Lloth, my tarantula is moulting (spider pics inside!)

For those of you who have never witnessed, firsthand, a tarantula in the process of moulting, you might find these pictures kinda interesting.
Even if you have watched it, it's still kinda neat!

Yes, she is unmoving and on her back, looking very much like she's dead, but this is the normal position of a moulting tarantula.
If you look closely, you can see the bed of webbing silk she made just prior to flipping over, you can also see her fangs.

To preserve picture size and quality, these are all clickable thumbnails.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b377/Solocelt/Other pets/Spider/Spaz001.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b377/Solocelt/Other pets/Spider/Spaz002.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b377/Solocelt/Other pets/Spider/Spaz005.jpg

They are pretty spiders! I just wouldn't want one to be lose in my house! I have an awful fear of spiders.

wow! she is an amazing looking spider! like many, i am a little wary of our eight legged friends, but i do have an enormous amount of respect for them.

watched a programme about the cartwheeling spider the other day. they are incredible. to combat the heat of the sand they cartwheel across the desert at 40 revolutions per second! pretty impressive hey!

Oh my goodness!!! All I can think about is getting bit! I'm a little frightened of things that bite.....

What exactly do they moult?

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

What exactly do they moult?

Click to expand...

That was my question too =) Looks cool... but creepy!

They moult their entire exoskeleton, I'll put pics of it up when I get back from my rounds here at the park.
When they are growing, they moult frequently, after they are grown, like my girl, they moult about once a year to replace any damaged parts, missing hair, etc.

And she is much more likely to kick hairs than to bite, she would rather run than fight, she's pretty docile.

I would not wish to get bit either, I hear tarantula bites feel much like wasp stings.

I guess this one could go in the bellies up thread...Lol!!!! that last shot is especially neat...

My brother's friend used to have one of those. One day he came home from work and found "two" spiders in the aquarium. Seems it moulted while he was out. It looked exactly like a live spider.

Here are some videos showing moulting:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/711300...t_change_skin/

Originally Posted by Arlyn

They moult their entire exoskeleton, I'll put pics of it up when I get back from my rounds here at the park.
When they are growing, they moult frequently, after they are grown, like my girl, they moult about once a year to replace any damaged parts, missing hair, etc.

And she is much more likely to kick hairs than to bite, she would rather run than fight, she's pretty docile.

I would not wish to get bit either, I hear tarantula bites feel much like wasp stings.

Click to expand...

Well I'm glad they would rather run than bite! And it's reassuring to hear you've yet to get bit!

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

My brother's friend used to have one of those. One day he came home from work and found "two" spiders in the aquarium. Seems it moulted while he was out. It looked exactly like a live spider.

Here are some videos showing moulting:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/711300...t_change_skin/

Click to expand...

I'm not going to lie, that's a little bit CREEPY!!!! But an awesome video and an awesome thing to see!

Well i didn't know that about Tarantulars moulting!. I'm not fond of spiders myself, but that was interesting to know that about them