Bad day, Good day, Just plain weird day !!

[Godzirrrra]

I woke up this morning and looked in the tank with the T. Blondi and noticed some white-grey fuzzy stuff on the damp coconut fiber. So i decided to start a new tank with peat and swap it out untill i dries. So i comes back up stairs to find the Blondi on its back... !!! Great its molting !!!. So after I finish cleaning up the new tank I notice my Rosea making a some kind of blanket. I think to myself Hmm, thats never done that before. 10 mins later I come back to find it UNDER the blanket with its fangs peeking out the top. So to sum it up I have a mold problem and possibly 2 spiders molting. The rosea has molted 2 times in the last 5 months, this will be its 3rd if it does.

Should i try to move the Blondi now or wait till she is upright and hardened ?
Thanks
Chris

[Lorgakor]

I would think you should wait. There may be more danger to moving it now than leaving it with the mold for a few days. The experts may have a better idea though. Good luck!

[jbrd]

what did your T blondi look like befroe she molted, i have had mine about a month now and she has been acting weired the last few days, wondering around climbing the walls and waht not, also noticed she has dark black spots gettin bigger on her legs, any help would be appreciated.
thats pretty funny about your rosea doin that

[rosehaired1979]

Are you sure that Rosea is female? Sounds to me like a sperm web to me. Does it have hooks on its front legs? If so its male. Wait till the blondi finishes moulting (Just leave her be) and wait till she hardens before moving her.

[Godzirrrra]

Rosea is a male, I was thinking sperm web myself.. Its about 3 1/2 legspan at rest. I just got done looking at it and its webbing the under neath of the blanket too now, so it might be looking for the ladies. As far as the Blondi it looked quite beat. Most of the hair was gone from the "butt" and was very dark in color and the legs have dark patches of no hair. Almost looks like spider stretch marks.

Hope that helps Jbrd

[Windchaser]

Are you sure that Rosea is female? Sounds to me like a sperm web to me. Does it have hooks on its front legs? If so its male. Wait till the blondi finishes moulting (Just leave her be) and wait till she hardens before moving her.

I was about to say the same thing. This sounds like a mature male making a sperm web.

Don't try moving your blondi until it has had time to harden up. If there is mold, after a day or so try to remove the mold itself. But give your blondi some time to recover from the molt.

[Elizabeth]

Is the mold everywhere on the coconut fiber? If so, what about removing some of it (where the T is not) and then replacing that area with drier, mold-free bedding? Wouldn't that help any? Maybe after the molt, the T could at least have the choice of getting off of the moldy bedding?

[Godzirrrra]

Unfortunately the spider is lying on the only area that is moldy. I should have let the stuff dry more, so i put about 3/4 of an inch of dry stuff on top. But she decided to dig and got down to the moist area. Mr. Rosea is now playing with some liquidy stuff. I think ill try to get the Blondi into a big deli cup in a few days and scoop out the moldy area. Then Ill replace with dry bed-a-beast and see if its get dug out again.

[Windchaser]

When you change the substrate, it would be wise to replace all of it. I use 100% peat moss and the stuff is so cheap that I simply dump the old and put in fresh substrate. This way there is no chance of dormant spores.

[jbrd]

As far as the Blondi it looked quite beat. Most of the hair was gone from the "butt" and was very dark in color and the legs have dark patches of no hair. Almost looks like spider stretch marks.

Hope that helps Jbrd

thats exactly what she looks like too, im a newbie and only had her about six weeks and she was acting weired in the AM, thanks this helps alot.

[brigebane]

I've had the same problem with the condensed coconut substrate; Natural peat is a far better choice because the various molds, pests, ect... keep each other in check. I so far, havn't had any problem with molding in my cages with peat.