There are few animals that unsettle me as much as tarantulas and other large spiders. Over the years of working in zoos, I've eventually learned to make some semblance of peace with them - and I certainly bear them no ill will, I won't try to squish one that I see - but I get the jitters whenever one appears. Imagine how grossed out I was, one day early in my career, to come in one day and see our resident tarantula on its back, apparently dead. I'd resigned myself to having to handle the corpse for removal, but decided to swing back and do it at the end of morning rounds.
Then, imagine how creeped out I was to come back to the enclosure and find myself looking at not one but two tarantulas.
Like snakes, tarantulas molt, or shed, as they grow. With snakes, I find the process of watching the skin being shed to be soothing, calming, elegant. At its simplest, it's like a sock being slowly pulled down (and, considering how gross my socks tend to be at the end of a work day, peeling them off is something I associate with a lot of pleasure and comfort). With spiders... it's less calming.
The tarantula flips onto its back, as the specimen I saw was. It may appear dead. Then, the exoskeleton splits open and the spider violently wriggles it's way out, leg by leg. It leaves behind its old exoskeleton which, despite the seeming ferocity of the struggle, is often left miraculously unspoiled, seemingly a perfect copy of the move liberated - and larger - arachnid. This accounts for the second spider that I saw. The process could take a few minutes. It could take an hour. It does seem to be a challenging, stressful process for the spider, and it's not uncommon for pet tarantulas to die during the molt.
These shed exoskeletons can be a great educational biofact, as well as providing an opportunity to help visitors who are afraid of spiders examine them in a manner in which they will feel safe and more receptive to learning.
They also provide a really evil device for pranking other zookeepers. This from someone who has been both the victim and the prankster.
Enjoy (or, perhaps, don't) this video of a tarantula molting, just to give you an idea of what you're missing.
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