Timelapse shows tarantula shedding skin to reveal a new exoskeleton
Creepy timelapse shows a tarantula laying on its back and shedding its skin to reveal a completely new pink exoskeleton in just 20 minutes
- Timelapse video shows tarantula shedding its skin in Sacramento, California
- Whole process took 20 minutes but has been condensed into a 15 second clip
- The spider lays on its back before starting to pulsate and rising out of old skin
A creepy timelapse video shows a pet tarantula laying on its back and shedding its skin to reveal a new pink exoskeleton.
Reptile specialist Jasmyn Brilliante, 20, filmed her spider moulting in December at home in Sacramento, California.
The clip starts with the tarantula laying on a web above dirt and leaves inside its enclosure.
The tarantula lays on its back, left, before starting to rise as it sheds its skin, left, while on a web in Sacramento, California
Its legs then stretch out slightly and the spider starts to pulsate as it rises from the web.
A few seconds later the hairy arachnid is standing on its side, about to tip to being the right way up, with its skin left on the starting point of the web.
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The tarantula then appears to pull harder and manages to shred its skin as the short timelapse ends.
Ms Brilliante said: ‘Moulting is a process tarantulas go through as they grow.
‘It’s pretty much like shedding their skin much like a snake or lizard would, however, instead they are completely losing their exoskeleton, which is effectively their skin.
After a little while the hairy arachnid is standing on its side, left, before tipping back to standing the right way up, right, with its old skin still at the starting point on the web
‘The whole process took about 20 minutes, but I made it into a 15-second video time-lapse.’
When tarantulas are ready to molt they lie on their backs and appear as if they are dead and the process can take minutes or several hours.
Both male and female tarantulas molt several times until they reach their full size.
After molting the spider’s skin is soft making it more vulnerable, reports National Geographic.
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