HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My hermits just finished their first molt with me a few weeks ago. Not long after we transferred them to a new 20 gallon long tank. When they first came back up from molting, i noticed this spot on my hermits claw. when i first saw it it looked like maybe just a discoloration, and they were acting normal, you know eating and digging and all. they seem very active in the new tank and have been exploring the added space and toys. but today i noticed that the spot on his claw has gotten about 2x bigger. does anyone know what this is??????? could it be because he recently finished molting? i’m having trouble uploading a picture, but here it is on my twitter. https://twitter.com/giantmeatgang/stat ... 29761?s=21

I wouldn't panic just yet, any kind of infection would normally spread in a circular fashion, not with clean corners like this has. That's a good thing.

My guess is that when he started eating his old exo, a piece got stuck to his big claw when he was still sort of soft. That can cause discoloration and oddities on the exo until the next molt, and could potentially change size as he finished hardening up.

Keep an eye on it, if it grows at all please let us know!

thank you so much! i’ll keep an eye on it. good to know it’s likely harmless.