My spider is moulting: What should I do?

If the moult has already started, make sure the tank is in a warm, dark, undisturbed place, and monitor the situation from afar.

Ideally, you will have night vision webcam videoing your spiders every move, linked to a PC in another room, allowing you to watch it without going in there at all.

If you are not making videos, you need to quietly go in and check that all is going well every 30 mins or so, taking great care not to alert the spider to your presence. It is difficult to judge sometimes just how well a moult is going, but in the vast majority of cases, you should 'leave well alone' and let the spider do it's thing, unless it is obvious that it is trapped or in trouble.

Moults can take from 3 minutes (tiny slings) to 8 hours (big adults) to complete, but on average, most spiders are out of their former selves within 2-3 hours of first flipping over.

They will all be exhausted by the time they finally free themselves, and will mostly lay still for a while, but might conduct a series of odd, jerky, and stretching leg movements, as they adjust their 'new' appendages. Nothing to worry about.

The spider is EXTREMELY VUNERABLE at this time, and knows it, so it is important not to stress it with lots of activity around the tank. Try and confine your photo opportunities to the bare minimum, and don't use a flash if you can avoid it.

If the worst happens, and your spider becomes stuck in its moult, or has other problems, or you suspect a wet moult, YOU NEED TO HELP, and possibly quite fast. Here is a good plan of action:

• Scalpel, or craft knife (must be super-sharp)
• Artists Fine Paint brush
• Moist paper towelling
• A water dropper (NOT a baster)
• A plant mister
• Super-glue
• A well lit flat surface at a comfortable height to work on
• A large magnifying glass
• A selection of forceps or small tweezers
  

As to what you do with these items - well - I have a vague idea, but not nearly enough of one to be able to describe it here. I seriously recommend that if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in this position, you put all your efforts into contacting the people that have dealt with it before. I can only apologize, for that is not me !