Hermit crab molting emergency

[HermitMama4]

Please help ! I think I hurt my crab , my largest crab in the tank attacked the one that was buried and pulled him out of his shell and injured his larger claw it was broken and he was buried without a shell so I quickly decided to gently as I could move him into a smaller emergency tank and put food water & shells in it for him to choose one to go in and he went into one shell so the next day I took a couple of the shells out to give him more room in this tank & i pulled one out thinking he was in the other because I saw his leg in it and my daughter just went to clean the other shell with water I quickly noticed him pop out !! he was still in this shell & had molted now I’m freaking out worried the water hurt him since he had just molted in the shell now looking like he was dead I’m worried he drowned or got injured from this water pouring on him it as it was for about 20-30 seconds before he showed himself in the shell as the water was going into it and then me moving him right after this & since he just molted and his exoskeleton was in pieces now out of the shell I put the piece by him.. he did move a little bit I saw his leg moving but then I put him back down and am now leaving him alone but I’m so worried he’s going to die I just feel so horrible this happened to this little guy my daughter is so upset to think she was trying to help and now could of seriously hurt this crab any advice to care for him or anything I’d appreciate it😞😞😞 we just got this crab from the pet store 2 months ago he almost immediately went buried itself to molt & then went through my larger crab attacking for its shell then all this ugh man! I pray he lives

[CrabbyLover77]

I'm sorry about your crabby.

Would you mind filling out the emergency template so we can get a better look into your tank conditions? It may helps us determine why your bigger crab attacked this crab:

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 27&t=46102

In the meantime, def keep him isolated from the others. Offer him lots of protein and calcium. Shoot for 80°F/80% humidity to keep him extra comfy. If you can, make part of the iso tank dark so he can relax and feel safe. If you have honey and/or bee pollen, offer those to help give him a little boost.


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[HermitMama4]

Thank you for the reply! I am trying my best to make the iso tank as comfortable as possible I just hope he will be okay.


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
My substrate is the coconut fiber mix and play sand mix and it is about 4-5 inches down

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?
Yes I do , there next to the heating pad that I have located on the back left side it usually reads 75-80 F & 82% humidity

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
A reptile heating pad

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)?
Yes both salt & fresh water I use the zoo med salt water conditioner & bottle water I also have used the instant ocean aquarium salt once I found out the other wasn’t so good for them but I only just started doing this.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I was using the pellets that were provided but I stopped using them shortly after I began to see they were not good for the crabs now the Food I use are fresh veggies fruits proteins & other Etsy mixes I have purchased,
I replace it every 2 days

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I’m not sure the species as I got 2 of them down the shore , the guy told me it would be a great first pet for my daughter and didn’t tell me anything about how to care for them, then I did my researching and came to know just how much they do truly need to be taken care of & I adopted 2 more from the pet store shortly after I’ve had them all for now going on 2& 1/2 3 months. There all a tan redish color with bits of purple on the claws

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
My larger crab which is the biggest out of all 4 is the most active he is the only one that has not buried itself to molt since I’ve gotten them the other 3 buried themselves to molt almost instantly after getting them. The other 2 are still buried now & my one that is in the iso tank just molted yesterday after I put him in the iso tank because the larger one attacked it by taking its shell , he is my first molt.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
I have a 20 gallon tank with a mesh lid on it but I have it wrapped with plasticwrap & a towel ontop to secure the humidity i of course keep an opening for fresh air. This is temporary until I get a larger tank.


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 crabs , small-medium all 3 & 4th is a medium bit larger

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
I have a shell shop which has about 15 shells in it I know there should probably be more I plan to get more especially after this incident along with a larger tank I need the extra space for them!

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No I don’t believe so.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I did a complete re do of the tank a week or so after I got them because I started researching about the kind of habitat they required so I haven’t done a major cleaning yet only if they make a mess of food or I see poo do I take that bit out.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No i don’t have any

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
Yes but I’ve soaked anything that I’ve put inside before doing so.

I really appreciate any & all info thanks again !

[DragonsFly]

Make sure that the shells you are offering are appropriate for PP's (check the "Shells" forum for helpful info); many of the shells they sell in pet stores as "for hermit crabs" are not even a type they can use at all. If you have a lot of shells in the tank but they are not the right type or they do not have appropriate opening sizes (it is the opening size and shape that is most important, not the overall size of the shell), then they will fight over the few shells that are useful to them.

Darkness is necessary for molting, not just to "feel safe" but for the hormones that govern molting to work properly. So keep your surface molter isolated, in the dark, in the best conditions you can provide, and as much as you possibly can, leave him (and the other molters) strictly undisturbed. Welcome to crab-keeping; bear in mind that, if they survive this early molt with you (many do not, because of the horrific abuse they have suffered in being "harvested" from the wild and brought into captivity), they will regularly need to dig down and molt, for days, weeks, months, and eventually years at a time, during which time you need to maintain conditions (do not add more crabs; as you have seen, vulnerable molters are a tempting meal for a crab that is still active). Best wishes!

[CrabbyLover77]

Hi there!

Here's the link to the shell guide:

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... c7efe1fe1e

You'll also want your substrate to be at least 6", or 3x the height of your largest crabby, which ever is deeper. Also, it's ok to completely seal the lid with saran wrap. The crabbies will get air exchange when you do tank maintenance every day or two.

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[HermitMama4]

Thank you everyone for the help, he’s doing okay so far ! How long do you think I should keep him in the iSo tank for? I’m scared to put him back in the tank just yet with my most active larger crab who is the attacking crab. Especially since he’s still not hard enough from the molt!
Also I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good place to order shells from for them I ordered some after this happened but sent back because they weren’t good quality. Thanks again !

[DragonsFly]

I would wait until he seems fully recovered from the molt and good and active. Since you think that the problem may have been caused by shell aggression, I would also wait until you have plenty of shells of the proper type and OPENING size for the crabs you have. Remember that overall shell size does not correlate exactly with size of the opening; you ideally want to have 3 to 5 extra shells per crab, including at least one of the same opening size as what the crab has on, one with a tad bigger opening, and one with a tad smaller opening.

I've ordered shells from Naples Shell company and from Deltona. I think it was Deltona where I had the best service, with the guy willing to literally measure openings for me to make sure I was getting what I needed. As I was ordering fairly large-opening polished turbos, and those are not cheap, I very much appreciated the careful measurements. However, that was quite a few years ago, so I have no idea if the shop may have changed hands by then. If you look in the Shells forum here, though, I'm sure you will see lots of testimonials regarding people's experiences with different companies. Best wishes!

[HermitMama4]

Thanks! So he survived & is back in the tank with everyone ! Only thing I’ve noticed is he stays up in this little coconut hide on this second shelf & I haven’t seen him come down for like awhile maybe week or longer he may be doing it at night to eat.. I’m looking into getting a night camera just can’t find a good one yet.. (if you know of any good ones please let me know)! But I’m just worried that it may be because of the attack from the beginning ..thats before he molted but he did end up losing the top to his large pincher & i am worried he’s hiding and not coming out possibly because of that.. should I do anything special for him maybe put his own food up there by him ?

[Alaina]

I like Naples as well. I actually have 2 crabs semi similar in size so to be safe I order shells that I think they will both like in doubles. Granted all shells are unique but it makes me feel better lol. I have two food dishes. You don't need to but again it makes me feel better, like maybe they won't fight over food but I know that's my own craziness not a crab fact thing. I know when they molt they are the most at risk because crabs sometimes will eat other crabs so maybe it was partially that too. I would Def do more shells they like. Remember to measure the opening not the actual shell. I buy shells about the same size and ones slightly[about 1/8inch] larger. My one PP loves changing shells even though he norm goes back to his one favorite. That's why I give him some that are about same size. Again that's just how I do it. So happy he's OK. I'd keep doing what crabbyb77 said with the honey too and some eggshell crushed up good.

[CrabbyLover77]

Thanks! So he survived & is back in the tank with everyone ! Only thing I’ve noticed is he stays up in this little coconut hide on this second shelf & I haven’t seen him come down for like awhile maybe week or longer he may be doing it at night to eat.. I’m looking into getting a night camera just can’t find a good one yet.. (if you know of any good ones please let me know)! But I’m just worried that it may be because of the attack from the beginning ..thats before he molted but he did end up losing the top to his large pincher & i am worried he’s hiding and not coming out possibly because of that.. should I do anything special for him maybe put his own food up there by him ?

Hi!

Glad to hear he's doing better!
He may just really like that spot. I have a 55 gal tank, and everyone seems to hang out near or in the one little basket on the second level to the far left. 4/5 of my crabs that are up are over there right now.
How many food dishes do you have in the tank? I always keep 2 dishes in my tank so there's no fighting over one dish. I make sure there's protein and fruit in each dish too. If you only have one dish, adding a second dish may be a nice idea. I just use different size lids from jars for my dishes. Lids from peanut butter jars are my fav lol.

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[Alaina]

So I'm not crazy lol I thought my 2 dish thing was me being little weird but I feel better about it now lol. I use my plastic Gelato lids. I saw the coolest looking thing on etsy...3 shells together making 3 dishes, kinda like a Lil tree but I thgt it may be a pain to clean it ans the mess the big ones make. I'm just glad I can tell my hubby my food dish logic is correct haha

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[HermitMama4]

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I’m hoping that’s it , I do have 2 dishes with the same things in & one more for fresh stuff they literally attack them overnight & it’s either EVERYWHERE the next morning or they have finished it off lol I had just the 2 from the beginning issue up but my other 2 just started coming back up! Love seeing them all running around Now I just need a good night vision camera lol

[Hermiecrab]

[CrabbyLover77]

So I'm not crazy lol I thought my 2 dish thing was me being little weird but I feel better about it now lol. I use my plastic Gelato lids. I saw the coolest looking thing on etsy...3 shells together making 3 dishes, kinda like a Lil tree but I thgt it may be a pain to clean it ans the mess the big ones make. I'm just glad I can tell my hubby my food dish logic is correct haha

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Nope, you're not crazy lol!
The 3 shell dish sounds neat. You're probably right tho, it might be a pain to clean out. My guys like to drag their little butts and sit right in the lids while they eat, and that def can make a mess!

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[CrabbyLover77]

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I’m hoping that’s it , I do have 2 dishes with the same things in & one more for fresh stuff they literally attack them overnight & it’s either EVERYWHERE the next morning or they have finished it off lol I had just the 2 from the beginning issue up but my other 2 just started coming back up! Love seeing them all running around Now I just need a good night vision camera lol

You're welcome!

I have a plug in Wyze cam that has good night vision. Got it on Amazon for appx $25. I also bought and tried the wireless Wyze cam which was a bit more expensive. I didn't like that one at all. That cam kept causing the app to crash, the pic was always buffering and pixelated, it was horrible. I returned that one!

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