Post molting lethargy

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PurpleBiff
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Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:53 am

Post molting lethargy

Post by PurpleBiff » Thu Jan 03, 2019 4:13 am

Hi there, one of our crabs has recently molted but has not returned to his shell. He was walk8n* around looking at shells earlier, but is now just lying there not looking well. Please advise how we can best help him. Thank you!

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Sand and coconut fibre approx 1 inch deep

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? Gauge is at the top, currently 58% and 26celcius

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Yes, but not in use currently as Australian summer. House is air conditioned and we monitor the temp to make sure tank is in recommended range.

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)? Krabooz brand, both salt and fresh available. Fresh - 1 drop per litre, salt - 1 teaspoon in half cup water

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Krabooz food, replace every 3 days

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Approx 3 years but he was a given by a friend so he might be about 5 years old

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Yes 3 days ago

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? Krabooz crab kit house. It’s circular plastic about 50cm in diameter

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 3 crabs, the other two are larger than the molting crab. I would call them medium size. The molting crab is small

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 6

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? We’ve only had the tank for about 3 months and are planning to replace the sand and coconut fibre soon. Will give the tank a clean with water and a sponge.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? No

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? We take them out for a walk every two weeks

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. The crab recently molted and this morning he was walking around without a shell and looking at other shells but didn’t go in them. I bought some extra shells today and when I put them in the enclosure he looks very lethargic not really moving and still without a shell. He had been hiding under his water bowl but i was worried about him so we put an extra plastic container over him to isolate him. Not sure what to do next other than leave him alone.

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Jamison
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Re: Post molting lethargy

Post by Jamison » Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:57 am

PurpleBiff wrote:Hi there, one of our crabs has recently molted but has not returned to his shell. He was walk8n* around looking at shells earlier, but is now just lying there not looking well. Please advise how we can best help him. Thank you!

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Sand and coconut fibre approx 1 inch deep- It needs to be six inches or three times your largest crab

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? Gauge is at the top, currently 58% and 26celcius-It needs to be at least 75%

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Yes, but not in use currently as Australian summer. House is air conditioned and we monitor the temp to make sure tank is in recommended range.

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)? Krabooz brand, both salt and fresh available. Fresh - 1 drop per litre, salt - 1 teaspoon in half cup water-It needs to be deep enough to submerge

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Krabooz food, replace every 3 days- Feed fresh food also

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Approx 3 years but he was a given by a friend so he might be about 5 years old

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Yes 3 days ago

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? Krabooz crab kit house. It’s circular plastic about 50cm in diameter-This is too small. You need at least ten gallons

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 3 crabs, the other two are larger than the molting crab. I would call them medium size. The molting crab is small

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 6

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? We’ve only had the tank for about 3 months and are planning to replace the sand and coconut fibre soon. Will give the tank a clean with water and a sponge.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? No

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? We take them out for a walk every two weeks

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. The crab recently molted and this morning he was walking around without a shell and looking at other shells but didn’t go in them. I bought some extra shells today and when I put them in the enclosure he looks very lethargic not really moving and still without a shell. He had been hiding under his water bowl but i was worried about him so we put an extra plastic container over him to isolate him. Not sure what to do next other than leave him alone.
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I will miss you Lloyd! Good luck up In Hermie Heaven!
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Hermiesguardian
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Re: Post molting lethargy

Post by Hermiesguardian » Thu Jan 03, 2019 12:06 pm

Jamison wrote:
PurpleBiff wrote:Hi there, one of our crabs has recently molted but has not returned to his shell. He was walk8n* around looking at shells earlier, but is now just lying there not looking well. Please advise how we can best help him. Thank you!

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Sand and coconut fibre approx 1 inch deep- It needs to be six inches or three times your largest crab
whichever is deeper

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? Gauge is at the top, currently 58% and 26celcius-It needs to be at least 75%
I'm not good at figuring out celcius but temp needs to be minimum 75 degrees and humidity needs to be minimum 80%. Digital thermometers are much more accurate than analog

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Yes, but not in use currently as Australian summer. House is air conditioned and we monitor the temp to make sure tank is in recommended range.

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)? Krabooz brand, both salt and fresh available. Fresh - 1 drop per litre, salt - 1 teaspoon in half cup water-It needs to be deep enough to submerge

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Krabooz food, replace every 3 days- Feed fresh food also
I don't know anything about that brand but most things marketed for hermit crabs actually aren't good. Just make sure it doesn't have preservatives or additives. And they need daily calcium and protein

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Approx 3 years but he was a given by a friend so he might be about 5 years old

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Yes 3 days ago
crabs shouldn't leave their shells while molting.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? Krabooz crab kit house. It’s circular plastic about 50cm in diameter-This is too small. You need at least ten gallons

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 3 crabs, the other two are larger than the molting crab. I would call them medium size. The molting crab is small
as stated above your tank is too small, especially for 3 crabs. It's recommended 5 gallons per crab

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 6
it's recommended 3-5 shells per crab

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? We’ve only had the tank for about 3 months and are planning to replace the sand and coconut fibre soon. Will give the tank a clean with water and a sponge.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? No

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? We take them out for a walk every two weeks
most of us use a hands off approach. Crabs are prey animals and handling them stresses them out. Although some have different thoughts on this

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. The crab recently molted and this morning he was walking around without a shell and looking at other shells but didn’t go in them. I bought some extra shells today and when I put them in the enclosure he looks very lethargic not really moving and still without a shell. He had been hiding under his water bowl but i was worried about him so we put an extra plastic container over him to isolate him. Not sure what to do next other than leave him alone.
he needs to be reshelled immediately. Try and gently back him up into a shell. First rinse off any substrate with dechlorinated fresh water.
raising son's dog, Dante. Husky/hound.
Raising daughter's hermit crabs, Shelder, Paras and Derek. Added 2 more of my own (of course) Pete and Stryper. Former mommy to 2 guinea pigs and beloved cat, Nissi

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curlysister
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Re: Post molting lethargy

Post by curlysister » Thu Jan 03, 2019 1:53 pm

I googled the Krabooz kit. It is not suitable for keeping hermit crabs. You will need to upgrade to a tank or tote.
Please read through the information in the Care Sheets section, it really contains all the info you need to properly set up a crabitat.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... m.php?f=51

As stated already, your crab needs to be reshelled immediately, it wil not survie without a shell. Also, your humidity needs to be higher. Your substrate needs to be deeper, and needs to be wet enough to hold shape but not so wet that water is pooling. Many of us use a mixture of 5 parts play sand to 1 part Eco Earth. Pools need to be deep enough that a crab can submerge but also have a way out (rocks or ladder or craft mesh). The recommended brand of water conditioner is Prime, and the recommended brand of marine salt is Instant Ocean. Krabooz is probably not appropriate. Commercial food is not considered safe.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers

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KraaiTheWolf
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Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:53 am

Re: Post molting lethargy

Post by KraaiTheWolf » Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:04 pm

Hi PurpleBiff, as the others have said, your crab will definitely need to be reshelled as soon as possible. And though I can’t offer much help other than that for your current situation, I do have some advice in regards to your crabitat.

I am also from Australia and have been learning the best products here in our country for our crabs, which can be hard when all the information out there is in regards to American products. But I thought I might share some of the things I’ve found with you. When I first had my crabs I also used the Krabooz substrates, but have since learned that they are not suitable for crabs and very expensive. I would suggest buying cleaned playsand from Bunnings instead, as you can get 20kg for about $10. This is safe for crabs and much cheaper. If you’re looking for coco fibre or what is referred to as EcoEarth, I suggest buying the EcoTech coconut husk from My Pet Warehouse (they deliver if you don’t live near one). This helps keep humidity in. Substrate needs to be a minimum of either 16cm deep or 3x the height of your biggest crab, and it needs to be dampened with dechlorinated water until it is sandcastle consistency (so not dripping wet but enough it will hold when you mould it).

The Krabooz kit doesn’t allow much for high substrate, so I recommend buying a fish tank instead. I recently got a 60L tank from PetBarn, which has been much better for my crabs than my old 10gallon tank. Out of curiosity, what lid does your tank have?

As for the humidity it will need to be in the 80% to 90% range. Do you have a digital gauge? I recommend buying one as they are much more accurate than dial ones. Crabs have modified gills and so need humidity to breath, so it’s essential it’s at the right level.

Also in terms of decorinator and salt water, you can buy Seachem Prime (which most recommend using) from My Pet Warehouse for dechlorination and order Instant Ocean Sea Crystals from EBay or Amazon. These are much better than the Krabooz treatments. There is also a safe foods list on the site so I would definitely recommend checking it out in the care sheets in regards to feeding.

Also just wondering what do you mean by taking your crabs out for a walk?

I hope this information has helped, and I wish you all the best for your crabs!

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