Woo hoo Tarantula molting!

Hi all..though Velvet is our pet...she is wild. I thought more people looking at the forums would enjoy the post here.

Our tarantula, Velvet, is a Acanthoscurria musculosa (True Brazilian Blackvelvet), a very rare find in the pet trade. She was identified from photos only and that mean only 50% correct. We were so lucky to have adopted her, regardless of sp. She is very gentle and has not once showed aggresive behavior..not that this can't or won't happen. We think it's a she, only the molted skeleton will tell us for sure.

Well, the BIG event is, she is having her first molt since we got her. We feel so priviledged to be able to watch this incredible event!

There is a specialist in Victoria, BC that can determine her age and verify the species from the molted skeleton. This is so awesome to us. Once the species and age are identified, we'll have documentation on her/him. Sure hope it's a her as males do not live for very long. We know how to determin the sex from the skeleton...so you won't have to wait for that info.

We knew she was in pre-molt from her balding spot on the abdomen. When it changed from a pinkish color to jet black, we knew we'd be on a molt watch...takes from 2 days to 3 weeks for them to start to shed the old body. Most tarantulas turn upside down to molt. We were lucky..only had to wait a week...just way too excited here!

Checked on her this morning and the pic shows what we found. A trap-door will open in her abdomen...the big fat part, you can't see in the pic, and she will slowly push herself out of it. For a trantula...this can be a life or death experience. We are as prepared as possile for any emergency.

It can take anywhere from 20 mins to 2 days for it to molt. I'm going to post updated pics as she progresses.

Hope that you who enjoy these miracles will enjoy the posts...until further developement..I'll be sitting next to her cage...watching! Feeling like we are having a baby...lol Have a great day all!!

PS: My gardening chores will have to wait on this event...hee hee :)

Thanks! Way cooool! Looking forward to more photos.

I never would have thought so, but I'm very excited! you filled your post with so much energy. Can't wait for more pictures.

Fascinating - please keep us updated :)

Seems I was wrong...the trap door ( as I call it) is on the sternum...the part you ARE seeing. she is working under this to get out and will push it off her once freed and rested.

This is the skeleton of a small Rose Hair tarantula, right side up, it shows the underside cavity where she is working from.

Velvet is really working hard to come out...we still can't see her body, but lots and lots of movement.

My ex husband had a tarantula and one point in time but I personally just don't like them, they are just too creepy. I "did" however used to sit and watch it for hours but from the comfort of my chair, knowing it was securely in it's terrarium..........lol

When it shed out of it's body though, I kept that and put the back back on it and set it into a very small terrarium setting and used it as a pretty "creepy" but yet "fascinating" display :)
It's so amazing that the entire skeleton will stay intact except for the top that pops off but it's intact too and you can just place it back on top of the skeleton and no one can really tell it's not a real spider unless they get really close and the thing doesn't move........lol

I'm cracking up here Flowox...about your creepy comment. Loved hearing what you did with the shed.

We do hold Velvet at times, only because she will tolerate it. It keeps her used to being handled, so when someone wants to see her up close...she stays calm and everyone can enjoy learning about her. When you can have a species that will tolerate handling, it helps in showing people that they are not the terrible, mean and aggressive creepy crawlies they've only seen in the movies. They seem to learn respect for them when they see one held. We never let anyone hold her though, just us. They really are amazing spiders. Most of the time, we just watch her through the glass, as this is what she prefers.

Since Velvet is an adult tarantula we don't have any of her growing molts. We hope to have several other species and to egt them as spiderlings. We plan to do a shadow box showing the growth.

Velvet has finished her molt! YEAH!!!! She is still reating on her back, it took her 9 hours to free herself...I'm dying to get her shed so we can sex her! Can't touch anything until she turns over and moves away from it.

Here she is when she first started to push out.

here she has her back and fangs free

now for the first joint of her legs...

it's funny how they have a hard time after the molting. Ours just wobbled around for the longest time until she got back on her feet like normal

Cool Flowox...She just turned over....looks kinda like a colt..so unsure. Can't wait to see her walk..hee hee

This message was edited Monday, Jun 23rd 12:16 AM

more legs...

She's almost there...

Wow, this is cool! I was really creeped out by the tarantula my mom had when I was in junior high school. I'm afraid I worried it out of curiosity and it rubbed the hair off its abdomen in its nervousness. :S I can't remember whether hers molted or not. How long do they usually live?

Whew...she made it!!!

Finally turned over after 1 1/2 hours of resting and stretching...can't wait till she walks. Then she'll really start to stretch and grow.

Gardenwife..males do not live very long, only 2-5 years. Female live much longer, from 15 to 25 years!

That is why I want her to move away, so I can get her skeleton...it will tell me for sure if it's a male or female.




This message was edited Monday, Jun 23rd 12:46 AM

What an incredible series of photos!
Thanks for showing this, it's fascinating

Can't wait to find out what 'make' your spider is....

What a show WaWild!! Thanks for making us a part of it and welcome to the WildLife forum. It's great to have another 'nature freak' among us!

this is really cool, thank you so much for sharing something I never even knew happened! can't wait to find out if it's a he or a she.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!
I circled the little flap that tell the boys from the girls...LOL

We are so delighted. Now we know we'll have many more years to learn and enjoy this sp. I wish the camera flash did not alter her color so much. She is beautiful and so soft looking. Unlike many of the tarantula species..she does not have the course and scratchy hairs. She really looks like black velvet. Certain lighting makes her hairs look blue..so cool and other show it's jet black.

Listen to me...sounds like I just had a baby...hee hee. Th molting process sure reminded me of a birth. I feel so blessed to have been able to witness the entire process.

Thank you all for sharing this with me!!!!!

Thank YOU - it's been great
So pleased it's the right sex - the one with stamina LOL

LOL WaWild, this is wonderful. When my son's Rose tarantula molted he put the molt in a lined jewelry box and carried it over for me to see.

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing!

Doing the "Happy Dance" for you :)

Thank you for sharing. Tarantulas are a gorgeous creature and you have added much to my knowledge of them.

Thank you all for the kind comments. I'm so glad I found a place to share my pet family that people enjoy. I have to admit some of them are not the cuddly kind, but very interesting to me. So glad you enjoyed.

Floidian..isn't it amazing what we value and enjoy sharing with others...LOL tarantula molts in lined jewelry boxes...I love it.

Frankly, I do not like spiders, and the bigger and hairier, the less I like them. HOWEVER, I have been quite interested in this unfolding of knowledge about your pet, and enjoyed it even though I still don't want one.

Thanks for posting all the pics... :)

fascinating! I am so glad "its a girl". Your pics are really neat. Thanks for letting us take a look.

That was a wonderful thing to share and your pictures were great, I never knew that they molted. I always learn so much from DG. Thanks

Great photo's and very interesting! Thank's for sharing!

Very cool series of photos. I have a Chilean Rose tarantula. About a week before shedding she starts rejecting food, and the she always webs herself completely into her flower-pot cave. She stays hidden for a few days (perhaps so we can't see her stumbling around!) ,then tears down the web & ejects the shed with some viggor. As a result, I've never gotten to witness it. So it was very interesting to see how yours did it. She is so lovely! Thanks for posting!

It was my pleasure to share and I'm thrilled so many people enjoyed it! Thank you all for taking a look.

Kmom...I love the Chilean Rose. They are so pretty. I'm allergic to their hairs, so I could not have one of that sp...isn't that weird? Therefore, for now, I must admire them from afar.

There is a wonderful book called “The Tarantula Keeper’s Guide” by Dr. Stanley A Schultz. It is our favorite resource.. If you do not have a copy, I would highly recommend buying it. Many libraries carry it too. I emailed the author for some additional info after we got our Velvet. I did not know if I’d ever get a reply…I did, he responded in less then a day and we corresponded for several days while he assisted us. It was during this time that I learned he was also the Vice President of the The American Tarantula Society. The site is another great source of information. http://www.atshq.org

It was Mr. Schultz that told us we did not need a cave or place for our tarantula to burrow. He said that if we did provide one, our girl would spend most of her time in it and we’d miss her in action. It does not cause the spider any stress not to have one. Since you are aware of the stages of your tarantulas premolt,you could remove her cave during that time and maybe catch her in the act of molting. We were very lucky to catch it. I can’t tell you what a fascinating show it was. Thank you so much for sharing about your girl!!!!