Hermit crab fell out of tank!!

[Hermie13]

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of play sand and coco fiber, around 6 in deep

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?
I have a hot and a cold side, hot side has heat lamp and UTHs (side of tank not bottom), i also have a fogger that keeps the tank humid

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Head lamp and UTH (on the side of tank)

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)?
Distilled water and salt water (instant ocean mix, used measurements on box)

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Variety of foods I got on Etsy, calcium, meat, grains, etc

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
small/medium PP, adopted around 3 years ago

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
May have just molted?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
Locked wire top, 40g glass aquarium

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 PPs, 3 medium 2 small/medium

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
8 extra

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

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Just did a deep clean bc of mites, usually spot clean

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
No

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.)?
No

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I found a bunch of food mites in my tank after coming home from vacation, so I decided to do a deep clean. I took off the top lid and started taking decor out. I had the sink on to rinse them off, and I believe this is when my crab climbed out of the tank and fell around 3-4 feet onto wood floor because I didn’t hear anything. I walked around to get more decor and that’s when I saw my crab on the floor tucked up in her shell. Shell looked fine. I rinsed her off with distilled water and put her back in the tank. She started walking around and even climbed so I thought she must be okay. About 10 min later I looked in the tank and saw she was streaking. Literally seconds later as I was opening the lid to rescue her, a crab near her stole her shell! I scooped her up in a measuring cup, rinsed her off again, and put her in an ISO tank. I put 4 shells in with her and she immediately changed into one. I got the substrate wet, put moist paper towels in the tank, a fresh water dish, and made a humid hut with Tupperware and wet paper towels. I also have the fogger going because my main tank should be okay without it for a while. Her abdomen didn’t look like it had ruptured, but I can’t say for sure. Is there anything else I should do? How long should I keep her isolated? Can crabs recover from this? Thanks for any help!!

.

[Hermie13]

Update: she buried herself, i also added a lid with some food in it if she decides to eat

[DragonsFly]

Just leave her alone in the best conditions you can provide and see what happens. You say she buried herself, but it sounded like there was not substrate in the tank you had her in, just wet paper towels? She might need to molt if she sustained an injury, so if you have moist substrate in there now, that is good. Carol Ormes talks about one of her crabs falling some distance onto a hard floor, and seeming pretty traumatized after (shaking strangely for a while), but her crabs lived to be over 30 years old, so yes, they can recover from a fall. Whether or not yours does, you will just have to wait and see. Best wishes!

[GotButterflies]

Hello! We've never met I just want to let you know that your crab is probably fine. It isn't necessary to isolate her. Wait until she comes up on her own though, don't dig her up. In the future, I don't recommend rinsing your crabs. Each crab makes it's own mixture of water in it's shell to it's liking of fresh and salt. Hermit crabs are also known as tree crabs. They love to climb, and the shells that they are in protect their sensitive abdomens from falls.

Edit: Would you like me to help you with improvements that I recommend for your crab care?

[Hermie13]

Just leave her alone in the best conditions you can provide and see what happens. You say she buried herself, but it sounded like there was not substrate in the tank you had her in, just wet paper towels? She might need to molt if she sustained an injury, so if you have moist substrate in there now, that is good. Carol Ormes talks about one of her crabs falling some distance onto a hard floor, and seeming pretty traumatized after (shaking strangely for a while), but her crabs lived to be over 30 years old, so yes, they can recover from a fall. Whether or not yours does, you will just have to wait and see. Best wishes!

Thank you so much! And yes I have substrate and added wet paper towels on top because I wasn’t able to fully moisten the substrate before I put her in

[Hermie13]

Hello! We've never met I just want to let you know that your crab is probably fine. It isn't necessary to isolate her. Wait until she comes up on her own though, don't dig her up. In the future, I don't recommend rinsing your crabs. Each crab makes it's own mixture of water in it's shell to it's liking of fresh and salt. Hermit crabs are also known as tree crabs. They love to climb, and the shells that they are in protect their sensitive abdomens from falls.

Edit: Would you like me to help you with improvements that I recommend for your crab care?

Thank you so much! I was worried the general consensus would be that she probably won’t survive, so I’m very relieved to hear she has a chance. I’ll make sure not to rinse her off next time! And yes I would love some recommendations! (I forgot to mention I have towels on the top to keep the humidity in since the lid is mesh)

[GotButterflies]

I answered the questions below with a GB for GotButterflies

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of play sand and coco fiber, around 6 in deep

GB: Great! IMO, for purple pinchers substrate, (playsand mixed with eco earth 5:1 ratio), should be 6 inches or 3 times the height of your largest crab (whichever is deeper). If you have Es substrate should be at least 10-12”. Substrate should be mixed with dechlorinated marine saltwater or dechlorinated freshwater to make the substrate sandcastle consistency. I personally mix mine with dechlorinated marine saltwater.

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?
I have a hot and a cold side, hot side has heat lamp and UTHs (side of tank not bottom), i also have a fogger that keeps the tank humid

GB: This is important. You need to know what the humidity and the temperature is for your crabs. IMO, minimum heat and humidity should be 80/80. Hermit crabs have modified gills and need the humidity to breathe.
Also IMO analog gauges can be a little wonky and unreliable. If you are interested, you can buy an Acurite guage from Amazon, digital, runs on batteries, tells you temp and humidity currently as well as low and high for last 24 hours: https://smile.amazon.com/AcuRite-00325- ... 184&sr=8-2


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Head lamp and UTH (on the side of tank)

GB: I personally prefer using just Ultratherm heaters instead of a heat lamp. Heat lamps will really zap your humidity right up. Purchasing larger ultratherm and or insulating your tank will help raise the temp. (Depending on what size UTH you have).

If you have an ultratherm, you can try to insulate over your heating pad and tank to raise the temperature of your tank. There are several ways to do this. Don't insulate over your heating pad if it is a zoomed, or any other heating pad that is insulated (padded). If your heating pad is insulated, you would insulate AROUND the heating pad.

Cheaper way: You can use aluminum foil (shiny part facing the crabitat), then cardboard. Attach using packaging tape, duct tape or Reflectix tape.

More expensive: Purchase a product called Reflectix. This product looks like car shade material. It is sold in rolls at local hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot. You can also purchase it on Amazon. Cut the Reflectix to fit your tank. Attach using packaging tape, duct tape or Reflectix tape.

It can take several hours to see the difference. If doing the insulation doesn't raise your temperature, you might want to consider getting a bigger and or better heater. Most of us use ultratherms. They are great heaters. www.reptilebasics.com or www.beanfarm.com sells them.

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)?
Distilled water and salt water (instant ocean mix, used measurements on box)

GB: Both pools should be deep enough for them to fully submerge in and safe enough for them to get out of.
Double dish water pools: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... le+dish+yo

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Variety of foods I got on Etsy, calcium, meat, grains, etc

GB: Hermit crabs can eat a lot of the same things that we eat. Just check to make sure the item is on the safe list. Foods should be organic when possible. Hermit crabs are sensitive to pesticides and fertilizers.
You also want to provide one or more calcium sources at all times. Examples would be Cuttlebone, Organic Eggshell, Oyster Shell, Lobster Exo, Shrimp Exo.
Make sure you cover all aspects of food pyramid
Safe food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92557
Unsafe food list: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92556
Food pyramid: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92554

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
small/medium PP, adopted around 3 years ago

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
May have just molted?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
Locked wire top, 40g glass aquarium

GB: I personally prefer glass tops, however with glass tops you cannot set heat lamps on top of them. Heat lamps can crack glass lids. With mesh lids you can cover them in Press-N-Seal, or cut open gallon sized Ziploc bags and tape them to the outside with packaging tape to help keep the humidity in the tank.


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 PPs, 3 medium 2 small/medium

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
8 extra

GB: The HCA recommends 3-5 shells per hermit crab. I personally recommend more. It never hurts to have more There are incorrect shells to buy. Here is the shell guide: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... hp?f=24&t=

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

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Just did a deep clean bc of mites, usually spot clean

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
No

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.)?
No

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I found a bunch of food mites in my tank after coming home from vacation, so I decided to do a deep clean. I took off the top lid and started taking decor out. I had the sink on to rinse them off, and I believe this is when my crab climbed out of the tank and fell around 3-4 feet onto wood floor because I didn’t hear anything. I walked around to get more decor and that’s when I saw my crab on the floor tucked up in her shell. Shell looked fine. I rinsed her off with distilled water and put her back in the tank. She started walking around and even climbed so I thought she must be okay. About 10 min later I looked in the tank and saw she was streaking. Literally seconds later as I was opening the lid to rescue her, a crab near her stole her shell! I scooped her up in a measuring cup, rinsed her off again, and put her in an ISO tank. I put 4 shells in with her and she immediately changed into one. I got the substrate wet, put moist paper towels in the tank, a fresh water dish, and made a humid hut with Tupperware and wet paper towels. I also have the fogger going because my main tank should be okay without it for a while. Her abdomen didn’t look like it had ruptured, but I can’t say for sure. Is there anything else I should do? How long should I keep her isolated? Can crabs recover from this? Thanks for any help!!

GB: This issue was already addressed.
PLEASE DON'T GET OVERWHELMED BY SUGGESTIONS. Take each step as you can!
.

[Hermie13]

I answered the questions below with a GB for GotButterflies

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it

[CrabbyLover77]

Towels on top of the mesh lid will absorb the moisture rather than keeping it in the tank. You want something non porous on the lid. Try wrapping your entire lid in saran wrap. That should keep the humidity in.

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[Hermie13]

Towels on top of the mesh lid will absorb the moisture rather than keeping it in the tank. You want something non porous on the lid. Try wrapping your entire lid in saran wrap. That should keep the humidity in.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Thanks!!

[CrabbyLover77]

Thanks!!

Np!

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[Hermie13]

I forgot to give an update! She’s doing great now thanks for all the advice and support!!

[CrabbyLover77]

I forgot to give an update! She’s doing great now thanks for all the advice and support!!

Yay!

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[DragonsFly]

Excellent!

They do climb trees in the wild, and sometimes fall, so we know they can take some bumping around; the big problem "in a people house" is that the surfaces they are likely to land on may be much harder than sand or leaf litter on a tropical island, and/or have sharp edges (like the corner of a cabinet or something); also, in the wild they will be in natural shells which are usually tougher and heavier than what they usually choose in captivity (if you give them the option of choosing a polished turbo, in my experience they always will, but a polished shell is far more fragile than a natural turbo).