Tarantula shreds its skin in rare moulting process
- 4 years ago
#Tarantula
A tarantula has been caught on camera shaking off its old skin in a strenuous molting process.
Incredible time-lapse footage shows the Brazilian whiteknee tarantula completely shedding its skin while shaking intensely.
The creature is seen laying on the ground and pushing up as the old layer comes off of its body.
The spider uses its legs to make sure it has completely shed its skin and then appears to finalise the change by kicking it away.
The Brazilian whiteknee then starts to stretch out its legs and get used to the fresh skin before the time-lapse ends.
Tarantulas molt to refresh the sensory hairs on the end of their legs that are used to detect smells, tastes and vibrations.
Spiders can even regenerate missing legs during the molting process. According to Tarantulagude.com, before the tarantula starts molting, it goes through several other physical changes.
A bald spot on the spider's abdomen becomes larger, and the skin underneath changes from pink to black.
The tarantula may stop eating altogether and the spider lays still for two weeks before the molting process begins.
Kieran Brant filmed the spider and said: 'I decided to record this video as this is our male tarantula and being the first in our collection he is very dear to us.
'Unfortunately, after male tarantulas have their final molt they do not survive long.
'This was our first tarantula that we purchased two years ago. We currently now own 180+ tarantula's and have started breeding projects. We also have lots of other reptiles and inverts in our collection.'
Kieran runs a YouTube channel, Alternative Inverts, documenting the lives of his tarantulas.
A tarantula has been caught on camera shaking off its old skin in a strenuous molting process.
Incredible time-lapse footage shows the Brazilian whiteknee tarantula completely shedding its skin while shaking intensely.
The creature is seen laying on the ground and pushing up as the old layer comes off of its body.
The spider uses its legs to make sure it has completely shed its skin and then appears to finalise the change by kicking it away.
The Brazilian whiteknee then starts to stretch out its legs and get used to the fresh skin before the time-lapse ends.
Tarantulas molt to refresh the sensory hairs on the end of their legs that are used to detect smells, tastes and vibrations.
Spiders can even regenerate missing legs during the molting process. According to Tarantulagude.com, before the tarantula starts molting, it goes through several other physical changes.
A bald spot on the spider's abdomen becomes larger, and the skin underneath changes from pink to black.
The tarantula may stop eating altogether and the spider lays still for two weeks before the molting process begins.
Kieran Brant filmed the spider and said: 'I decided to record this video as this is our male tarantula and being the first in our collection he is very dear to us.
'Unfortunately, after male tarantulas have their final molt they do not survive long.
'This was our first tarantula that we purchased two years ago. We currently now own 180+ tarantula's and have started breeding projects. We also have lots of other reptiles and inverts in our collection.'
Kieran runs a YouTube channel, Alternative Inverts, documenting the lives of his tarantulas.