Greetings from a concerned and new T owner

[desert blond enthusiast]

Greetings! I am the proud new-ish T parent of a beautiful little desert blond female. Her name is Reggie, short for Reginald Von Bartlebee (I thought it was a male when I first got her but the fancy name stuck). She resides with me at my work place. I am a middle school counselor, and Reggie helps me teach the kids about tarantulas and that the more we learn about something, the less scary/intimidating it can be. The kids love Reggie and stop by to see her often. She is a joy to have in my life!
However, Reggie has been refusing food for the past 3 weeks and appears to be showing a bald spot on her abdomen which I think seems to be getting darker every day. Is she getting ready to molt? What should I do to best help her if she is in premolt? I have attached a picture a close-up of her abdomen if it helps. Thank you all in advance!

 

[timc]

First of all welcome to the forum! Now that sure looks like premolt to me and as far as what you can do to help her, just keep her water bowl full. If it takes her a while to get around to molting it's because she's a tarantula and they run on no one's schedule but their own. Peace and quiet won't hurt either. Good luck but I'm sure everything will be fine.

 

[Chubbs]

Nothing. Except don't offer food and make sure it has access to a water dish as well as something to hide under.

 

[desert blond enthusiast]

First of all welcome to the forum! Now that sure looks like premolt to me and as far as what you can do to help her, just keep her water bowl full. If it takes her a while to get around to molting it's because she's a tarantula and they run on no one's schedule but their own. Peace and quiet won't hurt either. Good luck but I'm sure everything will be fine.

Thank you timc! I am super excited for the molt. I actually have brought her to my home away from the hustle and bustle of her middle school office home so she can have some more peace and quiet for her molting. The students definitely miss her but they understand its a big change for her to go through.

 

[Christell Erasmus]

Hi there,
welcome to the forum and to the hobby. I think it is great that you are teaching kids from a young age about tarantulas.