Hi, I have a new question. I have witnessed tarantula molting and seem a huge difference just in size just in that molt. They grow all at once in one molt instead of gradually with no dramatic changes. Do scorpions grow all at once in their molts? Or is it just gradually but still shedding skin like a reptile?
Sounds confusing but hope you get what I'm trying to say.
Thanks,
TBH

Well scorps have around 6-7 molts before adulthood, and they can grow alot from molt to molt.. i think even more then Ts do..

Yes. They don't grow at all if it doesn't molt.

It MUST molt so you can notice and change in growth.

No molts, means no size difference.



I understand what you mean. A reptile can stretch its skin and grow without shedding.

All arthropods do this. A reptile shedding is fundamentally different in nature than an arthropod molting.

However, there is some "growth" between molts -- most, if not all, arthropods have some softer regions of exoskeleton that can stretch a bit and other regions that are completely rigid (for structural support). The softer regions will stretch with feeding and hydration.

In scorpions, this is the membrane between the tergites; in tarantulas, it's the abdomen. The best way to see this is to look at a tarantula that's just molted and then look at it again after it's eaten a huge roach. It's abdominal region will stretch and it will look like it "grew."

The legs and carapace do not behave in this way; they're stuck at the size they are immediately following a molt until the next molt.