Why skinny C. versicolor shed?

[bp78900]

My C. Versicolor has refused food for about 6 months, she's got really skinny, and now she has shed. She looks exhauted and smaller than the shed. Is there anything I can do to help her recover?

 

[DustyD]

Make sure it has water available to drink and hold off feeding it. More experienced keepers than I have said that after a molt, wait until the fangs harden and turn black before feeding. Age of the tarantula can affect hardening time. I usually wait about 10 days for my slings/ juveniles.

Tarantulas have been known to go a long time without food so what your T is going through is not unusual, although I have not personally kept your species.

 

[octanejunkie]

Sounds potentially like dehydration...

Pictures?

 

[bp78900]

Make sure it has water available to drink and hold off feeding it. More experienced keepers than I have said that after a molt, wait until the fangs harden and turn black before feeding. Age of the tarantula can affect hardening time. I usually wait about 10 days for my slings/ juveniles.

Tarantulas have been known to go a long time without food so what your T is going through is not unusual, although I have not personally kept your species.

Thanks, I never feed after molt for at least a week. But have never had a skinny T. molt before she just didn't look ready and is taking a long time to recover, she has garden moved all day

 

[octanejunkie]

Thanks, I never feed after molt for at least a week. But have never had a skinny T. molt before she just didn't look ready and is taking a long time to recover, she has garden moved all day

Sometimes they molt as a preemptive measure, like if something is wrong. Check the molt looking for her "sucking stomach" - the absence of may be why she molted unexpectedly and was skinny

 

[bp78900]

Might be, its been so long since she ate snd although she has water I've never seen her drink. The first pic is today's shed, then her now and the other was taken in May 2020

 

[bp78900]

Sometimes they molt as a preemptive measure, like if something is wrong. Check the molt looking for her "sucking stomach" - the absence of may be why she molted unexpectedly and was skinny

I haved checked this molt and it is there, I will try and find her last and check that. Any suggesting for helping her recover from molting quickly, i'm reluctant to try food too early as don't want food to damage her.

 

[Arachnoclown]

There's absolutely nothing you can do to help her recover except to make sure she has water. I would try to feed her in 7 days. If she excepts food feed her again right away. Then go back to a regular two week feeding.

 

[octanejunkie]

I haved checked this molt and it is there, I will try and find her last and check that. Any suggesting for helping her recover from molting quickly, i'm reluctant to try food too early as don't want food to damage her.

There's absolutely nothing you can do to help her recover except to make sure she has water. I would try to feed her in 7 days. If she excepts food feed her again right away. Then go back to a regular two week feeding.

This ∆∆∆

 

[TheInv4sion]

She doesn’t appear to be that skinny in the picture do you have one where she isn’t in a stress curl?

 

[bp78900]

I haven't pushed her ro unfurl so that is the best I could do, she was at least a third of the size she was in the healthy pic before shedding.

 

[octanejunkie]

I haven't pushed her ro unfurl so that is the best I could do, she was at least a third of the size she was in the healthy pic before shedding.

You can't push a tarantula to be less stressed, that's like forcing someone to relax. Just leave it be.

Pics of the entire enclosure maybe?

 

[WolfSpider]

As per Octane and Clownie. If she will eat every 2 weeks, she won't stay skinny for long.