HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi everyone. Almost 3 weeks ago, I found a hermit crab in the road. I brought it home and set it up in the zoo med starter kit from petsmart. Not the best crabitat, but it was a home and I had plans to improve. Crab stopped moving the next day but hasn't started to stink so I thought it might be a surface molt. I haven't moved him.

I noticed lumps on his legs today. Do these look like bugs? They aren't moving. I don't know if the crab is molting or dead but I am starting to worry.

I know painted shells are bad. That's the one he had when I found him and he hasn't moved to change into the natural ones I bought. Even without the stench, I am starting to worry that he's dead.

I’m not sure what those are. Is there any movement if they’re disturbed? I don’t know if they’re animals or weird growths.


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Very cool of you to take'em in and do the best you can. Pretty sure most of us in the hobby have started out that way. From the pic that one to the left looks like an insect. I've have to gently prod to see. The hermie should recoil some as well. They will start to stink within a day or so if the poor buggers expire. You have to get close to tell early on.

Thank you both for the responses. I gently poked the lumps and the crab's leg with a pencil. Nothing moved. The lumps weren't there when I found him. The first one showed last night and today there were more. At first I wondered if it was part of molting process as I've never had a crab before.

I had my face about six or seven inches above him and still don't smell anything. Should I just leave everything as is for a while longer? I don't want to hurt him in the off chance he's still alive.

Zero signs of any activity in ~20 days? I know we avoid handling them, but I'd pick him up and take a sniff. If there's no movement if you touch a leg, he may be in hermie heaven.

Try touching the antennae to see if he reacts at all.

I did what you said and picked him up. He stinks up close and those are bugs of some variety. There were more underneath and stuck to the shell. Makes me so sad because I wanted him to be OK. Not sure how he ended up in the road but that doesn't sound like a happy story. Thank you for your help.

Fish stink and no movement would definitely be death, right? Just want to confirm before I dispose of him.

Yep. If you can wiggle a leg and the leg stays where you left it, combined with stink. The little guy has left us. My thoughts are there was nothing better you could have done for him. You did good.