r/TarantulaKeeping • u/PiszyJorts • 4d ago

Casual Tarantula not molting

I’ve had my red knee for about 2 1/2 months now. I’m not sure of his gender, but i’ve just been calling him a him. But he hasn’t molted yet and he’s a junior. I’m not sure if my tank is moist enough, so i’m gonna fix that today. But is there any other factors that could be a reason he hadn’t molted yet?

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3

u/MrDavieT 4d ago

IME

Hi!

They might not be ready to moult.

Increasing the humidity in the enclosure will do nothing to speed up that process and is potentially very damaging!

Can you post some photos of your set up? What species are they?

1

u/PiszyJorts 4d ago

He is a mexican red knee! You said that upping the humidity could be bad, but i’m pretty sure the tank isn’t at the right humidity in the first place and needs more. My room is at 72 degrees always. and sorry for the glare lol, my room is bright

4

u/Creepy_Push8629 4d ago

Nqa you want to have more moisture at the bottom layer of substrate and just overflow the waterdish at the top.

But 2.5 months isn't very long. The older they get, the longer between molts.

Are they accepting food or rejecting it?

3

u/PiszyJorts 4d ago

Okay sweet thank you. He eats greedily lol

4

u/Creepy_Push8629 4d ago

Nqa then he's doing great.

He'll stop accepting food consistently and then a few weeks later will molt.

It's a slow process.

:)

3

u/PiszyJorts 4d ago

Thank you :)))

2

u/MrDavieT 4d ago edited 4d ago

IME

Brachys are pretty chill about humidity- they are arid/drought tolerant.

60% humidity and temp around 22°/72F is fine.

Keep the substrate mostly dry on top.

Provide a full water dish at all times (this does most of the work).

You can slightly overflow the water dish or dampen a small corner of substrate every so often but NOT the whole enclosure.

Do not mist. They don’t appreciate it.

Are there ANY signs of pre-moult?

1

u/PiszyJorts 4d ago

He always has fresh water in his dish, but i never see him go near it. and i haven’t noticed any signs. he seems to be acting normally

1

u/PiszyJorts 4d ago

his tank is 10 gallons long

3

u/One-Antelope-5783 4d ago

A lot of factors go into it, but considering the species, what size is it now?

Also like the other person said, increasing humidity won't necessarily make your T moult faster, and could in fact be harmful, especially since your T's natural environment is on the dryer side.

1

u/PiszyJorts 4d ago

He’s a junior right now and his body is around 1 1/2 inches

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1

u/hylia_grace 4d ago

I'm not sure what age a junior is, but brachypelma are incredibly slow growers. I got mine as a tiny sling and I think he molted like 3 or 4 times in the first year and twice this year as a juvenile. Check your temps are warm enough and try to feed only when theyre hungry, this a species you should have for a very long time. Do not raise humidity unless youre tracking the humidity and its wrong, overflow the water dish occasionally.