HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Both teenies that I bought recently had limbs missing. One was missing most of his little pincher. There was only a stump. He just came up from his first molt with me (looks stunning and adorable, very hyperactive and hilarious) and his entire pincher has regrown. It's a little funny looking, but all there and fully functional. I was under the impression that limbs grew back in stages, not all at once.

I think the smaller they are, the faster they do everything (which actually makes sense, survival wise)

Some crabs can do it all in one molt, while others take multiple molts. I've had different sizes of crabs go either way, so I don't think it has to do with size but the ability of an individual crab.

The closer the limb was lost to the actual molt, the less likely it will be to grow back, because usually a gel like limb forms beforehand, then a molt happens, then the limb is grown back

I found my Robby about Oct. 21st with no legs or small pincher,I nursed him til Nov. 20 when he had a molt sac and next day gel limbs I put him under a coco hut in his ISO.He came out of that coco hut this morning (Dec. 13th) with all of his new legs and small pincher.He is a medium crab bordering on large.His legs and pincher grew from gel limbs to real limbs in 24 days!!!!!
Kathy

some times the legs all come back, some times they come back a bit smaller some times a crab takes another molt very soon after the first molt. You might find one leg comes back this time one comes back next time.. eyes seem to take the longest to come back i find that eyes take many molts to look normal again.