Dead crab due to PPS?

[Hermie13]

This happened about a year ago, but I wanted to ask since it's been weighing on me. I "smuggled" a crab out of my local pet store (long story short, the crabitat conditions were horrible and I didn't want to support that business) and put him in my own crabitat (eco earth + sand filled halfway, UTH on the side of the tank, salt and fresh water provided, and all that jazz). He explored a little, drank some water, and then went into a hide. My other hermit crab who I've had for about 4 years now pushed him around a little (I think she saw his shell and was checking to see if it was occupied), but then she left him alone. He went into a corner and stayed there. The next day, he hadn't moved from that spot. I figured he was just getting used to things, so I didn't bother him. But later that evening, when he still hadn't moved, I got concerned.

Usually, especially for new/skittish crabs, I try not to move quickly past the tank because it scares them into their shells. But I noticed that his antennae weren't moving at all. All of my other crabs (I used to have more) still moved their antennae a bit even when resting. I waved my hands right in front of the glass, and he still showed no sign of movement. This should have scared him into his shell because that was how he reacted just the other day whenever I moved too fast. His eyes were kind of tucked just behind the lip of his shell, but I knew he could go all the way into it if he wanted (again, when I first got him, he hid in his shell until I stopped moving).

I know you should leave crabs alone if possible, but I was really concerned. So I reached in and nudged his shell. He didn't move at all. I picked him up and his whole body just slid out. He was completely limp. I put him in salt water (InstantOcean) because someone had said to try that on a forum here. When I still didn't get a reaction, I finally accepted that he had died and buried him.

Now, I've been reading more about crabs from the FAQ here and found out that you can only tell if a crab is dead if they have a "death smell." Is there any way that he was actually alive and surface molting or something? I thought molting crabs still stayed in their shell. Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading this far.

[wodesorel]

Given how new he was I'd say it was a 99.999% chance it was a death that you saw.

There have been rare - and I do mean super duper incredibly rare - cases where molting mimicked being dead for very short periods of time. Right before they shed, they become comatose as they retract fluid from their extremities and loosen the bond to the old exoskeleton. It should last only a few hours before they wriggle out of their old skin. When crabs molt underground this isn't going to be seen, but when surface molting the crab can sometimes be caught at just the wrong moment. (This is also when there is most danger of molting deaths, because any disturbance can get them stuck inside their old skin, which they cannot survive.)

I think it gets talked about a lot only because it means there's still some hope. Generally after more than a few hours you'll know. The smell is to seal the deal so to speak and dispell any lingering doubts.

[Hermie13]

Okay, thank you so much. That makes me feel a lot better