My crab has scratchy black spots on it.

[Chocobo]

I really need to know about if my other crabs have shell disease asap, things are so messy right now and I have other pets to attend to plus almost every crab is being kept separate, i cant handle all this and some of my crabs probably won't survive long living in tupperwares. pls help me i'm literally using shells for some of the crabs water

[CrabbyLover77]

I really need to know about if my other crabs have shell disease asap, things are so messy right now and I have other pets to attend to plus almost every crab is being kept separate, i cant handle all this and some of my crabs probably won't survive long living in tupperwares. pls help me i'm literally using shells for some of the crabs water

Do you ever shop on Amazon? I did some quick searches and found the ingredients on there, most you could get in 2 days for free shipping if you're a Prime member.

I tried to post the links but they were half cut off. So I took a screen shot of the Amazon pages instead.


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[Chocobo]

I'll try to get this stuff, but I'm young and broke and only can make 10 dollars a week on chores

[CrabbyLover77]

I'll try to get this stuff, but I'm young and broke and only can make 10 dollars a week on chores

I totally understand. Natural stuff like that can be expensive. I hope it all works out for you and the crabs.

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[GotButterflies]

Please don't freak out about this. That definitely won't help your situation. You can only do the best that you can do. Don't keep them in tupperware. If all of your crabs have it, then don't isolate them. As far as the items being cheaper - that is why I suggested the health food store. sometimes health food stores sell items in bulk so you can buy them as you them. Good luck!

[Chocobo]

I moved it back last night because I didn’t want to keep it in there. I thought I was going to get an answer from the person i pmd sooner than later so I just did that momentarily but I moved it back with the other crabs in a millipede habitat that I cleaned out and moved the millipede. I have the sick crab in it’s own critter keeper and my actual crab tank is just a setup with no crabs until I can get new coconut fiber

[Chocobo]

this really sucksssssssssssssss

[Overmountain1]

Hi there! First, I’m sorry you’re juggling sick crabs. Second, from looking at the second and third crab’s picture, I would say that almost definitely the second crab is infected, and probably the 3rd as well. As mentioned above, if they’re all infected you may not need to iso them all until you begin treatment; if one crab isn’t responding to it then you may need to iso them to allow the other 2 to recover without being reinfected.
Third- good job! You’re doing just fine, and we know you’re doing the best you can with what you have to work with. Would your parents potentially let you have an advance on your allowance or do extra chores now for some more $? It isn’t something you’re just wanting to do, it is a necessary thing, and I know I wouldn’t hold something like that against my boys. I hope you can find what you need, including some zen- you’re doing great, try not to stress it too much. You’ll get it sorted.


Dave the Wondercrab~Pat~MaggieMoo~Billy~
Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~Gene My PP clan

[PinchersAndShells]

It might be a good idea to make sure you thoroughly wash your hands every time you’re done handling the hermit crabs, or anything in their tank. It could spread to your Halloween crabs, so it’s good to take preventative measures.

[wodesorel]

I'm not seeing shell rot. I'm seeing three really bad molts that can likely be traced back to a substrate issue. That last one with the odd white spots is what happened to mine when I had too much salt in the substrate and they got chemical burns. The middle one looks like what happens when sand or EE is too dry and sticks to them immediately after molting.

The first one might have something wrong, but it looks like old, healed over damage to me. Shell rot is an active bacterial or fungal infection that eats the shell away. There's no open wounds, no soft bits, nothing wet or drippy. Just bad looking shell, which to me is something that happens at the time of molting. Either substrate, or another crab coming in at just the wrong time.

[GotButterflies]

This is exactly why I wanted Wodesorel to look at the pictures!! I can totally see how it could be chemical burn. I would have never guessed dry substrate for the others though. Thank you Wodesorel!

[curlysister]

This is a really interesting thread. As a primary care provider for humans, I find it fascinating to learn about health concerns of other species!
I recall from a previous thread, that you are using all EE for sub, FinalxFantasy. Back in June you had a crab going naked, and your sub was only 2 inches deep. Were you able to add more sub and/or add play sand? There were a few other improvements that were needed in your tank, like proper salt water, food variety, humidity were a couple I recall. Were you able to correct those things?

[Chocobo]

I'm not seeing shell rot. I'm seeing three really bad molts that can likely be traced back to a substrate issue. That last one with the odd white spots is what happened to mine when I had too much salt in the substrate and they got chemical burns. The middle one looks like what happens when sand or EE is too dry and sticks to them immediately after molting.

The first one might have something wrong, but it looks like old, healed over damage to me. Shell rot is an active bacterial or fungal infection that eats the shell away. There's no open wounds, no soft bits, nothing wet or drippy. Just bad looking shell, which to me is something that happens at the time of molting. Either substrate, or another crab coming in at just the wrong time.

thx so much im so happy that my crabs can be happy in their big tank now and my millipede can go back home. should i start sprinkling water in the coconut fiber? maybe misting isnt enough. I didn't know too much salt in the substrate was a thing, but the crabs love to knock their water out

[Chocobo]

This is a really interesting thread. As a primary care provider for humans, I find it fascinating to learn about health concerns of other species!
I recall from a previous thread, that you are using all EE for sub, FinalxFantasy. Back in June you had a crab going naked, and your sub was only 2 inches deep. Were you able to add more sub and/or add play sand? There were a few other improvements that were needed in your tank, like proper salt water, food variety, humidity were a couple I recall. Were you able to correct those things?

Yes i corrected all those, but i should probably add moss and put another substrate in because I heard it's not good to only use coconut fiber. The moss because it sucks misting the tank every 20-30 mins. The reason I haven't gotten it yet is I can't find a moss I think will work and it's hard to go on errands without a drivers license or a scooter (like the ones that go 40 mph and look like motorcycles)