HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey,
I'm pretty new to hermit crabs but have done quite a bit of reading. I believe I have everything set up well for my two crabs, only had them two weeks so far with no troubles but last night a cockroach got into their home and I heard them "crying" he ran out as soon as I came to them but I was wondering if he could have done any real harm. They seemed okay, just a bit nervous.mi couldn't sleep for the next 2.5 hours though worried he would come back so I just watched them.

Roaches can't do any harm to them, but if there is any sort of bait or pesticides used in the home the roach can track that into the tank. I would be a little surprised if they were chirping because of the roach, usually crabs become vocal when they're arguing over shells or one is attacking another, but some crabs are more talky then others and can start chirping for seemingly no reason.

If bugs getting into the tank is a problem, a thin ring of vaseline around the outside of the tank will keep them out, although that can be messy. Cockroaches cannot climb over vaseline.

Thanks heaps.

Crickets and Roaches can climb clear packing tape too. I use that in lieu of vaseline.

Okay so how do you know if your crab is dead or molting? One of mine has been under the sand for just over a week now. Can't smell anything bad but I flattened the sand out to see if it changes over night or anything and it hasn't been disrupted in the past two days. I don't want to dig him up and stress him if it is just that he is molting...

Unfortunately all you can do is wait. Molting will often take around 2 months, but longer is not unheard of and there have been cases of crabs that stayed down for 8 months. If the crab does die it won't harm the others in the tank, but if it's molting and it gets dug up then it can be injured or killed. It's the worst and most boring part of owning hermit crabs.

Waiting does suck. Thanks. Is there any other way other then a smell to know if they die though?