Waiting for death smell? Hope not?

thermidor · Post by **thermidor** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:01 pm

I am traumatized; this morning one of the small e's was in a weird position. I took him out and he was part way out of the shell, completely limp (but still hard with exo on) and any sane person would assume he was dead. So; I held him up right against my nose and there is no smell whatsoever, and I have a great nose. But no way to get him to move, I touched his antennae etc. His abdomen was soft but not slimy, dessicated or discolored at all.

He is normally shy but active, for the last few days at night he has been partially buried (sort of just his face) instead of completely hidden like usual.

So I placed him under the one coco-hut that no one ever uses, I think he will be ok there until I get some advice. I turned it so it would not be easy for my larger crabs to get in there.

My temp very stable at 83-85 and humidity 80-85 and there is 12" of moist sand/eco. Many crabs have molted normally.

I am pretty sure he has molted before (you know hard to be 100% sure with shell changes) and I have had him for 8 months.

So this is completely unexpected and I would like to hear some opinions as to what to do and more importantly, what are the odds he is alive? Does it take 24 or more hours for the death smell to occur? I can sort of see him if I shine my penlight in there so I just watch, wait, and sniff the tank

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 12:24 am

If you can see his abdomem at all, AND he will not move/retract, i am most certain he is dead. I consider the ability and desire to protect his abdomen to be a major sign of life. If he does not demonstrate that, then it is because he is dead. Not all dead crabs smell, or maybe some take longer to smell, depending on the individual crab.
Crabs also do not molt their abdomen, so if you really are seeing his abdomem, that should rule out him being a molter.
If there is any way he is still alive, then he needs to be in absolute peace, quiet and dark, yet warm and moist. You can put him in a breathable container inside the tank, then cover it so he has pitch darkness. Snap a pic, cover it, and leave him be. Check after a couple hours. If he changes from the pic you took, then he MIGHT be alive. But i'm thinking he is just dead and will only become more dead.

Post by **wodesorel** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 1:12 am

They can linger without being able to move for a while before they die. When they do finally pass their abdomens will leak fluid fairly quickly (hours), and they will generally show signs of being dead (shrinking, discoloration) or will being smelling within a day. I personally just wait for the sign and/or smell, if only so they for sure die in their tank and not from being buried.

thermidor · Post by **thermidor** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 3:03 pm

Thanks you guys are spot-on and I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

As it was, he would have been "freshly dead"; when I got home and smelled-hello death smell which is genuinely unforgettable and not in a nice way.

I have now learned that the abdomen is the key so I will be more knowledgeable next time if there is one.

Now I am just flat perplexed about how/why this happened. I have ample space and substrate, correct temp/humidity, clean fresh and salt water, a variety of at least 6 foods a day, no toxins (I keep parrots so I am VERY aware of this), lots of shells, hides, climbers, etc. There were no marks on his body of trauma.

Again with keeping other animals I know that they don't "just die". I am guessing like other creatures they can get bacterial diseases or other problems; I just wish there was a way to know.

Perhaps as a consolation later last night my big strawberry who has been under since 1/27 make his reappearance, resplendent in crimson

.

PS you are funny-"he is dead and will only become more dead" . Thanks for a laugh at a sad time.

Post by **wodesorel** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 3:32 pm

Has he molted for you yet? That first molt is the deciding factor between a healthy crab, and a new crab that is trying to adapt to captivity and may have been injured during transport.

thermidor · Post by **thermidor** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 5:01 pm

I cannot be 100% sure honestly; I was keeping up and then with all the shell shopping I sort of got confused as to who was who. A couple came from pretty poor conditions at a Petsmart so that could well be him.

I shudder to think of the conditions he was in before I got him so I guess I gave him some comfort before he went to the big beach in the sky

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:43 pm

thermidor wrote: PS you are funny-"he is dead and will only become more dead" . Thanks for a laugh at a sad time.

Sometimes being brutally honest is the best way to come to terms with life matters.

Of course, humor is the best way to move forward!
If he had never molted while in your care, it could have gone on too long and he died from it. It can be a combo of PPS and molt-crastination (yes, yes i did). At this point we can only wait for your other crabs to show that they've molted by looking for hairy legs and tiny black legtips. And also, yea, hopefully this doesn't happen to any other crab. That way it would have been an isolated case.

Crabbers unite!!!

HCA: Hermit Crab Association