HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have a hermit crab that went under the Sand about a month ago, the last “molt” before this one was about Last summer, before I dug him up because I got scared. He’s been mulching for about a month. What do I do?

He has a diet of mostly fruit
He does not eat food much
He mostly is in a spot located between a driftwood peice
Humidity is often around 75

To clarify, he is has been underground for about a month now? Or he was underground for about a month and you dug him up?

What is your temperature reading?
Why are you not feeding them a balanced diet with a variety of foods, why mostly fruit?
How deep is your substrate?

And don't dig! A molting crab can be down for months at a time without surfacing. Disturbing them can lead to accidental death, and if for some reason they were to pass while buried it won't harm their tankmates in any way. Waiting is always the best choice, even though it can be hard to do!

He’s resurfaced but it’s been 2 days since he has and think he dug under the sand again, I just checked today I didn’t dig. Him up this time , that was I’m his fisrt molt this is his second and I don’t know what do because he resurfaced 2 days ago but I think he went back under cuz I can’t find him anywhere in his tank

I Just found why he probably went back under, I looked at the humidity gauge and saw that it was at 49 and the heating pad has been plugged out, so I’m pretty sure he went under because it was too dry for him but the sand It’s also very dry which worries me that he might’ve got smother in the sand what should I do?

Rubberducky wrote:I Just found why he probably went back under, I looked at the humidity gauge and saw that it was at 49 and the heating pad has been plugged out, so I’m pretty sure he went under because it was too dry for him but the sand It’s also very dry which worries me that he might’ve got smother in the sand what should I do?

First, how dry is your substrate? If it is all completely dry, then you can follow my advice below. If it's only the top layer that's dry, but still moist underneath, then don't dig. In that case, you can add a little bit of water around the edges of the tank and the water will seep inward (do still follow the advice about wrapping your lid):

I know we're not supposed to dig for our crabs, but if it were me, I would in this situation. If the humidity is staying that low, he won't survive. If you fix the substrate, you can get the humidity up. He also won't be able to molt properly in substrate that won't hold tunnels/caves. Do not rebury him. If he happens to be molting and you have other crabs, you will have to isolate him.

Make sure to moisten the substrate with dechlor fresh or salt water to sand castle consistency. Also make sure, if you have a mesh top, to cover it completely in plastic/saran wrap to keep the moisture in. Once you've done these two things, the humidity should rise, and he should be able to tunnel/dig properly.

Mods/Admins, please jump in if you think my advice isn't correct. I figured constant low humidity constitutes an emergency, and the best way to fix that is by getting the sub to the right consistency (if it is all completely dry).

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I followed ur advice and it worked! He is better now and dug out of his tunnel

Rubberducky wrote:I followed ur advice and it worked! He is better now and dug out of his tunnel

Yay!

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