The Littlest Patient: How Not To Freak Out When You Have a Tiny Spider Stuck In a Molt

Hi,
I don't like to post threads much but I decided that I had a little story to share that can help others in the event that they have a stuck spider.

I received 2 .5inch P.regalis slings last week from a user here on AB from a trade we did, both arrived in good shape and in pre-molt. One of the duo molted several days ago with no complications so I anticipated its sibling to follow, which it did..half way. I came home from work on Wednesday to see that the sling was molting but appeared to only have a few limbs out, I decided to leave it alone overnight to do its thing but I had feeling in my gut that it would not get out. When I woke up Thursday morning I noted no progress so I took action, I very carefully moved it onto a slightly damp paper towel in a flat surface and started working. I had my headlamp, a small pair of revlon tweezers and a small soft wet paintbrush. I used the tweezers to hold the exo in place while I carefully wetted it with my brush in hopes that the sling could pop itself out. While it was slapping at me and trying the best it could, I could only get one limb out so I decided that 4 legs and both palps would be enough. I carefully used the paint brush and stroked at one of the leg joints, this eventually got the sling to pop them off itself. I could have amputated them by cutting them near a joint but I decided I would give the spider a chance to do it first. I then worked to get the rest of the exo off the abdomen, the book lungs were clear, just some had stuck near the spinnerets, I gently pulled the exo with my tweezers and used the paint brush to soften/dislodge the exo and from what I can tell, I got it all off. The sling is now in a small ventilated vial with paper towel as I did not want it dragging itself on sub, this will also allow me to easily offer pre-killed prey to fatten it up quickly so it can regenerate faster. I will post a picture of the sling once it has had some time to recover, I have high hopes as it was fighting me the entire time I was operating (total of about 8 minutes).

Now for the person who has never had to help a spider out of a molt (this will be my 3rd time doing it in the past 2 years)

* Every situation is different so there is no one true solution but the main thing is: If a spider is stuck you either have to hope it gets out itself or you need to do something (whether it's getting it out or putting it out of its misery thats up to you)

* Some spiders just have a hard time molting, you can keep them perfectly and for some reason they will still get stuck, the sling's sibling was kept in the same conditions but molted just fine.

* Time is very important the sooner you can spot a problem and fix it the better chances you spider will have. NOTE it will take some time to figure out how fast a spider normally molts but for a sling this size (.5 inches) 24 hours is way too long and it appeared to be in distress. I suggest spending time watching molt videos or watching your own spider molt to get a feel for what is normal, you will know something is wrong if you see enough of your spiders molt.

* IF you need to cut off limbs then do it right before a leg segment, spiders have muscles in each segment that will allow them to close off the wound and not bleed, having flour/corn starch around is not a bad idea though. Spiders will regenerate with the next molt and I've noticed that they molt a little faster when they are regenerating.

* If you suspect a molt, make sure your moisture source is set, i.e. water bowl is full, if the sub needs to be moistened, make sure your moss isn't dry etc. this can all make sure that your spider will have an easier time molting.

* Any extra tips/corrections from others is appreciated.

Very helpful. One clarification, please... When you say " before" a leg joint, is that closer or further from the T's body? I'm assuming further based on your explanation but I want to be sure.

Me personally with a sling that small and the problematic molt being noticed so soon would of tried wetting its sub and misting the enclosure in hope it would work itself out over night...

If the sling didn't free itself by the morning then I would of peeled it out...

But hey it worked out so congrats!

Blueandbluer said:

Very helpful. One clarification, please... When you say " before" a leg joint, is that closer or further from the T's body? I'm assuming further based on your explanation but I want to be sure.

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Spiders have 7 leg segments so really any of their 5-6 joints would do, probably the one closest to the coxa or body is the best one to work with.

14pokies said:

Me personally with a sling that small and the problematic molt being noticed so soon would of tried wetting its sub and misting the enclosure in hope it would work itself out over night...

If the sling didn't free itself by the morning then I would of peeled it out...

But hey it worked out so congrats!

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That is exactly what I did, I suppose I did not make clear/include it in my story, I decided to operate as it was almost 20 hours since I noticed that it tried molting (I noticed it Wednesday afternoon and got it out the following morning). I am of the opinion that spiders usually can help themselves, they haven't made it for over 300 million years for nothing.

awiec said:

Spiders have 7 leg segments so really any of their 5-6 joints would do, probably the one closest to the coxa or body is the best one to work with.

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Oh, sorry, I guess my question wasn't clear. I didn't mean which joint. I meant relative to the joint; you said "before" a joint. And "before" varies depending upon your perspective. So what I meant was, by "before" the joint, did you mean as in on the carapace side of the joint or on the tarsal side of the joint? I'm guessing the latter, but I want to be clear.

awiec said:

Spiders have 7 leg segments so really any of their 5-6 joints would do, probably the one closest to the coxa or body is the best one to work with.



That is exactly what I did, I suppose I did not make clear/include it in my story, I decided to operate as it was almost 20 hours since I noticed that it tried molting (I noticed it Wednesday afternoon and got it out the following morning). I am of the opinion that spiders usually can help themselves, they haven't made it for over 300 million years for nothing.

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Now that you mention it...you mentioned it! My bad for skimming!

Blueandbluer said:

Oh, sorry, I guess my question wasn't clear. I didn't mean which joint. I meant relative to the joint; you said "before" a joint. And "before" varies depending upon your perspective. So what I meant was, by "before" the joint, did you mean as in on the carapace side of the joint or on the tarsal side of the joint? I'm guessing the latter, but I want to be clear.

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Correct the tarsal side, using a person's arm for an example, you would want to cut below/before the elbow, the side that is closest to the hand. By cutting on the tarsal side the spider can use multiple muscles in their joints and their body to cut off blood flow and not bleed to death but corn starch or flour can be used if there is some bleeding and super glue for the most dire wounds on the abdomen or cephalothorax.

This is exactly how I lost my P. regalis sling - I wish I'd had access to this back then. Very valuable information here.

I also had a similar experience with a 0.5" B. albo sling, though it wasn't quite as badly stuck. I gave it nearly a week with extra-moist sub and reduced ventilation in the hope that it would be able to kick off the molt itself, but eventually I did have to intervene with tweezers. The "surgery" was a success and said B. albo is now in a larger enclosure and is webbing and eating as it should be.

LythSalicaria said:

This is exactly how I lost my P. regalis sling - I wish I'd had access to this back then. Very valuable information here.

I also had a similar experience with a 0.5" B. albo sling, though it wasn't quite as badly stuck. I gave it nearly a week with extra-moist sub and reduced ventilation in the hope that it would be able to kick off the molt itself, but eventually I did have to intervene with tweezers. The "surgery" was a success and said B. albo is now in a larger enclosure and is webbing and eating as it should be.

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At a certain point you have to intervene as if they harden up while stuck they will be pretty deformed and will need very special care, granted the regalis has 4 legs, one of them being kinda mangled but it has been moving up and down the vial so it is managing.

Exact same thing happened a few days ago with a T. gigas sling. I pretty much did what awiec did and now I have a poor little tappy with one palp and 3 legs , but he is alive! I have 13 of them right now and they are all kept in the same setup. I'd also like to point out that both specimen (the regalis and the gigas) were literally the last ones in their respective groups to attempt a molt. I had 10 of the regalis, which I sent awiec 2 of them. All kept in the same setup. Does anyone think it is the "late bloomers" that have trouble molting?

It could very well be...my B. albo is growing very slowly despite a 3 times weekly feeding schedule, and this isn't the first time it's had problems molting.

DamonVikki said:

Exact same thing happened a few days ago with a T. gigas sling. I pretty much did what awiec did and now I have a poor little tappy with one palp and 3 legs , but he is alive! I have 13 of them right now and they are all kept in the same setup. I'd also like to point out that both specimen (the regalis and the gigas) were literally the last ones in their respective groups to attempt a molt. I had 10 of the regalis, which I sent awiec 2 of them. All kept in the same setup. Does anyone think it is the "late bloomers" that have trouble molting?

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I think that some are just weak specimens, in the wild they would be dead pretty quick but in captivity they have an extra chance at life. I had a P.muticus get stuck but after it recovered from surgery it was very vibrant and actually has been molting very regularly with big gains each molt. I had two A.velutina slings and one just straight up died, it wouldn't eat, molt or lay down webbing; I still have its sibling who has been thriving and molted several times for me. Though ultimately I think genetics does play some role here even if we provide the opportune environment for them.

Figured I'd update.
The sling died about a week ago, it started acting sluggish and I was hoping for a molt but it was unresponsive when I checked on it later. I was not sure if it was going to make it as it was not eating very well which leads me to suspect that internal organs weren't formed properly or perhaps the anus was blocked with some exo that I did not notice. It's sibling actually has molted again already and is doing very well so I stick with my theory that it was a weak individual and I did what I could for it.

I'm sorry to hear this.

Blueandbluer said:

I'm sorry to hear this.

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It happens, trying to raise true spiders from eggs has kinda numbed me to things like that. Now if it was a juvie I would be rather annoyed but early stages like this I am usually not shocked if they die.

When I got my PBZ hatch it was hundreds of stories like this, I ended up with my 100%er's my 80%er's (dragging around 2 legs) and 30 or so lost causes. Poor things would get peg legs and still manage to feed, two of the heartiest souls live on !

beaker41 said:

When I got my PBZ hatch it was hundreds of stories like this, I ended up with my 100%er's my 80%er's (dragging around 2 legs) and 30 or so lost causes. Poor things would get peg legs and still manage to feed, two of the heartiest souls live on !

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Tis the nature of things, I understand why people are worried about getting slings but most of the time once they've made it to 3rd or 4th instar they are golden.

Still, sorry you lost her. I probably would have given mine extra moisture and maybe 24 - 36 hours before the freezer. I just don't think I could assist on surgery unless it was just one leg still stuck or something very simple looking. I'm glad you felt comfortable trying to save your girl -- wish it had worked.
:unhappy:

Ellenantula said:

Still, sorry you lost her. I probably would have given mine extra moisture and maybe 24 - 36 hours before the freezer. I just don't think I could assist on surgery unless it was just one leg still stuck or something very simple looking. I'm glad you felt comfortable trying to save your girl -- wish it had worked.
:unhappy:

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Well I didn't freeze it, I just let it pass on its own. I attempted to give it some water but there was no response on that so I couldn't really do anything for it.

Great post. Very handy to know. Lost a GBB sling to a very bad molt about a month ago, had I known this it could've been different. Part of the reason I'm keeping an eye on our Genic that's mooring at this very moment in time.