Removal of old molt Q

[Nurse Ratchet]

Question for y'all. T. albo molted underground about 10-14 days ago (b**ch, I wanted that molt). T and molt are still burrowed. Internet searches keep saying I should remove old molts as soon as possible to prevent mold and funk. But it's buried 5 inches or so down and I have no desire to bother my special little lady. She's burrowed down 11/11 and hasn't deemed it worthy to surface yet. It won't hurt her if I just leave it in there, right? Thoughts please...
XO

 

[WolfSpider]

No problem. It won't rot. In time your baby will expel it from its burrow.

 

[Nurse Ratchet]

Awesome news. Ty!

 

[DustyD]

In the meantime it might snuggle with it.

I made the mistake of trying to remove a molt that was still near the t about a day after it molted. The T - a G. pulchripes Chaco Golden Knee - grabbed and pulled it back into the den. Eventually it discarded it.

 

[Tarantulafeets]

Sometimes they'll discard it, other times they will incorporate it to their burrows to add structure. It won't mold, and if you already say it's a she, than their is no need to use it for sexing, it should be fine to leave it in there.

 

[Nurse Ratchet]

Gender unknown... I refer to all my T's as she -wishful thinking- until proven otherwise. I don't know the gender of any of my cuties yet. But the important thing is, the molt is fine to stay put. Maybe next time I can get my hands on it.

 

[Jeef]

My T. albo did the same thing. I'm not interested in sexing mine at the moment, so I honestly didn't care.

I have a C. darlingi I've never recovered a molt from. I'm sure you can get mold, but it has never been an issue or something that worries me.

 

[DustyD]

No problem. It won't rot. In time your baby will expel it from its burrow.

If that happened in a bioactive setup, would the cleanup crew take care of it? Just curious. I don't have a bioactive terrarium.

 

[Arachnoclown]

If that happened in a bioactive setup, would the cleanup crew take care of it? Just curious. I don't have a bioactive terrarium.

I have massive amounts of springtails and isopods in my moist species enclosures and they don't eat enough to notice anything at all. I don't think they bother with them. I'm also one that leaves my molts for already sexed spiders in there for weeks afterwards, or until the first post molt meal.

 

[Nurse Ratchet]

If that happened in a bioactive setup, would the cleanup crew take care of it?

I'm sure they will eventually break it down, but I only use dwarf isopods with the tarantulas, so it's a rather large meal and may take weeks. As for now, my clever little architect has incorporated into the structure of the tunnel. No mold outbreak. That may be in part due to the springtails.

 

[TheInv4sion]

My P. americana colony and mealworms both eat molts when I toss them in along with snake shed skin.