Naked hermit crab found in water bowl barely moving!

[Taylorloveshermies]

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?
Calcium sand, about 4 inches and I have more to add but have to wait now

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?
I just got some because of this fiasco but the thermometer and hygrometer are reading (85° f/ 90 humidity)

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
I've had a heating lamp which I was told dries it out super quickly so I just switched to a heating pad because of all of this.

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)?
Both salt water, and bottled fresh water are available. I use any type of bottled water but the salt is "all living things soaking salt" and has been the only thing used for the year I've had em.


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Dried shrimp legs, veggies, eggs, some meat peanut butter (I look everything up before I feed it to them)

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
Almost 1 year and a purple pincher I believe.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
I believe so, he went down for almost 2 months when I got him a friend a couple weeks after getting him but when he came back up he hadn't switched shells but looked bigger and his shell was way to small

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
It's a 10 gallon glass tank, 2 hermit ctabs and a sort of plastic top where I can put a light in, it's like a fish or reptile tank.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
2, the one that's not doing so well is mr. Krabs and hea a big one atleast 3-4 inches, dwebbles is the smaller one about 2-3 inches

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
About 10, I just added 2 new bigger ones for him specifically and put him in one due to all of this but he's dropping out

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No nothing different but i did rearrange my room a week ago where it was next to a window and now it's not

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I scoop the food/old food out daily but have never changed the sub

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.)? this is the first hermit crab I've ever owned. They're extremely active always, deff the smaller one more so than mr krabs but I've never seen him act so lethargic or be out of his shell. He eats great, bathes himself daily and is always climbing and hanging out with his friend. I have never handled him before I had to reshell him due to all of this but I would take him out once in a while and put him in a Tupperware container to watch him run around.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
He had been hanging out in the salt water dish alot more for about 3 days so I figured he was getting ready to molt. Bought more substrate and bigger shells and before i could get it in there, yesterday I found him completely out of his shell with it still on the corner of the saltwater dish but him laying helplessly in the dish and I had thought he had drowned. I had never seen him out of his shell and immediately panicked, picked him up carefully ofcourse and put him on an empty food dish. I had not one clue what to do so I joined I fbook group and they told me to put him in a bowl with 2mm of bottle water, some egg shells or honey, and a couple of different shells including his old one he could choose from. He was still moving but laying on his side and would not get up. I out a damp washcloth over it and went to sleep, checked back in the morning and he had moved to the food and had eaten it but still wouldnt go in a shell. I then referred back to the fbook group where they told me to reshell him manually as it is dangerous and not good to have him naked either way so I did, put him in the next shell up one that I had just gotten for him. He tucked in and i set him back into the sand with his own little water caps, raw eggs and shells and put a water bottle around him so the other guy will leave him alone and put a washcloth over it. That was about 4 hours ago and I just peeked and he's deff dropping out more, seems to be passing is there anything else I can do to help my baby? I love him so much this is breaking my heart and I'm not gonna be able to stop worrying ever as long as he's still with me.


.

[curlysister]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Calcium sand, about 4 inches and I have more to add but have to wait now
Curly - Calcium sand is not safe - it can get hard like cement when wet. You need play sand (sold at hard ware stores). Most of us mix it with eco earth (coco fiber) in a ratio of about 5 part sand to 1 part EE. It should be moistened with dechlorinated water so that it is sand castle consistency. It should be at least 6 inches deep, or three times as deep as 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?
I just got some because of this fiasco but the thermometer and hygrometer are reading (85° f/ 90 humidity)

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
I've had a heating lamp which I was told dries it out super quickly so I just switched to a heating pad because of all of this.

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)?
Both salt water, and bottled fresh water are available. I use any type of bottled water but the salt is "all living things soaking salt" and has been the only thing used for the year I've had em.
Curly - Bottled water is a bit of an unknown, and you should still use a dechlorinator. Or just use tap water with the dechlorinator. Soaking salt isn't the correct salt, it does not contain all the necessary minerals. You want a marine salt like Instant Ocean, and mix it with your dechlorinated water.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Dried shrimp legs, veggies, eggs, some meat peanut butter (I look everything up before I feed it to them)

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
Almost 1 year and a purple pincher I believe.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
I believe so, he went down for almost 2 months when I got him a friend a couple weeks after getting him but when he came back up he hadn't switched shells but looked bigger and his shell was way to small

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
It's a 10 gallon glass tank, 2 hermit ctabs and a sort of plastic top where I can put a light in, it's like a fish or reptile tank.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
2, the one that's not doing so well is mr. Krabs and hea a big one atleast 3-4 inches, dwebbles is the smaller one about 2-3 inches

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
About 10, I just added 2 new bigger ones for him specifically and put him in one due to all of this but he's dropping out

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No nothing different but i did rearrange my room a week ago where it was next to a window and now it's not

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I scoop the food/old food out daily but have never changed the sub

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.)? this is the first hermit crab I've ever owned. They're extremely active always, deff the smaller one more so than mr krabs but I've never seen him act so lethargic or be out of his shell. He eats great, bathes himself daily and is always climbing and hanging out with his friend. I have never handled him before I had to reshell him due to all of this but I would take him out once in a while and put him in a Tupperware container to watch him run around.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
He had been hanging out in the salt water dish alot more for about 3 days so I figured he was getting ready to molt. Bought more substrate and bigger shells and before i could get it in there, yesterday I found him completely out of his shell with it still on the corner of the saltwater dish but him laying helplessly in the dish and I had thought he had drowned. I had never seen him out of his shell and immediately panicked, picked him up carefully ofcourse and put him on an empty food dish. I had not one clue what to do so I joined I fbook group and they told me to put him in a bowl with 2mm of bottle water, some egg shells or honey, and a couple of different shells including his old one he could choose from. He was still moving but laying on his side and would not get up. I out a damp washcloth over it and went to sleep, checked back in the morning and he had moved to the food and had eaten it but still wouldnt go in a shell. I then referred back to the fbook group where they told me to reshell him manually as it is dangerous and not good to have him naked either way so I did, put him in the next shell up one that I had just gotten for him. He tucked in and i set him back into the sand with his own little water caps, raw eggs and shells and put a water bottle around him so the other guy will leave him alone and put a washcloth over it. That was about 4 hours ago and I just peeked and he's deff dropping out more, seems to be passing is there anything else I can do to help my baby? I love him so much this is breaking my heart and I'm not gonna be able to stop worrying ever as long as he's still with me.
Curly - You did all the right things getting him back into a shell. A naked crab will die. They ditch their shell because they are too weak to carry it. You have a couple of things that need to be corrected, the biggest being your substrate and then your water. Only time will tell if he will pull through this, but it sounds to me like you are doing everything you can right now. Maybe the other Moderators will chime in with some advice too.

[avocadocrabbies]

Everything Curly said was pretty much spot on. I would keep a very close eye on your crab, it may be PPS or he could just be sick. As soon as possible, you need to do a substrate change. I am assuming that you were not on this forum prior to the emergency, because calcium sand is one of the big nono's in terms of substrate. (I once bought a bag and freaked out when I learned about its horrible qualities.) Go to Home Depot or Lowe's Home Improvement, they have play sand there. Mix it with Eco Earth soaked in water, that should be your substrate. It is possible that the calcium sand could be causing problems for your little crabby, it's known to stick to them in excess amounts and give them an unhealthy coat of powder.

Praying for mr. krabs!

[Taylorloveshermies]

Thankyou guys so much!!! That makes me feel a little better i did some stuff correctly. I unfortunately wasn't on this forum or any fbook groups prior to this horrible incident I just did some google research and figured it was accurate and no matter what I was giving em a better life than the fair/pet store I got my 2 guys from I wish I had known all of this info prior but some goodish news is I THINK mr krabs is surface molting.. I joined a fbook group called "hermit crab owners" and they gave me some advice. I isolated him in the main take with a 2 liter bottle and some honey, water and was told to leave him alone for a week. He's still alive I believe (doesn't smell) but I havent checked him at all just have made sure the temp and humidity was good. I mean I really hope he is molting and will pull through this because I know this isn't good either way ugh I'm so mad at myself for thinking google had the proper answers. I'm in the process of completely upgrading my crabitat and have made a list so I can have 2 functioning crabitats (the new one will be way bigger and better though) I don't see where I can post pics in here but I will update as soon as I know what's going on with mr. Krabs! Seriously thankyou for your help

[Taylorloveshermies]

I do have one question actually, should I be leaving him alone or checking him and manually bathing him/feeding him? The fbook group has told me to completely leave him alone because if he's molting I'll injure him but if he's not am I just letting him die slowly? My anxiety is killing me everyday not to look, I don't want him to suffer whatsoever so what's the best scenario here do you think?

[aussieJJDude]

I'd leave him alone, especially if he is surface moulting. If he is moving around, you can offer foods and water, but I'd actively avoid bathing him as it can mess up their salt solution that they have in their shells.

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[Taylorloveshermies]

Okay awesome yah I only washed him off once ever and that was when I was reshelling him a few days ago lol I usually don't handle em because I'm afraid I'd accidentally hurt em but good to know thankyou again!!!❤

[CrabbyLover77]

Okay awesome yah I only washed him off once ever and that was when I was reshelling him a few days ago lol I usually don't handle em because I'm afraid I'd accidentally hurt em but good to know thankyou again!!!

Good luck! Sending good vibes to your crabby to get better!

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[Taylorloveshermies]

He has passed away I'm truly devastated I loved him.. may he R.I.P I am currently upgrading my crabitat so his bestfriend can have a happy home and make more friends. I just realized this forum is a continuation of the fbook group Hermit crab association I just joined so i am atleast glad to be here now..

[CrabbyLover77]

He has passed away I'm truly devastated I loved him.. may he R.I.P I am currently upgrading my crabitat so his bestfriend can have a happy home and make more friends. I just realized this forum is a continuation of the fbook group Hermit crab association I just joined so i am atleast glad to be here now..

I'm so sorry for your loss! I'm sure you did everything you could to help him.

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