1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Playsand + cypress (the cypress came in a hermit crab starter kit), 3 inches deep. Currently it is sand on one side, cypress on the other with a little mix in the middle.
2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
One digital combo unit, sitting on the sand at one side of the tank with the screen facing the glass. Humidity usually 75-80%, temp usually 78-80F.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Started with a mini-UTH stuck to the back of the tank. When that proved ineffective, cut a hole in the coconut fiber mat on the back wall of tank. Still ineffective, so added a 50-watt nighttime bulb in dome fixture suspended above tank.
4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
Starter bottles of pre-mixed freshwater and saltwater, brand All Living Things. To wet the substrate and for spritzing we use the same water conditioner as in our fish tank, Top Fin (Petsmart brand).
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
First two days, pellet food provided by school science teacher (who sent hermit crabs home with students). After that, bits of apple, pear, unseasoned cooked ground beef, peanut butter, oats drizzled with honey.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
One week. While tucked in its shell we identified it as a Purple Pincer by its purple claw with a lighter tip and orangey leg.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Trying to determine now whether it is dead or molting.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
5.5 gallon reptile tank, a glass tank with a sliding wire screen lid.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
Only one, it appears small or on the small side of medium to me.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Three; we added them on the third day.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Tank set up is only one week old, so have not cleaned.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
Two small sea sponges that came in a starter kit, one in each water bowl. Only one week old, have not cleaned other than to squeeze out/rinse with new fresh- or saltwater and replace.
14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
The whole tank is new.
15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
"Hermie" is sitting in the middle of the tank, mostly out of his shell, ashy looking and apparently lifeless. There is a slight dank smell which I assumed was humid tank, I only notice it when I slide the cover back and sniff with my nose right over it. It doesn't smell especially "fishy" to me, just a little acrid, but I'm afraid to pick him up for a closer smell. He's been in this position for almost 48 hours.
Prior to that: Hermie came home last Monday (one week ago), sent home by the science teacher (we had warning so our tank was ready). In the critter keeper that we transported him in, Hermie was inside his shell which was sitting in the water dish with the opening in the water. My son said he did not place Hermie into the dish, but he also did not see Hermie crawl into it. At home we transferred Hermie into the tank.
It was cold last week (for Orlando, FL) so in the evening we moved Hermie close to the back wall of the tank where the UTH is. The "sticker" thermometer on the side of the tank read around 72-73F (near as we could tell). The UTH was barely giving off heat so we didn't think it would be too warm at the back of the tank. Monday evening after dinner we noticed Hermie had come a little out of his shell, he flinched a step or two away from us but did not withdraw all the way into his shell.
Tuesday morning he was all the way back in his shell, and did not move again until Friday night. On Wednesday we added the dome heat lamp and got the temp up to 80F.
Thursday we decided to try a bath to see if he was alive or maybe stimulate/rehydrate him. I swished him shell-opening up in saltwater for a minute, then about 20 seconds in freshwater with a drop of Stress Coat in it. His pincer remained very tight over the opening and the only movement I saw was the leg next to the pincer swayed a little in the freshwater rinse. We put him in a critter keeper lined with paper towels to dry but he never came out. I found the PPS article and added some apple and pear bits to his food dish when we replaced him in the tank.
Friday I added oats drizzled with honey to the food dish, and moved Hermie next to the dish with the edge of his shell touching it, in case he was too weak to crawl there on his own. A couple of hours later I found his shell oriented 90 degrees to the way I'd left it, so I figured he had moved. Saturday morning I found his shell sitting IN the food dish right over the honey. I left for work and later that afternoon my husband and son found him in the exact same position, except he had come out of his shell! He looked "normal" as far as we could tell, I'm going to try to attach a photo. He did not move or flinch at lights or movement in the room, he was motionless.
IMG_2945Saturday evening we quickly lifted him from the food dish onto the sand next to it, so we could clean the dish and replace the food. He seemed to draw back very slightly, or perhaps shift a little, and his legs came together (the outside legs were splayed out a bit when he was sitting in the food dish). He has been in that spot ever since, looking very ashy and shrunken and lifeless. My husband rocked his shell a little and looked at him with a flashlight, and there was no flinching or other movement.
IMG_2948Is there any hope for the little guy (gal?)? Should I pick him up for a closer sniff? How many days should I wait to see if he develops a stronger smell? And in the meantime, should I cover him with the half-log hide just in case? And keep offering food?
Thank you so much. I've already gotten tons of great info from this site and reading other "is my crab dead" posts, which got us this far...
Just to be absolutely positive, I would pick him up and smell him. If he's dead, trust me, you'll know.
