Here is my King Baboon (Pelinobius muticus) i got her (paul becker said it was a girl, havnt confirmed it yet) in july '11...she was close to 3 1/2 inches at the time. but then she molted immediately after i received her. 7 months later and still no new molt. not long ago, she finally showed herself after a 4 month underground barricade. i thought for sure she molted then, but i didnt find a shed during the rehouse. and now that shes out and about, she still wont eat. does this time frame for molt, factoring her size sound right? when she was eating, it was once a week. her abdomen seems very small...im a bit worried.

some pics...

Penelope's curiosity



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quarter comparison...i was surprised she didnt run and hide. its like she wanted to be photograghed



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You might try to start a burrow, and I'd double check that female bit. Do the padipalps look like the other legs on the ends? Meaning are there tarsal claws visible?

hi christian

she has a nice burrow. my microscope and i are waiting for the next molt in order to sex check. havnt looked for PTC's, but will soon. i know she looks like a male now, but i think thats because she hasnt eaten in so long, like i said, she was underground for 4 months straight.

heres a couple of pictures from before she went into hiding (september)...id say she's almost double in size now (besides her rump)



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So the previous pictures were newer? Any idea why it's out of the burrow now all the time? Is there a new stress or something maybe?

yes the quarter picture is most recent.
she finally came out on her own. why? i thought because she had molted and was ready for some food. but that wasnt the case. i gave her a couple of weeks and then rehoused her. i didnt find a skin. the first time she molted, she pushed her shed out of the hole.
new stress? besides the recent rehouse...not that i can think of. i figure she's still in premolt but came out for some air.

like i said, the last known molt was in early july, wouldnt that make her due around now? or should it have already happened, like before christmas?

well...i got it in a jar and took some pics/video...and i think she is a he (grrrrr)
i cant see any pedipalp claws, i take it thats an indication of being a male?
instead i see small shinny bulbs below the tips (sperm bulbs, right)
and now that i think about it, since it came out of hiding, it does seem to be climbing the walls a lot when out at night (looking for a queen?)
and it definitely looks more colorful than before it went into hiding, i just dont see why i didnt find an exoskeleton. those pics from september were lacking the macro option i think, but still, its more orange now compared to after the first molt that i saw.
i can see how paul sexed it wrong, even now it looks like it has a epigastric furrow. is that common for males to have a line in between the book lungs?

anyways...here are some pics...tell me what you think...thanks



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Looks suspiciously like palpal bulbs to me, especially the fifth picture. Methinks you have a boy.
Penelope is very intrigued! :-)