HCA: Hermit Crab Association

About 2 months ago we got a tiny. He immediately dug down. I upgraded to a 40 gal a month or so ago, so he's still in the old 20 gal. Temp and humidity have been pretty good in there. They dipped low a couple times since I only have a tiny heater to spare. I've never had a crab under for 2 months, not even my big guy. I've never dug for a crab before but I'm considering. There is no smell, but I'm really worried >.<

I personally would stay on the safe side and wait another month or two. BTW I love the tinies. They are adorable!!!


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When I first got mine after having them for almost a month one of mine buried for a little over 3 months. If I didn't do research about this I would have dug him up- but I stayed away from cleaning the substrate and kept conditions good- one day I looked in and there was Big Red all furry and munching on some kelp. I would definately wait it out as long as possible. Interrupting a molt could kill him. Keep us posted!


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Starview66 wrote:When I first got mine after having them for almost a month one of mine buried for a little over 3 months. If I didn't do research about this I would have dug him up- but I stayed away from cleaning the substrate and kept conditions good- one day I looked in and there was Big Red all furry and munching on some kelp. I would definately wait it out as long as possible. Interrupting a molt could kill him. Keep us posted!


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Does the smell of a dead crab make its way up from the substrate? I've had a crab down for about a month and a half now and I just want to make sure he's not just rotting down there hahaha

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When mine was down after about a month the tank smelt so fishy that I had to move the tank to an unoccupied room- the smell went away after awhile and months later up he came


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No smell is coming from the tank. It's just concerning because he's a tiny. If he was normal size I wouldn't be as paranoid >.<

When they're really teeny, they often will only be up for a few days in between molts. Set it up so you'd notice activity around the food and water dishes and if you see something disturbed then go searching for him immediately so you can get him moved. Otherwise you might be waiting a while! There's no way to know if he's molting, so unless you know he's been up it really is best to wait.

!!! I didn't know that o: thanks wode!

I saw Firefly out and about four times the first year I had him, always in the middle of the night. I kept finding him molting in the moss pit, or under things, so I knew he was okay, but that little thing was shedding every 3 to 4 weeks! He'd go down for a week, molt for a week, hang for a week, restock for a few days, and then would do the same thing all over again. And it worked - by the end of the first year he went from a micro to solid small and started to stay above ground more. It took two years and him becoming a medium before he really started to be active. He was a molting machine.

wodesorel wrote:I saw Firefly out and about four times the first year I had him, always in the middle of the night. I kept finding him molting in the moss pit, or under things, so I knew he was okay, but that little thing was shedding every 3 to 4 weeks! He'd go down for a week, molt for a week, hang for a week, restock for a few days, and then would do the same thing all over again. And it worked - by the end of the first year he went from a micro to solid small and started to stay above ground more. It took two years and him becoming a medium before he really started to be active. He was a molting machine.

WOW, they realy are all different arent they.

@crabbywitch - Crabs are weird as the quote goes.


Neona

I realized that there haven't been any new piles/holes in the sand since he's gone down. So I actually can tell he hasn't come up yet now. Now I'm a bit worried again.

Owner of 4 tiny/small Ruggies and a small PP here. I would definitely wait until at least the 3 month mark if I were you. 2 and a half months seems to be normal for my guys, even after pulling back to back molts.

Neona wrote:@crabbywitch - Crabs are weird as the quote goes.


Neona

True Dat!

So, forgot to mention he came up about a week ago
The night I checked for him, and found him, I had already decided that the next day I was going to dig him up. Lucky me