Always molting together, is this normal?

[wheatangel_maianqi]

So, the first time my two hermit crabs molted at the same time. I didn't have to separate them or anything. (Actually, I am a first time owner, so I honestly thought that one was molting, but the other ate them, but that was not the case!) This time, they just suddenly started digging, so I thought at least one of them was ready to molt again. I thought this because my hermit crabs (which I have had since July) actually don't dig that often. They actually prefer climbing. I have them separated, and again they have both stopped moving around (hopefully to molt) at the exact same time. Steve, my larger crab (about two or three inches long) is the one I moved, and I am a bit worried that he was freaked out by me moving him (this would be because I haven't gotten them out or handled them recently due to the cold and dryness of my house). I really hope he is just molting!
Anyway, I was wondering if this molting at the same time is normal, because this is the second time they have molted with me, and they've done it again!
Also, do you really need to try and separate molting and non molting crabs when you only have two? I need to try and explain this to my mom, because I am going to be leaving to spend a year teaching English in China, and she is going to be looking after them.
Also again, if you have any tips on how to locate a molting crab, I really really need to do some cleaning in their tank.
Thank you so much! I will really appreciate any info you might have for me!

[megmaholm]

I don't consider it too weird or abnormal. They know best when to molt, and if they want to do it at the same time, more power to them.

No, there's no need to separate crabs when they molt as long as you have enough substrate, etc. The only time you would really need to remove a molting crab is if they're trying to surface molt.

What kind of cleaning do you need to do? Unless you have some kind of emergency, look flooding or a bacteria bloom that requires a substrate change, you shouldn't need to do anything that involves going underground. Most of us just wipe the glass down, smooth the sand, scoop out any pieces of food that have been dragged away, etc.

[CallaLily]

Yep, mass molts are pretty normal. In my 75g I had 5 out of 9 go down all around the same time in November (and also one at the very end of October too). It was fun having them all come up in Jan-Feb.

[wodesorel]

Especially if the crabs are the same size, they'll be on the same schedule since their first molt was at the same time.

And tell you mom to join here! We have lots of moms who are in similar situations.