Above ground molt

[justqltin]

Hi I’m new just posted today in the newbie forum. Yesterday while cleaning the cage my daughter uncovered a buried crab. It sealed fine and this morning it was out in the water dish when I left. I came home to her crying the her crab was dead! It has moved several inches from where I last saw it and while there is an exoskeleton there is also a ghost pink claw firmly sealing the shell. I misted the cages and cut a water bottle to create a protective bubble for it. Should I do anything else? It’s gotten cold here at night so I’m gonna leave the light on tonight so doesn’t get chilled. I’ll run out for a heat pad tomorrow so they can have darkness again.

[RiNiKy506]

I’m pretty new myself but I think what you’ve done is correct so far, someone with more experience may be able to give you more tips. The best place to get an under tank heater is reptilebasics.com, they are (in my opinion and a lot of others) way better than any other brands(and cheaper). It’s called an ultratherm, you can insulate them to redirect the heat and they heat really good. You can get one to fit the whole back of your tank or just from the substrate up, I have just the substrate up.


♡ Rod ♡ Salty ♡ Bob ♡ Squirt ♡ Crabina ♡
»-♡-> Our Purple Pinchers »-♡->

[JoeHermits]

Leave the exoskeleton in the bottle with the crab and keep it dark for comfort. It needs to eat that exo to regain lost nutrients.

If it’s dead it’ll produce a strong, fishy odor. Hopefully everything turns out alright!


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[justqltin]

I did leave the exoskeleton. In fact I did my best to disturb it as little as possible, I just tilted the shell enough that I could see a pale claw tucked in tight behind the "body" that was hanging out the opening. Then I gave it a protective dome and misted the tank well. There is only one other Hermie in the habitat. As of this morning when I checked the crab was visibly munching away on it's exo. Hopefully all will be well.

[curlysister]

You are going to have to teach you daughter that the #1 rule of crabbing is to not dig up crabs. If tank conditions are good, only surface spot cleaning will be needed. If you fill in the emergency template, we can help with conditions.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=46102

[justqltin]

Ok here is the template and an update: Both my babies have survived their first molts and are active and exploring. The above grounder has dug a little burrow in the soil right under the edge of a driftwood piece and is quietly recovering her strength but she has been to the food (ate the whole drop of honey!) and crossed the tank and dug a little burrow so I think I can stop holding my breath.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Sand and ecoearth. only about 3" inches but I plan to deepen it as soon as I can do so without stressing the molter

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Yes, they are high on the left side and the temp is usually about 80 but it drops down to 70 at night with the lights off. The humidity is around 70, It drops below that sometimes but I have condensation on the walls so it may just be dry up next to the lights.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Incandecesnt bulbs and a uth on the back wall.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Instant Ocean in a corner pool and spring water in a scallop shell

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Food is changed every 2-3 days depending on what it is, currently they have an apple slice, banana slice, piece of red pepper, a crumble of a salmon patty and some peanut butter.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I'm pretty sure they are PP's and they came home at the end of July from Daytona Bch. so about 3 mos.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? YES! Dolphin molted last month and is doing well and Daytona has emerged from her "bubble of ISO" and was exploring yesterday. She has now created an open burrow under the driftwood and is quietly resting.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? It's a 10 Gallon aquarium at present until I can find a 20 or 29 that I can afford. It has a standard tank hood.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 and post molt they both fit the small category. They both grew A LOT when they molted. Each was in a shell much too large, (they could pull way back into it) and now they both close the front almost perfectly with that large pincher.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? I have about 10 shells but I need to get larger ones!! Daytona changed shells right away but Dolphin has not tho I've seen her checking them out.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Weekly and daughter usually takes everything out cleans it in hot water and "fluffs" up the sand. However we now are not disturbing the sand mix if anyone is buried as she dug up Daytona while she was in molt.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? One in the saltwater pool. rinsed in hot water squeezed out and re wet with saltwater.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? Yes, a silk plant from the pet store (a repto habitat plant). I have a cork wall also but it may be too large for my tank currently.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? Not really. daughter likes to take them outside to "play" occasionally but I don't let her put them in the tree as they can move really fast when they want to and I'd hate for them to get away as they would not survive here. It's been too chilly recently for her to take them out tho.

[Hermiesguardian]

Hi. I still consider myself new so I will only answer to the items I'm sure of.

Ok here is the template and an update: Both my babies have survived their first molts and are active and exploring. The above grounder has dug a little burrow in the soil right under the edge of a driftwood piece and is quietly recovering her strength but she has been to the food (ate the whole drop of honey!) and crossed the tank and dug a little burrow so I think I can stop holding my breath.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Sand and ecoearth. only about 3" inches but I plan to deepen it as soon as I can do so without stressing the molter

You can add an inch of substrate every 24hrs even when crabs are buried. As long as you don't pack it down. And the substrate has to be able to hold its shape. Sandcastle consistancy.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Yes, they are high on the left side and the temp is usually about 80 but it drops down to 70 at night with the lights off. The humidity is around 70, It drops below that sometimes but I have condensation on the walls so it may just be dry up next to the lights.


The humidity has to be a minimum of 80%. They have modified gills and can get gill damage with low humidity.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Incandecesnt bulbs and a uth on the back wall.

Bulbs tend to dry out the humidity.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Instant Ocean in a corner pool and spring water in a scallop shell

Even spring water has to be dechlorinated. Many of us use Prime. It removes chlorine, chloramines and neutralizes ammonia and heavy metals. The salt water should also be declo. And both pools need to be deep enough so they can fully submerge with a safe way for them to climb out.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Food is changed every 2-3 days depending on what it is, currently they have an apple slice, banana slice, piece of red pepper, a crumble of a salmon patty and some peanut butter.

Make sure they have calcium at all times. Calcium can be eggshell, oyster shells, cuttlebone found in pet section of petstore. And check out the food pyramid to make sure they get everything they need.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I'm pretty sure they are PP's and they came home at the end of July from Daytona Bch. so about 3 mos.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? YES! Dolphin molted last month and is doing well and Daytona has emerged from her "bubble of ISO" and was exploring yesterday. She has now created an open burrow under the driftwood and is quietly resting.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? It's a 10 Gallon aquarium at present until I can find a 20 or 29 that I can afford. It has a standard tank hood.

You can find good deals on tanks on craigslist, and the apps OfferUp and LetGo.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 and post molt they both fit the small category. They both grew A LOT when they molted. Each was in a shell much too large, (they could pull way back into it) and now they both close the front almost perfectly with that large pincher.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? I have about 10 shells but I need to get larger ones!! Daytona changed shells right away but Dolphin has not tho I've seen her checking them out.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Weekly and daughter usually takes everything out cleans it in hot water and "fluffs" up the sand. However we now are not disturbing the sand mix if anyone is buried as she dug up Daytona while she was in molt.

Only spot cleaning poop and food bits is neccessary. And their digging fluffs up the sand. Use caution when removing items from the tank since there could be a tunnel or cave underneath. If it collapses they can suffocate.


13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? One in the saltwater pool. rinsed in hot water squeezed out and re wet with saltwater.

Sponges are an old practice and harbour bacteria.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? Yes, a silk plant from the pet store (a repto habitat plant). I have a cork wall also but it may be too large for my tank currently.

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? Not really. daughter likes to take them outside to "play" occasionally but I don't let her put them in the tree as they can move really fast when they want to and I'd hate for them to get away as they would not survive here. It's been too chilly recently for her to take them out tho.