HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I had a PP who had streaked and I spent the day at home caring for. It was originally not looking good, but he molted and has successfully made it through! There's just one problem- he only regrew his two claws and one leg. I threw some meal worms in his container to give him a couple more days after his molt and he has finished them. I'm wondering how I should feed and give him water from now on until he molts again? I've seen emergency recoveries where they have taken time to leave them in a food dish and water, and I will have to do that since he can not walk around on his own.

I would like to know how long and how many times a day he should get water? How long in each type of water? How deep should the water be?

Also, how long I should leave him in a food dish?

Edit: He may be able to hobble around somewhat, I gave him some fresh water and he pushed himself around a bit trying to get away using a claw like a walking leg. (It looks like he drank some of it) Although if he can move around a bit I don't know how far he could get easily to eat or drink on his own if I left shallow shells and a food dish.

Interesting situ you got there! Your plan of action should be to offer food and both waters until he refuses them and molts again. The fact that he already molted sounds like a great start!
Water: offer shallow dishes for drinking, like clam shells, bottlecaps, or anything he can just lean against and sip out of.
For pools, if you feel he really needs to submerge, i suggest giving him ramps, so he can go as deep as he wants to easily. You can take cups/glasses that're taller than they are wide and line the inside with a roll of plastic canvas, or just place a wide strip down. Wedge them into the sub tilted. The water shouldnt be too full that it'll wick onto the sub. The glass should be tilted far enough that the crab wont slide and fall in.
Food: give him anything he will eat. Worms are great for protein, which your crab needs to grow back limbs, i guess (you are what you eat, eh). If he can eat them on his own, thats great, but perhaps crushing or grinding food will help him take it in faster so he can molt asap. Definitely keep having him eat mealworms.
Dont forget a calcium source like crushed/powdered egg shell or cuttlecone. Toss in some bits of fruit and veggie if he will eat it. You can mix natural peanut butter and honey and offer it on a qtip. This could give him an extra boost of energy that will help him tackle his molt ahead.
After he gets loaded and ready, he will dig down and we shall rejoice! Watch for him to refuse eating or drinking, which means he is ready to molt. If he cant dig on his own have a hide ready to cover him with to give him privacy and darkness.
GOOD LUCK! Save that lil guy!


Crabbers unite!!!

I decided to keep him in the container for now, as I still need to move another hermit crab out of iso, but he is doing well. I give him water, and although he doesn't usually seem to drink much, he gets some when he needs it. With a lot of calcium and protein he's growing some gel buds, and they are getting bigger everyday!

What are gel buds? What do they do for the crab? This happened to my crab but he only has his LC and one leg, he really has two but one is broken in at least 4 places. My crab is hopefully molting right now

When crabs need to regrow a limb they will usually start it off with a gel bud. I guess it's the beginnings of regrowth. It'll look like a dewdrop where the limb should be, appears translucent and wet. After you see gel buds, there's a good chance that the very next molt will reveal a complete new limb.
I think he only regrew his claws and leg because that was all he could manage at the time. I assume crabs can only intake a certain amount of food and it can only do so much. Asking someone to regrow ALL their limbs in one go might be too much Hopefully he can intake enough to go the distance this time!
Are you holding him in the water to drink in that pic? Instead you can try putting a bottlecap of water in front of him. Hopefully, he can use his claws to prop himself up to drink. Getting him to use as much as he can of what he's got might do him good, sort of like physical therapy.
How's his eating? Is he preferring or favoring anything? I even recommend giving him something he can tear apart, he might like that? His claws look ready to rip! Got any meat he can try? I saw someone giving their crab microwaved ground beef and that seemed like a happy moment

They can completely regrow all limbs in one molt. The more limbs they have to respawn at the same time, the spindlier the new limbs will look. Sunshine had toothpicks and a micro sized BP after that first molt!

If the gel limbs are that big, he should be ready for a molt in another week, maybe two max.

He seemed to eat pretty much anything I gave him since he had both claws. Some of the stuff I've given him are silver slide fish, fruits and veggies. He liked mealworms as much as any of my other PPs

I checked on him and he has molted. There's a pile of Exo under the shell which includes his two claws, his body, and a couple skinny spaghetti legs. It almost appears as if there's nothing in the shell too, but I think I can see a tiny bit of a leg or two. I wouldn't have disturbed him but I needed to clean out the mealworms I added in case they would get moldy. :/


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Yay!! Wishing him a healthy molt!!!

That was fast!! Yay for the road to recovery! I guess you need to restart the cycle of nourish and molt. You're both doing great!


Crabbers unite!!!

YYWW wrote:That was fast!! Yay for the road to recovery! I guess you need to restart the cycle of nourish and molt. You're both doing great!


Crabbers unite!!!

I double checked on Oswald. He has been digging! I only looked for a sec so I wouldn't disturb him but he hasn't shed yet so he must still be preparing.

GREAT! In case he doesnt get far enough, def keep it dark and quiet for him. Make sure the tank is properly humid. The idea is to simulate he is deeper underground than he actually is. If he doesnt get far enough he can still feel peace and solitude. And just leave him alone for at least 2 weeks, but ideally a month.
GOOD LUCK! Sending good vibes!


Crabbers unite!!!

Thnx!! Is it okay to sprAy the tank right now?

If it needs to be sprayed? If not no need for extra spraying


Crabbers unite!!!

K cool

His molt seems to be going beautifully! He's eaten most of his Exo and it looks like he has mostly hardened. I also put a sand dollar and some Alaska hermit Exo since he would be lacking some of the Exo he normally would have. He seems a lot smaller than before as he tucks far back into his shell, but he seems to be doing well.


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