Pretty sure he's dead, but no fishy smell; looks like a mummy
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2019 3:18 pm
Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Fluker's All Natural Premium Sand Substrate Mixture; natural sand, coconut fiber, calcium carbonate, sea salt mix. It's about 6 inches deep, maybe a bit more. 20 gallon tank.
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 have a digital gauge on the side near the top. Humidity is usually between 75%-80%, temp around 70 degrees.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
We have a Zoo Med heater, 4 watts - a pad that adhere's to the bottom of the tank, in one corner.
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)?
We have both salt and fresh water. I'm not home now, so I don't remember the exact brand -- but when we got our crabs I researched this site. We dechlorinate tap water and add salt to the that. Pretty sure the salt mixture had the word "Ocean" in the title. Dechlorinate with some drops, can't remember the name.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
We are not great with variety and it's probably not the best diet. We always have popcorn (we pop, no salt) and a Zoo Med hermit crab mineral block available. The block stays around for a while, but the popcorn is replaced daily (what's left over). We add strawberry tops/leaves, shredded chicken, cut up grapes, blueberries (they don't like these). Sometimes peanut butter. A few other things sometimes, but these are the basics.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
We have (maybe had?) three crabs for three years. Don't know the species.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
All three crabs have molted many times. Not sure when the last time was that Charles molted - he's the problem crab.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
20 gallon glass aquarium, mesh top. We cover most of the top with a dish towel to help keep humidity in.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
Three crabs. I don't know how to judge the size, but all three have grown a lot since they were babies. They are large enough that I have to now research where to buy larger shells, since most of the shells from pet shops are getting a little small for them.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Three extra shells.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
You got me here. I haven't really cleaned the tank before. When we adopted the crabs, we started out with a 10 gallon tank and quickly realized that was too small. So we moved up to 20 gallon. I guess I need to figure out how to clean it sometime...
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No. We used sponges in the very beginning, but haven't used them for years. Crabs are able to climb in/out of the water dishes easily.
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 are not very good parents. My son (their "dad") is a little scared to hold them, so we just basically are happy to watch them whenever we are all awake/active at the same time.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Charles was our first crab. We got him three years ago and he has molted/grown normally. He was always our friendliest crab. Over the past 6-9 months, we have seen him much less frequently. Starting in about March, we hadn't seen him at all. In April, when we were travelling, I realized that at least one of the crabs was molting. So instead of bringing them with us, we asked a neighbor to take care of them and left them all home. I can't really remember, but I don't think it was Charles that was molting then.
In May, we had to dig up the crabs to go away for the summer. Two were fine. I had a lot of trouble finding the third, which turned out to be Charles. I wasn't even sure it was him. His shell was heavy, but the opening seemed to be packed tightly with sand. (I hadn't seen a shell like that before with a crab inside. Sometimes our extra shells are buried and full of sand.) I wanted to make sure that Charles was actually in there, so I picked at the sand around the opening to the shell a bit and it did look like there were some crab legs there. I didn't have a good feeling about things, but we needed to leave. I put Charles in our small plastic travel aquarium with the other two crabs. He didn't move during our trip.
When we got to the house, I put the other two crabs in their 20 gallon tank (duplicate from home) and left Charles in the small travel tank. I lightly buried him, left him food and water, sprayed daily, but there was no heat source. After a few weeks of nothing, I was pretty sure he was dead, but there was no smell. This went on all summer - no signs of Charles, no food eaten, no signs of life. Now that summer is over, I asked my son if it was okay to dig him up and take another look. He was right where I left him, near the surface. I swished him around in water to get some of the sand out of the opening of the shell. Whatever is in the shell, assuming it's Charles, looks like a dried up black mummy. We have not tried to dig him out of the shell. He obviously hasn't moved.
QUESTION: We want to bury Charles, but my son is worried that maybe he's not dead. His concern is that there was never any "fishy" smell. No smell at all. My son asked me to "ask the experts" for their thoughts, so I promised to post. I guess my only questions are "What would cause a hermit crab to shrivel up and die?" and "When a hermit crab dies, does it ALWAYS smell fishy?"
Thank you all very much for any thoughts. This is a great forum. Sorry for the long post.
.
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Fluker's All Natural Premium Sand Substrate Mixture; natural sand, coconut fiber, calcium carbonate, sea salt mix. It's about 6 inches deep, maybe a bit more. 20 gallon tank.
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 have a digital gauge on the side near the top. Humidity is usually between 75%-80%, temp around 70 degrees.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
We have a Zoo Med heater, 4 watts - a pad that adhere's to the bottom of the tank, in one corner.
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)?
We have both salt and fresh water. I'm not home now, so I don't remember the exact brand -- but when we got our crabs I researched this site. We dechlorinate tap water and add salt to the that. Pretty sure the salt mixture had the word "Ocean" in the title. Dechlorinate with some drops, can't remember the name.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
We are not great with variety and it's probably not the best diet. We always have popcorn (we pop, no salt) and a Zoo Med hermit crab mineral block available. The block stays around for a while, but the popcorn is replaced daily (what's left over). We add strawberry tops/leaves, shredded chicken, cut up grapes, blueberries (they don't like these). Sometimes peanut butter. A few other things sometimes, but these are the basics.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
We have (maybe had?) three crabs for three years. Don't know the species.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
All three crabs have molted many times. Not sure when the last time was that Charles molted - he's the problem crab.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
20 gallon glass aquarium, mesh top. We cover most of the top with a dish towel to help keep humidity in.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
Three crabs. I don't know how to judge the size, but all three have grown a lot since they were babies. They are large enough that I have to now research where to buy larger shells, since most of the shells from pet shops are getting a little small for them.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Three extra shells.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
You got me here. I haven't really cleaned the tank before. When we adopted the crabs, we started out with a 10 gallon tank and quickly realized that was too small. So we moved up to 20 gallon. I guess I need to figure out how to clean it sometime...
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No. We used sponges in the very beginning, but haven't used them for years. Crabs are able to climb in/out of the water dishes easily.
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 are not very good parents. My son (their "dad") is a little scared to hold them, so we just basically are happy to watch them whenever we are all awake/active at the same time.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Charles was our first crab. We got him three years ago and he has molted/grown normally. He was always our friendliest crab. Over the past 6-9 months, we have seen him much less frequently. Starting in about March, we hadn't seen him at all. In April, when we were travelling, I realized that at least one of the crabs was molting. So instead of bringing them with us, we asked a neighbor to take care of them and left them all home. I can't really remember, but I don't think it was Charles that was molting then.
In May, we had to dig up the crabs to go away for the summer. Two were fine. I had a lot of trouble finding the third, which turned out to be Charles. I wasn't even sure it was him. His shell was heavy, but the opening seemed to be packed tightly with sand. (I hadn't seen a shell like that before with a crab inside. Sometimes our extra shells are buried and full of sand.) I wanted to make sure that Charles was actually in there, so I picked at the sand around the opening to the shell a bit and it did look like there were some crab legs there. I didn't have a good feeling about things, but we needed to leave. I put Charles in our small plastic travel aquarium with the other two crabs. He didn't move during our trip.
When we got to the house, I put the other two crabs in their 20 gallon tank (duplicate from home) and left Charles in the small travel tank. I lightly buried him, left him food and water, sprayed daily, but there was no heat source. After a few weeks of nothing, I was pretty sure he was dead, but there was no smell. This went on all summer - no signs of Charles, no food eaten, no signs of life. Now that summer is over, I asked my son if it was okay to dig him up and take another look. He was right where I left him, near the surface. I swished him around in water to get some of the sand out of the opening of the shell. Whatever is in the shell, assuming it's Charles, looks like a dried up black mummy. We have not tried to dig him out of the shell. He obviously hasn't moved.
QUESTION: We want to bury Charles, but my son is worried that maybe he's not dead. His concern is that there was never any "fishy" smell. No smell at all. My son asked me to "ask the experts" for their thoughts, so I promised to post. I guess my only questions are "What would cause a hermit crab to shrivel up and die?" and "When a hermit crab dies, does it ALWAYS smell fishy?"
Thank you all very much for any thoughts. This is a great forum. Sorry for the long post.
.
