Change of pyjamas

Look! One of our pet spiders has shed. Doesn't he just look beautiful now? This one is usually a bit nervy around people so has a habit of flicking all the hairs off of his bum. He's been running around with a bare arse for about six months and has now at last discarded the old suit for a lovely fluffy new one. He'll be all soft and squishy for a few days whilst he puffs himself up and then hardens up a bit. He should be well hungry by next week though (they lose their appetite before they shed. They won't eat immediately afterwards either as they are soft and vulnerable to damage- in fact, you have to avoid having any prey in the tank with them when they shed as crickets have been known to nibble on tarantulas when they are still soft!) so I'm going to order some nice fat crickets today for them ready for rumbley tummies next week. I'm also going to try and rescue the skin and get one of my minions to set it out for drying so that we can use it for handling. Thing I love about shed skins though is that they look like some kind of mechanical suit that the spider sits inside of and controls- I often find myself looking for the control panel on the inside.