HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My newest one Barry has passed away 2 weeks after purchase. When i got him there was a scuffle with one of my bigger crabs, just a dominance fight. After that he went into a hide and buried himself, it does not appear he molted before death. Is this normal sometimes? Just too much stress from moving in? Many of his limbs were not attached to him, i know this is a indicator of stress but does that happen after death as well? I just wanna know if i did anything wrong, my tank conditions are optimal but im not sure what went wrong

Also, how should i go about cleaning uo and getting rid of the stench to avoid stressing the others, should i just air it out or remove the substrate at ghe spot of death


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HPOfficeJetPro6978 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 28, 2020 3:15 am

Also, how should i go about cleaning uo and getting rid of the stench to avoid stressing the others, should i just air it out or remove the substrate at ghe spot of death


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Sounds like a case of PPS, so sorry for poor Barry. He was probably mistreated at the pet store and moving in was just too much stress. Did he die above ground? It sounds like he was partially buried. If it was a surface death, I don't think you need to remove any substrate, but if it was a buried death, I think you can just dig him out. The other crabs probably won't mind the smell, seeing as how they're inclined to eat each other. Also, make sure he's absolutely and certainly dead, don't wanna go digging for a live crab.

The dirt that came in his temporary tote from the store absolutely reeked of dead crab, feel bad fir the store crabs

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HPOfficeJetPro6978 wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 28, 2020 7:54 am

The dirt that came in his temporary tote from the store absolutely reeked of dead crab, feel bad fir the store crabs

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I wish somebody would pass a law about standard hermit crab care in stores

Is there anywhere else i cam get them? More humane or anything?

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Sorry to hear he passed away.
You can watch the HCA's adoption pages to see if any are available in your area.

I'm sorry for your loss It sounds like a case of PPS. And like Curly said, you can check the adoption forum to see if any crabs needing to be adopted are in your area. Feel better soon

Hoping i can find some to keep the others in good spirits

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