shadleanne wrote:Oh goodness! I don;t want them fighting! I will be sure to pick up shells tomorrow. Is it okay to use hot glue in the tanks??? I'm wanting to make a second level with a shell shop.
back to the molting!
So, what happens after my crab comes back up? Do I have any jobs then?
There are three stages of molting; pre-molt, molting (currently underground) and post-molt. Before a molt (pre-molt) a crab will usually show signs of preparation for their months underground, they don't always though. Some signs are eating a lot/more than he/she usually does, shell shopping and switching, digging, their 'molt sack' is enlarged which is where they keep nutrients for energy to sustain themselves for their molt. Sometimes they will dig down for a while, come up, switch shells, eat and then return to/make a cave to molt in.
The molting process itself happens underground, where it's dark and quiet. They pull, shed, wiggle their way out of their old exoskeleton which has become too tight and then growing helps break it off too. Which is a stressfully long process. They will eat their old exo for nutrients at that time while harding a new on that fits their skin better (if that makes sense). I also think that the shell they are in helps their exo harden in the correct shape, I might be wrong.
After a crab comes back up from a successful molt (post-molt) he/she may have changed colors (darker, lighter, purple, red etc.). They will have a sharp black 'toenail' at the end of each leg. They will look fuzzier, or have hair like structures that grew back on their legs called sentae (sp?), which is a sensory type hair and not fur... More like the use of whiskers. They may be hungry. Feed them well afterwards! Supplements like calcium, worm castings, bee pollen, cuttlebone, and Alaska Hermit's (an online hermit supply shop) native crab exo are great options to add along with the usual food.
Being so new, your little guy could be de-stressing or molting or both. Both usually takes longer but leave'em be and he/she should come up healthy! One of my big crabs I brought home, Toby, did both. Took like 80 or so days and I worried a bunch but I left him alone and it was fine, he's healthy
Mommy of 12 PP babies - Baby, Toby, Sid, Matty, Junior, Kaylee, Aries, Adrian, Turbo, Flower, Boo and Freckles.
RIP Octavius