Molting or Dead!

[kristykrab]

Hi! So my hermit Marina has been buried for a while now, a few weeks or so. I decided to check on my hermies today so I lifted my log I have and I found legs sticking up through the sand next to Marina's shell. I touched the leg with a spoon, and it didn't move. I looked over on the other side and found her claw. I dug her up (not all the way, shes still in the sand) and she isn't showing any sign of life. But there is absolutely no odor or anything. Is she dead? Is she molting? Help please!

[kristykrab]

and to answer the questions:
1. cocnut fiber/playground sand, roughly 6(?) inches
2. Humidity is on the side tends to be roughly 80%, temp opposite side around 75-80 as well
3. heating pad
4. fresh
5. as of now they have dried shrimp, 1-2 days
6. since March
7. no idea if it is now
8. 10 gal
9. 2 medium-ish
10. loads
11. no
12. every few days
13. yes, I switch them out
14. no
15. been buried a long time
16. explained above

[MsWorld]

Hi! So my hermit Marina has been buried for a while now, a few weeks or so. I decided to check on my hermies today so I lifted my log I have and I found legs sticking up through the sand next to Marina's shell. I touched the leg with a spoon, and it didn't move. I looked over on the other side and found her claw. I dug her up (not all the way, shes still in the sand) and she isn't showing any sign of life. But there is absolutely no odor or anything. Is she dead? Is she molting? Help please!

First off a few weeks is not a long time and it's never a good idea to dig them up! Crabs can go down for MONTHS. If you are not smelling the death smell, leave them to do their thing. What you found was probably Marina's exo, as there are parts they don't consume. When you said you dug her up and she's still in the sand - do you mean the shell or the crab without a shell?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kristykrab]

As in I put her back, but shes still in the shell!

[MsWorld]

As in I put her back, but shes still in the shell!

Okay good. Shes still in her shell… whew… just leave her be for now. Make sure she's covered back up. Don't pack the substrate down on her. She needs to finish her post molt. A good idea is to write down the day they go down for a molt so you have an idea of how long they are down. I've had some stay down for 3 months but others come up after 4 weeks. The smaller they are the quicker they are, usually, but that's not always the case.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kristykrab]

Yeah, I put some back on her. And I placed the log back where it was too, so shes isolated. Thank you!

[CallaLily]

I just want to clarify. Never rebury a crab. When they dig down they create a sort of cave around them that you can't recreate with substrate alone. If you've place her back in her hole, you can cover it with something like a flat shell or a hide. The other option is to isolate the crab.