Orange Residue on Shell

[Shadnire]

I tried searching this up but I can't find it, the best idea that I have is that maybe my crabbie is going to molt soon but I want to make sure. Right now they seem fine, sleeps a lot though. I don't get to watch it eat or drink so not sure about that- there's fresh variety of half protein and half veggies and nuts, treats, etc kinda food. They have green sand, worm castings, and oyster shell powder- and course salt water and fresh prime treated water changed every day. BTW this is an ISO tank.. They've been in there for maybe 2-3 weeks. They have one other tank mate, and they're both the size of maybe a quarter or so, this one maybe little smaller. There's a bunch of extra shells scattered everywhere as well as moss and leaf litter. I noticed their eye stalks are a little separated, and there is orange residue on the underside of their shell so I am wondering if they're going to molt soon. I don't think I've seen this on my other crabs before but then again I don't really handle them that much either.

[curlysister]

Can you post a photo of what you mean?

Why are they in isolation? Can they molt in there?

[Shadnire]

I tried the best I could without them popping out so much and trying to hold them and focus my camera

But I'm told it's best they're in ISO to get used to temps slowly for 2-3 weeks before going to the big tank and making sure they're good to go. Plus I'm told ISOs only have like an inch of substrate so they don't go in hiding so you can make sure they're eating and drinking? I saw him eating worm castings yesterday before the bigger baby told him to take a hike xD. He been more active since I took the picture past 2 days.

Also, after introducing the new ruggie I adopted to these babies bout 10 days ago? He kept bothering them a lot I waa not sure if it was aggressiveor not.. so I put him in the main tank since the bigger crabs are in there. Now that's all the room that's available until my new big tank is ready. Which was better cuz he's made cuddle buddies.

Also, temps been good now so I think babies can go in the big tank but like I said.. atm it has 3 crabbies now and I don't want to over crowd since it says its a 34 gallon.

So as soon as my new glass panel comes in (I had to order a new one, the original broke during installation ) I'll be setting up the new.. I think it said it was a 90 gallon paludarium.

[Shadnire]

https://imgur.com/a/FyHHeuD

[HermitGuy3]

Are you sure it's residue? Can you wipe it off with a q-tip? Could it be just the shell's coloring? Was it like this when you got him?

[curlysister]

I'm not sure what the orange residue is, if not just a part of the shell.

You don't have to put crabs into good conditions gradually. You can just put them right into appropriate temp and humidity right away. If a crab needs to molt, it can't put it off indefinitely. It's better to molt underground rather than a surface molt.

HCA has a care sheet that outlines the number of crabs you can safely have in a tank.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=92541

[HermitGuy3]

The main point of that method is to get good nutrients into the crab before they molt. I don't see the point of having low humidity and heat either, but we feed them good food before they molt to try and give them strength to make it.

[curlysister]

The main point of that method is to get good nutrients into the crab before they molt. I don't see the point of having low humidity and heat either, but we feed them good food before they molt to try and give them strength to make it.

There is no evidence that trying to delay a molt until after they have eaten will improve survival rates. Sometimes it makes a person feel like they are doing something to help, but as far as survival there is no evidence that it will make a difference.

[HermitGuy3]

It makes sense to do it though, because we want them to be strong enough to get through something extremely stressful and physically demanding. For example, you wouldn't want to run a marathon after having a diet of only corn chips for 3 months.

[JoeHermits]

Hermit crabs are almost always provided plenty of food at stores or beachside kiosks. Granted it’s usually in the form of cheap pellets but pellets do provide sufficient calories

The entire concept of acclimating new crabs after purchase is based on an emaciation procedure used by veterinarians. However, the actual veterinary procedure boosts humidity to max right away and raises heat over hours, not days (not to mention we seldom have emaciated hermit crabs). The hermit crab version was created by hobbyists trying to be as conservative as possible, and the method went viral

The biggest reason hermit crabs often die after collection from the wild is that they are forced to put off molting. This is why the chances of death drops significantly once the hermit crab molts successfully. Making them delay molting even further won’t help them


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[C: ClareCrabOwner :)]

Some people do gradually accumulate their crabs to new tempuratures to reduce the effects of PPS:

https://crabstreetjournal.org/blog/2013 ... he-impact/

However, I would imagine they have plenty of substrate, food, and water for if the crab wanted to molt!

[HermitGuy3]

Hermit crabs are almost always provided plenty of food at stores or beachside kiosks. Granted it’s usually in the form of cheap pellets but pellets do provide sufficient calories

The entire concept of acclimating new crabs after purchase is based on an emaciation procedure used by veterinarians. However, the actual veterinary procedure boosts humidity to max right away and raises heat over hours, not days (not to mention we seldom have emaciated hermit crabs). The hermit crab version was created by hobbyists trying to be as conservative as possible, and the method went viral

The biggest reason hermit crabs often die after collection from the wild is that they are forced to put off molting. This is why the chances of death drops significantly once the hermit crab molts successfully. Making them delay molting even further won’t help them


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Crabs (and everything else) need more than just calories though, they need other minerals and nutrients to survive, not to mention that pellets are usually toxic to the crabs.

That article says that 80% of their crabs who had died, died during molting. That is because molting is very stressful for them. It makes sense that we should acclimate them. You wouldn't put a fish into a tank without acclimating it to the different water first.

[JoeHermits]

Pellets do provide vitamins and minerals. Food is seldom a limiting factor in new crabs, and any harmful effects from pellets would take years of continuous consumption to take effect. Most compounds used in food are deemed safe based off studies looking at feed concentrations in the short-term

And yes, many crabs do die during molts, it’s the most stressful time for them, however further delaying those molts won’t help them molt better. Comparing them to fish is also not accurate, since exposure to air is not the same as water. Water has varying levels of not just temperatures but also pH, dissolved solids, salinity, and ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. Acclimation is definitely needed for marine animals (including marine hermit crabs) but terrestrial animals are not that sensitive

The HCA did their own mini-study many years ago and found no difference in death rates between acclimated and non-acclimated crabs. Unfortunately that data was lost during forum updates


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[JoeHermits]

Are you sure it's residue? Can you wipe it off with a q-tip? Could it be just the shell's coloring? Was it like this when you got him?

[mention]Shadnire [/mention] apologies for hijacking your thread with our debate. HermitGuy3 is asking good follow up questions though if you’re still investigating your original query


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[Shadnire]

https://imgur.com/a/XkkBYzw

It's okay thank you. I figured acclimating made sense because how they were treated before hand.

Anyhow, I think it might be the shell.. I can't take this stuff off. I just don't remember if it was there before or not. Also, someone else said the same thing so when I noticed it, it freaked me out.

So today I mixed a bunch of play sand in there and right now there's probably 2 - 2.5 inches? Probably enough for the babies.. it was a lot of work too mixing everything.