My hermit crabs has been burrowed for about 3 days now

[Bryangoh11]

I'm new to owning hermit crabs and had just begun 3 days ago. When I bought them home they were all running around and exploring. The next day 5 of them burrowed in the sand ( I have 6 of them). and hasn't come out yet. There isn't any holes in the sand. So I don't know where they are. I stayed up last night and only saw one of them coming back out for awhile and then burrowing back in again. I did some research and saw that I shouldn't dig them up because they might be molting. What am I suppose to do? Will they die in there? Also I didn't put in any drift woods inside as I couldn't find any and I finally found one today. Am I suppose to put it in? What if I accidentally put it on top of a crab will the crab be able to find their way back out?

[hthecvt]

They will be able to find their way out. If you just got them, they could be digging down to destress or to molt. Either way you should leave them alone. If they do die, it won't hurt your crabitat any.
I know it's hard to just sit and leave them alone, but it really is the best thing for them.

<3 Gladys, Zeus, Maude and Pearl! <3

[Bryangoh11]

How long will they be destressing for? And am I suppose to dig them all up when I smell a fishy smell?

[megmaholm]

Yep, it's all perfectly normal! They could be down quite a while - depending on the size, a month to several months. If one does die, you probably won't smell anything. Even if you did smell the fishy smell, it's still best not to dig because you could stumble across someone who's alive and healthy and do more harm than good

[Bryangoh11]

Thanks for replying
How do I know if they're still alive?
How do I know where they're at?
And how do I identify how many are dead when I smell the fishy smell?

[megmaholm]

You'll know they're alive if/when they come back up! That's really the only way to know. Same with knowing where they're at - they tunnel once they dig under, so it's hard to say where they end up. You probably won't smell a dead crab that's underground. I've had 2 die while buried, and never smelled anything. Once a crab dies underground, they decompose fairly quickly and all that's left is an empty shell.

[Bryangoh11]

If they die underground it wouldn't attract any mites / insects right? So far there's only signs of 2 guys wonder how the other 4 are doing haha not being able to see them is killing me

[soilentgringa]

If they die underground it wouldn't attract any mites / insects right? So far there's only signs of 2 guys wonder how the other 4 are doing haha not being able to see them is killing me

You just have to be patient and let them do their thing. Our first crabs were under for about 8 weeks or so. They need to be left alone so they can molt or destress. Just hang in there!!!

[Bryangoh11]

Ah I see alrighty! Thanks guys for help at least I know what's going on now haha