HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello, my hermit crab of over a year now is out of his shell and wandering above the substrate. He molted not long ago, but I don’t know what the problem is! I have a couple bigger shells in his habitat, but he won’t take to them. Can anyone please help? I don’t want him to die.

Have you read thru the care sheet yet?

https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... 7&t=122302

I’ve tried isolation and manual re-shelling. He still won’t take a shell, everything was cleaned with non chlorinated fresh water, but he won’t take. I don’t know what to do or what’s wrong.

Unfortunately, a crab without a shell will not survive. All you can do is keep trying to get him to take a shell. Maybe offer a bit of high energy food for him, in the small container with a few shells, to boost his energy.
Can you tell us about your tank conditions - temp, humidity, what you feed, how long you have had your crab(s)?

I’ve had him for about a year and 3 months now, I usually keep his tank moist and his temperature around 70 degrees F, I keep his food and water filled. His food is blood worms that I’ve been feeding him since I got him. I wasn’t sure at the time what else to feed him. I did some research and found that bloodworms were not bad for them, so that’s what I feed him. He’s been without a shell for at least 24 hours now and I just don’t know what to do at this point.

I was able to manually get him into a shell but he won’t “anchor” to it, for lack of a better word. I picked it up and he just fell out, he wasn’t holding to it at all.

curlysister wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 18, 2023 6:09 pm

Unfortunately, a crab without a shell will not survive. All you can do is keep trying to get him to take a shell. Maybe offer a bit of high energy food for him, in the small container with a few shells, to boost his energy.
Can you tell us about your tank conditions - temp, humidity, what you feed, how long you have had your crab(s)?

Just an update. He passed away tonight. I tried everything I could to help him. But it wasn’t enough, I’m not sure what cause any of this, but he is officially gone. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.

I'm sorry to hear that he passed away.
Do you have other crabs? There may be some things that could be improved in your conditions. If you haven't had a look at the care sheets yet, start with the 'basics' one.
Crabs have modified gills, and need humidity around 80% to breathe properly. The temperature should also be around 80F.
They need a varied diet, including animal protein, calcium, fruits, vegetables, grains, greens, nuts, seeds, etc. They also need dechlorinated tap water for their fresh water, and salt water made by adding marine salt to the fresh water.
Their substrate should be at least three times as deep as your largest crab, either play sand or coco fiber, or a mix of the two. It should be moistened with dechlorinated water so that it is 'sand castle' consistency and holds it's shape, so that they can dig tunnels and caves.

I do not have any other crabs, he was my only one. I’m relatively new to owning crabs, so I didn’t quite have all the info I needed to ensure proper care. I used natural beach same for the substrate, I’m not sure if that is okay or not, but my humidity was definitely not up to par as you have described. Thank you for the information and the help, I’ll consider getting a new crab, but for now, I think I’m going to take a break from it. There is definitely much more involved in it than what I’m currently capable of doing with my work schedule and personal schedule right now.

That is understandable.