Tarantula molting is confusing for beginners.

No lie – it’s one of the most confusing (and surprising!) things for people just getting into the tarantula hobby. At least once per week, I get asked by a very concerned, well-meaning newbie about why their tarantula isn’t eating or if their tarantula is showing signs of premolt – so I figure this is the perfect time to talk about the signs of premolt.

The signs I’m about to mention on premolt are pretty standard across the board regardless of species, although there may be some differences. And while no tarantula is the same, at least a few of these signs will likely be present if a tarantula is preparing to molt. I’m going to separate the signs into two stages before tarantula molting – general premolt and advanced premolt.

General premolt

These are the first signs that a tarantula is entering premolt. In this preliminary stage, a tarantula will likely:

• Stop eating: Your tarantula will refuse food and may even go as far as to kill it but not eat it. This is one of the most obvious signs of premolt, especially if your tarantula is generally a good eater. It should be noted, however, that some species such as Grammostola roseas like my Spidey, go on fasting sprees at random for reasons that are not connected to premolt – so keep that in mind if you have a species that is notorious for fasting. You may have to look for the presence of other signs of premolt.

• Your tarantula gets very lethargic and even starts hiding. While some tarantulas are pretty lazy in general, they can become even more inactive in premolt. Some tarantula owners report that when their tarantula gets close to a molt, it has trouble climbing in its enclosure as the pads on their feet become less sticky.

• The appearance on their abdomen will change – their abdomen may start to look very plump, dark, and may even have some baldness. In slings, their abdomens may look very shiny.

Advanced premolt:

As the tarantula gets even closer to a molt, here are signs to look for:

• You may notice fluid leaking from their joints
• There may be even more darkening in the abdomen
• Your tarantula may become even more secretive, burying itself of closing off the entrances to its hide or den with dirt and web so it can’t be seen or bothered.
• If your tarantula starts building a thick web known as the molting mat, this is a sure sign that a molt is very near and your tarantula will soon be on its back molting.

What to do if you think you’ll have a molting tarantula:

If you think your tarantula is in premolt, here’s what you have to do:

• Remove all prey items in the tank if there are any: in premolt, you don’t want to feed your tarantula or have any live food in the enclosure in case your tarantula starts molting. During a molt, your tarantula is very vulnerable and can’t defend itself – even small crickets have been known to attack and eat molting tarantulas. Make sure your tarantula is alone during a molt.
• Make sure there is a full water dish: A water dish in the enclosure provides just enough humidity to give your tarantula an easier molt, plus will help your tarantula hydrate after using all of its energy in the molting process.
• DO NOT DISTURB: This is probably the biggest one. Unless you’re removing prey or filling the water dish, do NOT bother your tarantula. And if your tarantula is on its back, do NOT touch it unless it’s an emergency, such as being stuck in the molt. Leave your tarantula alone so it can complete the molt when possible.

I hope this helped you demystify tarantula molting! By the way, check out my new tarantula magazine for more cool spider stuff:

I’m putting out issues every 2 months! If you’d like to be a part of that, you can visit the magazine’s Patreon page to subscribe or make a submission! You can also contact me at theavenmag@gmail.com for more info!

If you want to learn more about tarantulas, feel free to check out my big tarantula guide (I talk about lots of tarantula facts and enclosure/care tips). You can also get free tarantula tips by signing up for my newsletter or subscribing to my YouTube channel! I release new tips every Tuesday for Tarantula Tuesday! And I also sell some pretty cool tarantula t-shirts, if I do say so myself 😉