Molting crab came up and went back under

[Bcole41386]

Hello so I have only been caring for my hermit crabs for about 2 months. I have done so much research and I got them into a larger tank with 8 inches of play sand mixed with eco earth substrate. 2 days after they got into the new habit 1 of my crabs completely buried it self. At that point I did research on molting I knew because of her size she could be down for months so I have left her alone. This morning however I noticed her shell by the food bowl and the shell that was there is gone. But she is completely buried again. Is this normal!!! I didn't read anything about them coming up from a molt and going back under. She also ate all the food in the food dish.

I should also mention she was not originally in the tank alone but since she has been molting I set up an even larger tank and moved her tank buddy over so he wasn't alone while she was molting. I am going to move her as well if she ever stays above the sand.

[wodesorel]

I find it's normal for them to gorge on food and then dig back down for a while. Some crabs even choose to do that daily, as underground is safety. I wouldn't be concerned! She won't have a normal schedule figured out for a while yet.

[Jlmills525]

Also, underground doesn't automatically mean molting

[Bcole41386]

Thank you. I know it doesn't always mean molting but since she has been down for almost 2 months with out coming up its what I assumed was going on. I replace her food bowl every night and change both her salt and fresh water ever 2 days. This morning was the first time there was any sign of them being touched. I was just worried that she went fully back under. My other crabs bury themselves but not completely like she did with back filling the hole.

[curlysister]

Crabs back fill the hole for their own protection from predators in the wild.
If you are feeding dry food, you can leave it in for longer - when I have both crabs underground, I leave it until it gets really moldy LOL. You can also probably change the water less often if you want to.
I always thought that Cher stayed underground longer than Sonny - until one time I saw her on the surface about 3 months after she had gone under. I had checked the tank earlier in the day and she wasn't up, and I checked again before I went to bed and she was gone again! If I hadn't been looking at the tank during the like 3 hours she was above ground, I would have thought she was under for 5 1/2 months. I think she does that most times she molts, which is why I always thought she was under for so much longer than Sonny.