HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So if it's one thing I've learned about owning hermit crabs, is they tend to worry you when one little thing may seem wrong. I may be wrong about this, but I may have had a crab go through a bad molt.

Basically, my crab Ollie came up from her molt yesterday, and she seems very weak and pale. I could be wrong, she may just not be active until I'm asleep. But she is much paler than I've ever seen her. It seems like she is still soft, and I have different calcium supplements from the HCP that I'm offering. She is still timid from just coming up from a molt, so she jumps inside her shell every time I come near the tank. I want to check on her to get a closed look, but I don't want to stress her out too much. Do you guys have any suggestions, or advice on what to do? I'll post a picture of her to let you guys judge yourself on if she looks bad or not. Also, if you need me to post my tank conditions by answering those questions, just let me know. I appreciate all the help in advance! Thanks!

A pic would be helpful. Sometimes crabs come up from a molt light, depending on what their diet was since their last molt. Sometimes their personalities change too, active crabs may become lazier, or vice versa.

landlubber wrote:A pic would be helpful. Sometimes crabs come up from a molt light, depending on what their diet was since their last molt. Sometimes their personalities change too, active crabs may become lazier, or vice versa.

I just posted the pictures. And I may just be worrying too much about it. I'm hoping it is just a change in color, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I just want them to be healthy. But I know we have all worried too much about our crabs at times when there is nothing to be worried about.

She's light, but she looks hardened to me. Unhardened crabs have a very translucent, kind of plasticy look. I'd just do your very best with nutrition and keep an eye on her. It may have nothing to do with the food you've been giving her-it could be she just went too long before you got her w/o good nutrition. Can you see where she came up? Was there any exo left? Do you think she was disturbed?

landlubber wrote:She's light, but she looks hardened to me. Unhardened crabs have a very translucent, kind of plasticy look. I'd just do your very best with nutrition and keep an eye on her. It may have nothing to do with the food you've been giving her-it could be she just went too long before you got her w/o good nutrition. Can you see where she came up? Was there any exo left? Do you think she was disturbed?

Alright, that's good! It's hard to tell from looking through the glass of the tank to see if she was hardened or not. I wouldn't know exactly what to look for, so thank you for letting me know. I believe I know where she came up, and I can check it out, but I can't tell if the hole I see is from her or my other crab that has been digging around recently. I saw the new hole, but didn't see her until a day after. But I will check it out. I don't think she was disturbed, because she doesn't look like she had any injuries, it was mostly the color that threw me off. Again, like I said, I may just be over thinking it all.

She's a bit light, but I've seen them come up that way and then darken up. I've also seen them change color a bit after a molt. I'd be sure to offer good food options and just keep an eye on her.

Oh my god! I think this just turned into an emergency! I was brushing off substrate around that hole, and I found a crab leg. I'm really freaked out right now! I don't want to continue to dig, because I'm afraid of what I will find. Marcel has been under for about three months. It has seemed like a long molt. Oh god, I hate when this stuff happens! Should I continue to dig?

So I decided to continue digging. I'm terribly sad to say that I have lost Marcel. He was attacked by his original tank mate, Hendel. I caught Hendel eating remains of Marcel. I hate that this happened. It makes me so sad! And now I have to iso Hendel, and I don't know if I have enough supplies to have two tanks going, mostly with the heat. Rest in peace Marcel! I'm sorry little buddy!

I'm so sorry.

parker_roo wrote:So I decided to continue digging. I'm terribly sad to say that I have lost Marcel. He was attacked by his original tank mate, Hendel. I caught Hendel eating remains of Marcel. I hate that this happened. It makes me so sad! And now I have to iso Hendel, and I don't know if I have enough supplies to have two tanks going, mostly with the heat. Rest in peace Marcel! I'm sorry little buddy!

So sorry to hear about Marcel but he may already have passed before Hendel found him. Remember that our crabs are scavengers, sort of like little crustacean buzzards, and will not let any food source go to waste.

Crabinski wrote: So sorry to hear about Marcel but he may already have passed before Hendel found him. Remember that our crabs are scavengers, sort of like little crustacean buzzards, and will not let any food source go to waste.

That's true, but the main reason I suspect it was an attack is that this has happened before. I adopted Hendel, Marcel, and a third crab from someone on Craigslist. I waited until each crab came up to the surface. First it was Hendel, and then a day or two later, Marcel surfaced. I put them in my main tank, and everything was fine. I waited for about a month for the third crab to come up. I came to the conclusion that he was dead. I carefully dug up the substrate to find pieces of a crab scattered in the substrate. I just assumed that he didn't make it, and like you said, the other crabs went to find food. Now that it has happened in my main tank with my other two crabs, I suspect that Hendel attacked that third crab, and now Marcel. It just seems too suspicious that it happened two times, with the same crab (Hendel) down during the other crab's molt. I am too afraid that it will happen again. Plus I'm worried for Ollie who came up early from a molt. She is pale, and lethargic, which worries me to no end! I'm really hoping she makes it! Anyway, that is why I think Hendel attacked Marcel. Right now he is alone in my other old tank. I'm still trying to decide what to do about him. I don't want to iso him forever, but I also fear future attacks.

And I also never found the rest of Marcel, or his shell. I've just found pieces around where Hendel was, actually eating those pieces. I don't trust that Hendel will not attack others in the future. Again, rest in peace Marcel!

Sorry for your loss. I wouldn't even know what to do about a cannibalism problem. If the other crab smells like a molt, they WILL attack. It's just so hard to tell if he's actively hunting other hermits or if there's a reasonable explanation. You may have just found exoskeleton maybe? Especially since you didn't find the shell...

BrisHermies wrote:Sorry for your loss. I wouldn't even know what to do about a cannibalism problem. If the other crab smells like a molt, they WILL attack. It's just so hard to tell if he's actively hunting other hermits or if there's a reasonable explanation. You may have just found exoskeleton maybe? Especially since you didn't find the shell...

I wish you were right, but unfortunately what I found was a purple claw, and an entire orange leg. They were pretty solid, and I believe the exoskeleton is white and most likely to break apart if picked up. I'm really hoping you are right, and that Marcel is still alive, but I have accepted that he didn't make it. And I'm wondering if Ollie did come up early, and if it was because of the other attack. But I'm still not sure if Ollie did come up early, but it seems like she did.