King Molted Again

Elmo suddenly noticed that King was molting this morning. He was already nearly finished by this time. Here are some photos we got soon after he noticed.

King - Molting
June 5, 2011

King - Molting
June 5, 2011
Click to see LARGE version of photo!

King last molted 4 months ago. We were concerned he might get stuck again, but there were absolutely no problems this time.

Also, he does not appear to have come out black this time. The hairs all over him are crazy long! His legs are very thick, too. Elmo is convinced that King is really a Queen. I can't tell if there is an epigastric furrow in the photo or not. Perhaps it is still too soon to tell.

May Modeling: King

First of the month and Elmo finds King, our Theraphosa blondi, in... a defensive stance / display? Great photo op!

King ~ May 1, 2011

King ~ May 1, 2011

King ~ May 1, 2011

King did, eventually, completely bury this water dish. We put a larger one elsewhere in the aquarium. He then dug a bit of a large bowl next to the old water dish. He hides in it quite well!

King & Clyde

Elmo found King (Goliath Birdeater) stuck by one foot to the top of his aquarium again. We keep waffling about a different cage, but I think we're just going to have to get one, perhaps this weekend. We were trying to figure out how to help him, but I couldn't even tell which way he was holding on to the screen. And then I realized... I could hear him hiss! OMG, it was so cool! I had Elmo lean in to hear it, too. I thought his entire fangs would move for that, but I guess just his mouth was moving? It sounded like one of those old wind up walking toys. Anyway, King let go on his own. He has moved all the dirt out of that corner, too. He seems alright, though. He walks around on the mesh every night.

Clyde's molt and burrow

Then I started checking on all the babies and found that Clyde (Curly Hair) had molted! However, the molt was stuck to his rump. I think I would have freaked if this hadn't happened with King already. I took the dish, backdrop, camera, and a Q-tip in to the kitchen and loosened the lid to the dish. Clyde managed to run off the old skin and into the hole, though! While I didn't get any cool shots of the mess, it is better that the separation happened without assistance. Now I'm watching Bonnie because surely that one will molt very soon. I'm sure they're from the same egg sac.

King made it, with some help

One suggestion said to use forceps to grasp the old skin. It wasn't working. Someone else replied to my plea for help suggesting I use a q-tip and water along the edges of the stuck skin.

1 swipe with a q-tip

Dabbing water at the edges wasn't working. This photo was taken after the first swipe down the backside. The old skin peeled away like wet paper! King didn't much like me messing with him so he kept dragging the skin along.

King, fresh out of his molt

Now someone on the forums suggested King isn't a Theraphosa blondi after all, but rather a Theraphosa stirmi (a Burgandy Birdeater which is a new and popular Theraphosa species on the market). So we'll be researching that. He was sold to us as a T. blondi.

King is Having Trouble

King started his molt about 8 hours ago. He was doing well, taking his time.

Goliath Birdeater,
King - mid-molt

However, he seemed to get stuck with his abdomen. He flipped back over and even came back out of his hide, but he is dragging his exuvium behind him.

Goliath Birdeater,
King
stuck in his molt

I'm quite concerned that we might have to do surgery to get him separated from it. Though that wouldn't be as bad as losing him in the molt.

King & Other Updates

Well, it seems King was headed into his hide to molt! Elmo looked over to find this:

Theraphosa blondi
(Goliath Birdeater)
Settling in to Molt

You may recall, King had broken his leg. We're hoping his leg will come out anew which usually happens when injured spiders molt.

---

In other news today, Fuzzy Britches (Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula) has been pushing dirt up very high in the corners of her habitat. I very much want to give him more dirt, but we do not have any more on hand after giving all of it to King and we're snowed in right now.

Most of the larger spiders have been active today.

---

The next local Reptile Expo is coming up on the weekend of February 19th. Now we have to decide whether we're going to do a fancy meal or just do the Expo for Valentine's Day this year. Tarantulas are wonderful gifts, right?

King

We added almost an entire brick of substrate to King's aquarium, working around him. We built up the height on the corners and took out the fake skull for now. He hasn't been in his hide since he broke his leg, but over the past several days he has been slowly working his way toward it. He is finally (mostly) inside it and we're both pleased. It is somehow reassuring to see him back in his "home."

Pet Update

King (Goliath Bird Eater) has broken his hind / right leg. It is broken about half way down and still attached. My husband was pretty worried at first, but I'm sure he'll be fine. We're waiting and watching for a molt and he is keeping the humidity high.

Since we moved him into the aquarium, he had been climbing the corners. He would sometimes get his foot stuck in the mesh lid.

King
Theraphosa blondi
(Goliath Bird Eater)

Chaos (Rose Hair) finally molted! She did it pretty quickly and while we weren't watching. Her color is brighter and beautiful!

King

Theraphosa blondi
(Goliath Bird Eater)