Pre molt?

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cjp518

Arachnopeon
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Jul 11, 2014
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My 1/4" E. Campastratus just ate yesterday and is all fattened up but has a large black spot on her abdomen. Is she in pre-molt or is this a problem? She did eat which I thought was strange if she would be in pre molt. Here is a pic of the spot. and i did find mold in her cage when i came back from vacation a week ago uploadfromtaptalk1406817457815.jpg
 
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skippydude

skippydude

Arachnobaron
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
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487
It's not in pre molt. You should only give it a small portion of a cricket that size when feeding, maybe a leg or a head. That is too much food for one feeding.
 
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cjp518

Arachnopeon
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Jul 11, 2014
Messages
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I pre killed it but. I appreciate the tip I'll keep that in mind for the next feeding, but I'm more concerned about the black spot on the abdomen right now. Any thoughts on what that is?
 
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cjp518

Arachnopeon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Does a patch of hair grow? I noticed it a few days ago when I got home and it's gotten larger and it doesn't look so hairy to me. I'll need to take a better picture with my DSLR and post it later
 
skippydude

skippydude

Arachnobaron
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Feb 3, 2013
Messages
487
The dark spot is the urticating hair patch. The entire abdomen will turn dark & shiny when in pre molt
 
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cjp518

Arachnopeon
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Jul 11, 2014
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skippydude said:
The dark spot is the urticating hair patch. The entire abdomen will turn dark & shiny when in pre molt
Click to expand...
ok, she didn't have it when i got the sling and they showed up last week, and it's gotten larger since. And I was under the impression they need to molt to develop new urticating hairs. So I got a little worried
 
lacrosse5001

lacrosse5001

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Aug 25, 2009
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The appearance of a patch is a little odd, but it's nothing to worry about. Like skippy said, the whole thing will be black and shiny when premolt rolls around. Most small details that seem weird I've learned to just let happen, as the T knows what to do most of the time.
 
cold blood

cold blood

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Shortly after molting, that black spot will appear, its normal and not a sign of pre-molt. When that black spot takes over the entire rump, then you are pre-molt....it will then get very shiny in the days leading to the actual molt.
 
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cjp518

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 11, 2014
Messages
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The black spot has now taken over the entire rump! It looks a little shiny but its hard to tell with her being so small. She also really did some work on her burrowing. I'll check on her again tomorrow.
 
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