HCA: Hermit Crab Association

The time has come- on moving day (December 13th), 5 of 6 crabs were under the substrate. Three came up, meaning two are still down. Those that came up are all settled in their new tank. I was so confident that after a month all would be up, but that’s not the case.





I can see the two molters (Tiger and Fossil) when I carefully slide the tank over the edge of the counter.

Tiger appears to be upright and moving a bit and has been for a few days (I am hoping he will come up tonight). Fossil (photo) has barely been moving, but there has definitely been some motion based on side-by-side photos. There are also no bad odors, so I believe he is alive but I am concerned that he is in a very fragile state.

My next door neighbors may be willing to host the old tank until the crabs are up. I think we can carry the tank carefully enough that the tunnels are not jarred into collapsing.

If they cannot- should I dig both out? Should I attempt to drive the 25 minutes as slowly as possible and transport the whole tank?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shoot! I just saw the post from 3 weeks ago asking this same question- I had searched “molt moving new house” to try to avoid redundancy before posting but missed that one.

I am new on Tapatalk and cannot figure out how to delete my post above, so for right now it remains!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nothing wrong with posting your own question, even if its been answered. The search function helps a lot in answering questions, but if one requires further clarification, it's always worthy of a post!

Now, to answer if I was in your shoes, I'd dig up the moulters and then allow them to surface moult under your care. A small trip (39 mins) where you'll get them in good conditions in a quiet tank (I'd recommend an iso tank if you have one) and allow them the peace to finish the rest of the moult would be what I would do. Pack em in spaghnum (lightly moist, not damp or wet) and travel with them in that. Keep em warm, and then place them in a suitable tank and just let them do their thing.

[mention]aussieJJDude [/mention] thank you for the recommendation and supportiveness! I ended up driving with the crabs, with the plan to check their chambers upon arrival and make sure that little to no substrate shifted. I was able to confirm after a smooth drive and transfer that the chambers were intact. The crab that had been up and moving (Tiger) just crawled up this evening, but it may be a little while before Fossil shows.

In a lovely coincidence- just stumbled upon your 2020 CrabCon video regarding the introduction of live plants! Excited as I’ve not yet had success with past attempts. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad it went relatively smoothly throughout the entire process! Now the fun part of waiting for them to come up.

And thanks, I also have it as a 'written form' in the forum, if you haven't checked it out already

Success!!! Both made it!

Great to know about the written format- I will definitely be referencing it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yay!!