Shedding Tips for Pet Chaco Tarantula

Video Transcript

" Tarantulas, as with all arthropods, shed their excess skeletons as they grow. Now, when a tarantula sheds, it is often quite startling. When you go into your tarantula's enclosure and the tarantula actually flipped over on its back. Now a lot of people might assume that their tarantula has just died. That is not true. In fact, the tarantula has just about to shed. So, right before they shed, they actually flip over on their back. It allows them to get their excess skeleton off a lot easier. They will start to move blood through their body and actually pump up their new skeleton and push off the old skeleton. If you look, here's the top of a shed skeleton. You can see the little tiny holes that the tarantula has actually pulled its legs out of. In this collapsed area right here, is the abdomen. The top of the carapedicle breaks off and the spider will push off the old excess skeleton. Now as a spider matures, the spider will shed less often. A full grown adult tarantula will pretty much shed about once a year. As they are growing, continuously, they will shed quite frequently. Also, which is pretty neat, it that they will shed everything including their fangs. You see right here, that they have shed their fangs as well."