Molting hermit crab

[giannaw]

I was looking at my hermit crab tank and I found my hermit crab on the bottom on the color of the tank (they’re molting)! I was wondering if a standing up position is a normal position for molting? It’s a known position for a hermit crab that has passed away, I was wondering if that’s normal? He does have his legs out of the shell and he isn’t pale (post molt color). Are they always pale post molt?

And another question is, last night I saw him in the corner but this morning it looked like he moved half an inch, is that normal for them to move during a molt? It wasn’t a big walk but he definitely moved a bit.

[curlysister]

The actual molting process does not take very long, they shed their skin in a very short time span. The time spent underground will also be spent moving locations both before and after molting, hardening up, eating their exo, and just chilling.
Not sure what you mean by 'standing up'? A dead crab will fall out if it's shell.

[giannaw]

You know how a standing hermit crab is positioned? It’s exactly like that

[Jlmills525]

Do you mean like this? This is what I think of as a normally “standing” crab


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[giannaw]

Yes, that’s the position he is currently in

[curlysister]

AAAAAHHHHH....sorry!! I was thinking somehow of like a bear stands on it's hind legs....and couldn't figure out what the heck you meant! So sorry!
Yes, it is normal for a crab to be in that position when it's underground.

[giannaw]

It’s fine! I didn’t know how to explain it myself well. I’m just overly worried about my hermit crabs because it’s my first time with them molting

[giannaw]

How long would they stay in the same spot for? I recently checked mine (I see his shell through the glass), he’s been in the same spot for a bit

[ROSIEonFIRE]

Really there's no telling. It's natural to be super nervous and vigilant as a new crab parent but what I've learned is that with crabs you have to develop a mindset of passive acceptance. As crab keepers, all we can do is provide a top notch crabitat and make sure we change the food and water. After that there's usually not much we can do to ensure good outcomes. More likely than not he'll re-emerge eventually. There's no telling how long he'll stay down or stay in one spot.

[giannaw]

I just hope he isn’t dead or anything, just really worried about my hermit crabs. I hope they do eventually come back up, i really don’t want to dig them up if they ever pass away

[ROSIEonFIRE]

Yeah unfortunately u have had that experience and I can confirm it is not fun. I'm sure he'll be fine