it anyway.

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

Might think I'm crazy but some of the Spoods I've kept for years all I have to do is look at them..... And I know.... They have the I'm hungry and ready to throw down again look!! But usually I still give it a day or 3... Lol,lol. Happy Spoodering!!!!

 

[fluffytocatl]

The answer, like so much in biology, is "it depends".

The new cuticle is hardened through an interaction of proteins, sugars (mostly chitin), and chemicals called catecholamines. These ingredients get linked together in a fairly complex chemical reaction that also removes water from the new cuticle. The whole process also requires trace minerals such as zinc and calcium that need to come from the T's diet.

Once hardened the new exoskeleton is filled in and coated with a waxy substance to make it watertight. That's probably what you're seeing with the change in shininess you witnessed.

How fast the new cuticle hardens is therefore dependent on the T's nutritional state. A well-fed animal that has sufficient stores of protein and other required nutrients can harden its new cuticle in less than a day. One that has a some sort of nutritional deficiency or has been on a hunger strike for a long time might take several days to get the job done.

So, it depends. I think the one week rule is pretty good. If the new cuticle hasn't properly hardened by then you have a very sick spider and feeding it probably isn't going to do much to save it anyway.

This was extremely helpful, thank you!!! Knowing how the process goes and why a spider may/may not be ready is really useful. Can I ask where you learned stuff like this about tarantulas so I can also do more research?

 

[fluffytocatl]

Might think I'm crazy but some of the Spoods I've kept for years all I have to do is look at them..... And I know.... They have the I'm hungry and ready to throw down again look!! But usually I still give it a day or 3... Lol,lol. Happy Spoodering!!!!

That's amazing, wow!! And thank you!! I bought her some feeders today, gonna see if she's up for snacks lol