Can't see my T

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PRE66 6TART

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
9
I've had my T for a little over 6 weeks now. On April first I rehoused her after learning a little more about what conditions she preferred. That was essentially the last time I saw her, except for once a few day later when she briefly emerged to set a dead cricket down outside her home.

While she was taking out the trash I thought the little bald spot on her abdomen looked darker than usual, but I couldn't be sure. Before I did the rehouse she was always out, active, and hungry. Since the rehouse her behavior has changed obviously, but there are so many variables and I've only had her for a short time, so I don't feel able to draw any conclusions, but I thought it might be possible she is in premolt.

She has now dug herself a burrow in the back of her hide and partially blocked up the entrance, so that I can no longer see her. I was hoping to retrieve an intact molt if she did indeed molt because I don't really trust the people I got her from to have identified the sex correctly, but that doesn't really seem possible now. It's also been nearly a month now since I've fed her, but I don't want to risk endangering her.

I don't want to disturb her or wreck her home to check on her. Should I wait until she comes out again to feed her? Will she let me know if she gets hungry? How do you all handle this situation? How do you ID their sex if they molt out of sight? How do you know when to feed them if you can't see them? Should I stop worrying and have a beer and not think about it so much? Should I stop asking foolish questions?
 
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
1,083
Sounds like she could be in pre-molt, or just seeking privacy, a hidden T is a happy T as someone else said on these boards a while ago.. sounds normal, she'll hang out at the entrance of her hide if she's hungry.. if she's plump (fat, abdomen bigger than carapace) don't fret, she'll be fine.. just make sure she has access to water in form of a water bowl, no sponges or gell.. the tricky part about molt sexing is getting intact molt from the T without disturbing it, most of the time they chew on it to replace lost fluids, which may render the exuvium worthless for sexing.. afterwards they will eject it from their hide.. so normaly that's when you'll get the exuvium, sometimes you'll get lucky retrieving one with little to no damage that is good enough to sex.. patience is what this hobby is all about.. leave her be, don't disturb her or the hide.. she'll be fine
 
ratluvr76

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
PRE66 6TART said:
I've had my T for a little over 6 weeks now. On April first I rehoused her after learning a little more about what conditions she preferred. That was essentially the last time I saw her, except for once a few day later when she briefly emerged to set a dead cricket down outside her home.

While she was taking out the trash I thought the little bald spot on her abdomen looked darker than usual, but I couldn't be sure. Before I did the rehouse she was always out, active, and hungry. Since the rehouse her behavior has changed obviously, but there are so many variables and I've only had her for a short time, so I don't feel able to draw any conclusions, but I thought it might be possible she is in premolt.

She has now dug herself a burrow in the back of her hide and partially blocked up the entrance, so that I can no longer see her. I was hoping to retrieve an intact molt if she did indeed molt because I don't really trust the people I got her from to have identified the sex correctly, but that doesn't really seem possible now. It's also been nearly a month now since I've fed her, but I don't want to risk endangering her.

I don't want to disturb her or wreck her home to check on her. Should I wait until she comes out again to feed her? Will she let me know if she gets hungry? How do you all handle this situation? How do you ID their sex if they molt out of sight? How do you know when to feed them if you can't see them? Should I stop worrying and have a beer and not think about it so much? Should I stop asking foolish questions?
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It sounds lik pre molt behavior to me. Especially if she's blocked up the entrance to her hide. No need to dig her out, that will just cause added stress. She knows what she's doing in there. ;) as far as getting an intact molt, that's a little different. All of us have a hard time getting an intact molt when they do this. It's a crap shoot honestly. In that regard it's an if you fail try try again. There will be future molts. ;)

Don't worry about her, as long as she's blocked in don't offer food though. She will come out when she's ready, in her new duds.
Congrats on your spider and welcome to the boards.
 
Blueandbluer

Blueandbluer

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 17, 2015
Messages
494
+1 to previous posters. Leave her be. You have unfortunately picked a hobby that requires a great deal of patience. If you're struggling to wait, join the Watering Hole board and vent your impatient frustrations on the Patience thread. I find it cathartic!
 
P

PRE66 6TART

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
9
Blueandbluer said:
+1 to previous posters. Leave her be. You have unfortunately picked a hobby that requires a great deal of patience. If you're struggling to wait, join the Watering Hole board and vent your impatient frustrations on the Patience thread. I find it cathartic!
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I know a little about patience from my other hobby, which is brewing. Only brewers solve this problem by getting a "pipeline" going, meaning they always have multiple batches going in different stages of development to keep them busy and get their brewing fix. The difference is beer can be consumed more quickly to keep up with production. I would imagine a spider pipeline would just lead to having an ever increasing number of spiders.
 
R

Roosterbomb

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
Messages
42
Patience is all I can say. I have learned an extroidinary amount of patience since getting a T. To answer your question yes you should have a beer and relax.
 
cold blood

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
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Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,259
PRE66 6TART said:
I know a little about patience from my other hobby, which is brewing. Only brewers solve this problem by getting a "pipeline" going, meaning they always have multiple batches going in different stages of development to keep them busy and get their brewing fix. The difference is beer can be consumed more quickly to keep up with production. I would imagine a spider pipeline would just lead to having an ever increasing number of spiders.
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Exactly!!!!! Good analogy. Get more spiders is indeed the answer!!! The only way you can always observe is if you have several.....there were times when I only had 21 and 18 would be hidden or in pre-molt at a time.


The t will most certainly let you know when its hungry...now its not gonna leave a note...hehe, but it will emerge, or at least its feet will. I do not offer food to t's that are hidden away, I wait till I see it in a hunting posture...many just offer once a week just in case....I recommend offering pre-killed if you do, as the t could be molting and many prey items have a knack for hiding and if left, many can and will get to and feast on a freshly molted t.

You don't id the sex by seeing it molt, you do that by retrieving the molt. Most of the time the t will do a "cleaning" and eject the old exo. At this time you can soak it in water and a little dish soap to soften it and open up the places you need to look. Unless your t is part of an upcoming breeding program, knowing the sex isn't really too important. Most of the time we can get a good idea (or most can) by sexing ventrally...like when the t is on the sides of the enclosure.

Resist the urge to dig it up, every time that urge hits you...its almost never the right answer. In 15 years the only t I ever dug up was my B. smithi, and that's only because it collapsed while the t was in mid-molt.

Enjoy your beer(s).:smile:

Home brews...did you once live in WI??
 
cold blood

cold blood

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Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,259
PRE66 6TART said:
Nope, colorado born and raised. I think homebrewing is fairly popular there though. And I know there are quite a few brewing yoopers as well.
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Yeah, its very popular here...Milwaukee is a city built around breweries....as much of a true beer town as exists on the planet.
 
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