Pale greyish exoskeleton

[Life_Is_Good2me]

I bought these hermit crabs for my 9yr old son but now I'm the one taking care of them. Lol I have spent a lot of time & money trying to make sure they have everything they need so i don't kill them....as i quickly learned they weren't as simple to care for as they led me to believe. I take care of them daily however i can't honestly say that i spend a lot time observing them. So anyways I'm not sure when it happened, but today I noticed that 1 out of my 4 hermit crabs has a very pale greyish exoskeleton. All the other crabs are very bright & colorful. This particular crab has always been shy & cautious...he will always stop & hide when I go near the cage. So he's not as active and wild as my other crabs in front of me. But i know that he's active & climbs about. He tends to burry in the sand a lot but i can tell from the disturbed sand that he regularly comes out probably while I'm sleeping & i see him time to time. This has always been his behavior since we have had him. My point is...he doesn't seem to be acting differently like he's dying or anything but then why is he so pale greyish? My other hermit crabs seem to be fine.

I was also wondering how can you tell if your hermit crab has molted or if they just decided to hide for a long time? Since i can't see them while they are hiding to know what they are doing...how do I know?

Sorry this is so long! If you've read this far...I really appreciate your time.

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[hthecvt]

Can you get a picture of him? Some species of crabs (like Ecuadorians) can have grey as a normal color, where as purple pinchers tend to be orange/red. So it may be normal for him. Also, Ecuadorians are known diggers.

How long have you had them?

*H, CVT*

[Life_Is_Good2me]

Hi, thank you for responding. I'm not sure what kind of crab he is to be honest. I bought 1 crab from the boardwalk at the shore & they didn't tell me they love to have friends. So I bought him & my other 2 crabs from Pet Smart. Like I said he is very shy but I will try to get a picture of him for you to see. If I don't move for awhile and he feels safe then he will come out. Can you tell me how to upload a photo? I don't see an option for attaching photos.

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[Life_Is_Good2me]

Oh and I've had them since last August. Honestly I don't know if this is his normal color bc like i said i don't observe them much & he is always hiding. But all 3 other crabs are very bright shiney and colorful.

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[Life_Is_Good2me]

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[Life_Is_Good2me]

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[KellyCrabbieLove]

He is a purple pincher just differently colored. They come in all shades and color schemes really and yours just has more of the grayish purple color to hm. I have one like that too. I can't see hair or anything in the pic so he may be getting close to time to molt. That would effect how his exo looks as well.

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[Life_Is_Good2me]

Oh that's a relief! I was worried he was dying. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I'm still learning about them so i didn't know about the hair thing & molting either. Good to know!

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[Crabinski]

This pale dude is Felix, one of my PPs. He's been with me over 7 years, eats the same food as the other bright and dark colored crabs and is the Ruler of All!

[Life_Is_Good2me]

Wow i didn't know their color could vary so much! He is very pale compared to my my colorful ones!

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[Renroc]

You mentioned a cage?? Do you actually mean a wire enclosure or do you have a glass tank with a glass lid?


Still in denial I've managed to pull this off.

[Life_Is_Good2me]

Well not a cage...it's a glass aquarium. The lid has holes...I can't remember what kind it's called...but i have it almost all covered to keep the humidity in and an opening to let in some fresh air. But thanks to the jerks that sold me 1 lonely crab at the shore last summer, I did originally have them in the stupid cage they con you into buying at the boardwalk. Until i read up about hermit crab care and realized everything i bought was a big waste of money. Of course that's when i went out and got 3 more crabs too. Lol

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