A successful molt of Acanthoscurria geniculata
Yesterday, I noticed that the Acanthoscurria geniculata female tarantula I keep was upside down, underneath her cast-off exoskeleton. It had molted. In the photo below you can see the tarantula upside down (top half) and the exoskeleton (bottom half).
This is always a critical process, when a spider breaks out of its old exoskeleton a lot can go wrong. Case in point: last Saturday my female Monocentropus balfouri was upside down as well, but after a few days it was clear she was stuck in her molt and had passed. I had bought that spider back in April, 2026 so I was quite sad that it already had died in my care.
Today, I checked on the tarantula and noticed that it had molted successfully and was back right side up. In the above photo you can see the cast-off exoskeleton in the top half of the picture.
Originally a birthday present for Jaiden more than six years ago the care of the tarantula had shifted to me.
Now, I have to wait about 2 weeks with feeding her; her fangs need to harden out.