How to tell if your crab underground is dead

[Mahaliapbrown]

One of my crabs dug himself underground about maybe a week ago and after the third day he moved a bit under ground and I don't know if he was trying to get out or not but he hasn't moved yet and I don't know if he's dead or alive. This in my first time any of my crabs have ever molted or at least I think have molted idk.


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[CallaLily]

Nothing sounds out of the ordinary. Depending on the size and condition of the crab, they'll stay under anywhere from a week to several months. All we can do at this time is keep surface conditions right and leave them be. It's normal not to see or hear any signs of them underground once they settle on a spot to molt.

What sort of substrate are you using and how deep?

[Mahaliapbrown]

I use calcium sand mixed with Eco earth and it's about 3in deep.


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[CallaLily]

How much calcium sand is mixed in the cocofiber? If it's mostly EE, you're probably ok for now. I would just go ahead and wait for the crab to resurface, then replace the substrate with a play sand/cocofiber mix. Calcium sand tends to clump and harden over time, making digging difficult and often times can become really stinky. It's safe enough if it's just a little bit mixed into other, safer substrates and perfectly safe used in a dish as a calcium supplement. When you do replace the substrate I would also deepen it. 6 inches is the minimum depth recommended for smaller crabs. Larger crabs will need even deeper.

[Mahaliapbrown]

Okay thank you


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[CallaLily]

You're welcome.