Color Morph Questions

ShaunHolder

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Early November last year, I recieved 4 little OBT (P.Murinus) slings in the mail. Two orange morphs and two brown. The Oranges are from the same sack, as are the browns. Since I've had them, the orange morphs have both molted four times in my care, within days of eachother. They where all around .4'' when the came. The orange morphs are both over an inch now.

My friend had been wanting to get into T's for a while, and I let him have one of the brown morph's (at the time it was the best eater). After about a month he came over and told me he had been molting for over a day, and if wanted to know if he was ok. I came by to check it out, and sure enough it was molting. It never ended up comming out of the molt and died halfway out. :(

Here's whats been throwing me off. The brother/sister of the Brown Murinus still hasn't molted in my care. Its still .4". Is it unusual for the brown morphs to take much longer to molt than the orange? It's been living in the same setup/conditions as the others? It's behavior has been normal for a sling it's size. It lays down a fair ammount of web, has a good appetite and doesn't do anything abnormal. :?

Any words of expeirence here? Are they very diffrent genetically?
 

becca81

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Are you sure they are from the same sac?

I've heard people express caution at breeding the two color morphs because, from my understanding, they are from two different regions.
 

ShaunHolder

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I'm sure. I ordered them from a breeder here on arachnoboards.
 

shogun804

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what brown morph are we talking about? the P lugardi...that is a totally different specie in that genus from what ive read the only ones i can think of a P chordatus another different specie in that genus...and what else? im confused :?
 
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ShaunHolder

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By brown I mean P.Murinus, and by orange I mean the red color form. :rolleyes:
 

ShaunHolder

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Allright, so I woke up this morning to find the little sling had molted. At first when i looked at it, it didnt seem to make much sense. I saw a bunch of legs and something fuzzy. After I moved i realised a piece of it's old exoskeleton is stuck somewhere on it's abdomen. It seems like it's attached to it's spinnerets, but im not sure. I was allready late for my afternoon class so I decided to leave him be for the moment.

It seems to be moving around fine. It's movement isnt restricted but the carpace is still attached to the part of the left over exo. The carpace itself isn't attached to the T, but I dont think it would be a good idea to leave it on there.

Any suggestions or ideas? Anyone else expierence a molt stuck on a T's spinnerets? I suppose I'll have to wait untill I get home to inspect further...
 

Windchaser

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Moisten the area a little. It should fall off on its own. Use a small paint brush or Q-Tip to dab a little water where the exuvium is stuck.
 

ShaunHolder

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I'll give it a shot thanks. I suppose my next question is should I wait untill it hardens to try the paintbrush or should I do it now while it's exoskeleton it's still soft?
 

Windchaser

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I would give it a little time, though I don't think you need to wait until it hardens completely.
 

ShaunHolder

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I put a lot of water in there, at least enough to cramp up the humidity. I turned my oven on very low and put him in the general area to raise the temp up a bit. he's over in the corner standing on two legs. It seems like hes propping himself up and trying to pull it off himself. I'll let him do his thing and see what happens.

Thanks for the advice, I'll post back in a minute and let you know what happens.
 

Windchaser

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Did you actually moisten the T and the exuvium? This is what I hav edone in the past and the exuvium will usually comes off right away. I get the impression you just moisten the enclosure. Anyway, good luck.
 

ShaunHolder

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Success! I tried putting a bit of water directly on the T, but it didnt come off. Then I tried brushing the area around the T (not on, I was afraid I'd cause some damage). Finally i thought if I put a lot of moisture on the area where there was excess hanging off the water would spread and eventually it would fall off. Instead when I applied pressure to the shed carpace, it was momentarily pinned to the ground. The T ran off and off it came. No damage to the T what so ever. There is a bald patch on it's abdomen, but seems fine otherwise.

Thanks for the advice Wind. I had read about the paintbrush technique, but it's always reasuring to have a second opinion first. ;)
 
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