. Any advice? (And I do not know what they looked like before going down to give tell tale signs of molting and whatnot)3 buried Hermies
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Dragonfruit364
Topic author - Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:43 pm
- Location: Alabama
3 buried Hermies
Hello! Relatively new to hermit ownership. I purchased/saved some sickly ones from a store, thinking they were farm raised. Didnt realize until after purchase I gave my money to people that perpetuate the taking of the crabs from their homes. Wont do that again… that being said, I now have 5 hermit crabs to tend for. They are about nickel to quarter size. I have a 10 gal tank with 3” substrate, 3 buried immediately, and have been down for 3 weeks. 2 remained up top, and reading here it may not be enough space, I got another 10 gall and moved the two up top to their own tank. The 3 that are buried, I smell for death every day and there is no smell at all. I keep their water filled, there isnt much in the tank except a little food and salt and fresh water (yes, its all treated) and keep the humidity at 80 and their temp accurate. I dont know if molting or pps, but how long do they stay down? Also, I know you have to remove the dead asap, but how do you do that without disturbing the others that are down, bc I dont want to kill them while trying to not kill them 
. Any advice? (And I do not know what they looked like before going down to give tell tale signs of molting and whatnot)
. Any advice? (And I do not know what they looked like before going down to give tell tale signs of molting and whatnot)-
curlysister
- Administrator
- Posts: 4596
- Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:54 pm
- Location: Manitoba, Canada
Re: 3 buried Hermies
Welcome to crabbing!
Sounds like you are doing exactly what you need to be doing! There is really no way to know if they are just de-stressing, or if they are molting. You might be able to tell when they come up, as a freshly molted crab will have 'hairy' legs and little sharp black tips on their 'nails'.
If a crab has passed away underground, you may not smell it. And there is no reason to remove a deceased crab that is underground - it won't harm other crabs who are also underground.
So try to be patient, LOL, and keep doing what you're doing!
Sounds like you are doing exactly what you need to be doing! There is really no way to know if they are just de-stressing, or if they are molting. You might be able to tell when they come up, as a freshly molted crab will have 'hairy' legs and little sharp black tips on their 'nails'.
If a crab has passed away underground, you may not smell it. And there is no reason to remove a deceased crab that is underground - it won't harm other crabs who are also underground.
So try to be patient, LOL, and keep doing what you're doing!
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers
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Dragonfruit364
Topic author - Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2021 8:43 pm
- Location: Alabama
Re: 3 buried Hermies
Thank you so much for calming me down that Im not killing them I have learned that hermits are the most finicky creatures until their habitat is perfect, which as Im building 2 of them, is a LOT of work, and Im loving every minute of it! Im now understanding the nerves people have when their hermies go under…. Im so worried they are dead and I cant check on them. Thank you for letting me know Im doing the best I can!
I have learned that hermits are the most finicky creatures until their habitat is perfect, which as Im building 2 of them, is a LOT of work, and Im loving every minute of it! Im now understanding the nerves people have when their hermies go under…. Im so worried they are dead and I cant check on them. Thank you for letting me know Im doing the best I can!