Limp crab, no death smell?

[megmaholm]

I'm thinking one of my small PPs, Turbo, has died but I'm not sure. I got him on July 18th, he buried August 5th and came up on August 31st freshly molted and seemingly healthy. On September 10th I upgraded to a 55 gallon and moved him and my others over. He seemed fine at the time. I rearranged/redecorated the tank on October 12th and around the same time he started acting sluggish, not moving around, etc. On Sunday I picked him up since I needed to adjust the cork flat he was on, and realized he was limp and barely moving. I immediately put him in iso in a Kritter Keeper in the warmest room in the house, with food and water and a coconut hut. He moved around a bit but within 10 minutes he was even more limp, to the point where I thought he would fall out of his shell.

Yesterday, I thought he had finally passed, but he reacted when I touched his antenna. Today, no movement, nothing. He doesn't smell at all, either.

Can moving them to a new tank trigger something similar to PPS? Or can redecorating it cause it? I had all the above-ground crabs in a KK while I did the redecorating, but it was only for about 30 minutes. Is there a chance he's pulling a surface molt? I've never dealt with a surface molt so I don't know the signs. I don't know why he wouldn't dig down, though. I have 9" of sandcastle consistency substrate in the tank, temps average about 82 and humidity is 80-85%. So, everything is stable. I don't really handle them unless they're in my way when I'm rearranging.

I know there isn't much I can do but wait and see. I'm doing my best to just leave him alone in the dark in case he is molting, but I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong, if anything. If he has died, I'll be pretty sad..he was my 4th crab, and the 2nd one to molt with me.

Thanks for reading my ramble

[hermitcrab24]

Hello,
I am a new crabber but hopefully I can help, I have done a lot of research. It is possible Turbo (love the name by the way) did not molt. He may have been distressing. He might be trying to pull a surface molt. If he is, don't worry, it is probably nothing you did, some crabs surface molt and some burry. I would leave him alone for a while in the dark, like you said, and just wait and see.

I lost a hermit crab two days ago, and he did not have the death smell, sometimes it does not carry.

I hope Turbo is just molting and makes it through. Again, I am no expert but I hope I helped.

Bonnie

[YYWW]

Bonnie has a good and valid point. No smell = there is hope! And sometimes Bad smell = might not be death
Check if Turbo is molting, def. In the meantime, check your water and food conditions, etc.
It's possible PPS can carry through a molt. There's just no way to tell the manner which these critters were harvested/transported in, let alone the severity of harm and how damage manifests on that particular crab. The one molt clear is just a baseline, and not a guarantee. I hope its just a surface molt! Good luck!


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[CallaLily]

. No smell = there is hope! And sometimes Bad smell = might not be death
Check if Turbo is molting, def. In the meantime, check your water and food conditions, etc.
It's possible PPS can carry through a molt. There's just no way to tell the manner which these critters were harvested/transported in, let alone the severity of harm and how damage manifests on that particular crab. The one molt clear is just a baseline, and not a guarantee.

^This.

Surface molts are never normal or healthy but this may be what's going on here. Double check all conditions, just to be safe. It does sometimes happen even in the best crabitat, usually due to some illness, injury, or having been disturbed mid-molt leaving them too weak to dig back down. I hope your crabbie pulls through.

[megmaholm]

Thanks guys. Unfortunately this morning he has the death smell He fell out of his shell. No sign of injury that I could see.

I rechecked everything in my tank. Temp and humidity are consistent, substrate is good..I offer fresh water and Instant Ocean salt water, both dechlorinated. Food is a wide variety of dried stuff from the THCP and Hermit Crab Garden, and some fresh stuff. I don't use any chemicals near the tank, etc. I'm at a loss. Maybe he had an internal injury, or was sick, and it just took a while to show.

Rest in peace, Turbo. I'm sorry.

[hermitcrab24]

I am very sorry about Turbo. You did not have him very long, it is possible his death was caused from stress.

Hope all goes well with you future crabs

Bonnie

[CallaLily]

Sorry for your loss.

[YYWW]

So sorry for your loss


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[shanedaman112]

I know I wasn't involved in this post at all but, I'm sorry Turbo passed, our first crab died and it broke my little brothers heart. so just throwing this out there to let you know we all feel bad when anyone's crab passes.

[megmaholm]

Thank you for the condolences, everyone. My friends/family don't really understand my attachment since they're "just crabs" so it's really nice to have the HCA and its awesome people

[hermitcrab24]

I'm in the same boat, my mom doesn't understand my love for them.

We are all here for you

Bonnie

[Ryry]

It's strange that people can't understand attachment to them. We put our time, money, love, and worry into these little guys. It's hard not to care! However most people don't really get it- I find the HCA very therapeutic. I don't feel so strange for being passionate for these little guys. I'm sorry for your loss, and wish you better luck in the future.

[megmaholm]

My hubby is pretty tolerant of my obsession, but nowhere near as supportive as you guys are! He has buried every crab I've lost, no complaints, so I'm grateful for that at least.

I don't understand the mindset of people, either - just because they're not furry or cuddly doesn't mean they're not just as loveable.

[shanedaman112]

Well put, to most people it isn't lovable and cute unless its furry what's up with that

[moonbeam]

As someone who loves all animals and wants to work with them for a living, I often find myself wondering these same things. Here is my theory... I think it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round. I'm so thankful there are people who want to do taxes and accounting work. If there weren't I'd be in deep trouble. I'm also thankful that there are people who want to work with the public and who can deal with all kinds of people. I don't envy their jobs either. Just like those who enjoy doing things I'll never understand, I think we are unique in that we have the capacity to love these little creatures. A lot of people don't understand and will never want to. It doesn't make them wrong, just different. I'm so thankful to be someone who can find beauty in these little crabs where others can't. And I'm glad to be a part of a unique community who shares my passion for them.


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