Help: My spider turn...gray

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

This is very common, snakes will darken up and look very melanistic before they go blue for a shed. My pastel male looks almost as dark as a normal before a shed. ;)

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Really? I've not noticed mine getting so much darker before. It's amazing to me how much they change color and it's cool.

that is ridiculous if u dont notice a behivior or eating change i wouldnt worry to much

I had this happen to a normal, she didn't turn all the way grey but the bottom half does look axanthic. My theory is that a batch of rodents I got is to blame. These mice were jumbos but very very fat. I generally feed my balls that are about 400 grams XL or jumbo mice and haven't had a problem until this year. One of my females that had been in a tub had smeared her crisco looking poop all over before I had found her. She didn't look well and it took a long time to completely clean her tub (I put her in a new tub). She died a believe a day after she had shed from the ordeal. I watched the rest that had eaten these mice and most had very smelly greasy stools but didn't have the reaction she had. The female that lost her color had the same issue she didn't look right so I checked on her constantly and put her in a bigger tub so she couldn't smear it all over. She pooped the crisco and went into shed. I was apprehensive if she was going to make it or not. When she shed she had lost half her color but stayed alive. I didn't feed her for 2 weeks after that to make sure she got all of it out of her system. The mice were from a big company that gets their mice from I believe research facilities they were almost as wide as they were long and all of them were black. I do not feed my ball pythons these mice anymore and haven't have any problems since. I think it has to do either with what these mice were being tested with or the fat content. I was told that it is possible these mice were used for diabetes research etc...

My first thought when reading this was that this has to be fake, or its a joke lol... Now im amazed.. I wish mine would do that lol..

That's just insane! :eyepoppin:

Speaking of which can we get an update on this girl. How's her coloration now?

She looks pretty cool like that, tell people she is a axanthic spider.lol:D

Any updates on this girl?

Does this only happen with spiders or other morphs as well? Anybody know?

Hi,

I think the first time I ever saw something like this mentioned it was two normal ball pythons it happened too - but I think it was less extreme and mainly on the top of their backs.

Of course with my memory it could have been a movie of the week. :rolleyes:


dr del