New Crab Hasn't Moved In A Week

[surprisecrab]

Hi everyone!

I am new to crab owning and never intended to be a crab owner. However, last Sunday (Aug. 22) I found a hermit crab in the street when I was walking my dogs. I have no idea where it came from but I took it home and bought the ExoTerra hermit crab starter kit at PetSmart. I know that this is not a perfect crabitat but like I said, the crab was unexpected and it was the best option with no advanced notice that I would become a crab owner.

The crab walked around a little on Sunday when I put it in the tank. It ate some bites of the pellets (I know those aren't great but it opted for those instead of the bell pepper I left out) then stopped moving and hasn't moved since. Two of its legs are sticking out of the shell and I can see antennas poking down and out too. From this site and others, I have read that it could either be dead or surface molting. Today is Saturday (Aug. 28) and I still don't smell anything that smells like dead fish, which I read was a sign of death. All I can smell is the substrate.

Temps are in the mid 70s. I am using the heater that sticks to the back of the tank. Humidity is between 70-80%. I mist the tank multiple times a day with dechlorinated water. The tank came with a screen lid. I know this isn't perfect and if the crab is alive, I will replace it with a glass lid. The substrate is the ExoTerra equivalent of EcoEarth. There are about 3 inches of it. I know this should be deeper, but I read that if the crab is molting, I shouldn't move it, so I'm waiting to see what happens before I make changes. Little guy has fresh and salt water (I treated them with the ExoTerra chemicals to remove chlorine and make the salt water salty). I don't think the crab climbed into either water pool before it stopped moving. I am changing out food and water daily even though it hasn't moved.

If anyone has any advice to offer, it would be greatly appreciated. I have become attached to the crab and I really hope it's still alive and just molting.

Thank you!

[JoeHermits]

It’s normal for new crabs to not seem energetic. Keep an eye on it, since as you know a surface molt is not an ideal situation.

Regardless, there’s not much you can do except maintain the habitat and let him do his thing.


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