Surface molt!

[Ijustcantsayno]

Hi everyone! So i accidentally disturbed a surface molter. His old exoskeleton is off and he’s all curled into his shell. I picked him up because he was next to but sort of on the food shell and it was food time. I moved him a few inches away from where the food dish was and isolated him and the old exo in the main tank. I also moved the food shell to the other side of the tank for now. Is there anything else i should do for him? I’m a little nervous because it’s his first molt with me, and i have never had a crab molt on the surface before.

[Hermiearth]

Surface molts are not normal. Please fill out the emergency template so we can try and figure out why he surface molted in the first place.


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[Ijustcantsayno]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Sand, 10 inches deep at one end and gradually aloped down to 4 inches at the other end

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
Yes, thermometer and hygrometer. Located in the middle of the tank towards the crab’s level. Humidity is at 68, not ideal, but Temp is 82 right now.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Yes, night lamp with purpleish blue glass is on all day amd night right now.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

Salt and fresh water available. I declorinate botles water because our tap water is gross. Salt water i but premixed and dilute a little

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Fruits, veggies, dried krill. Chicken, fish. Cuttlebone is always available.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I’ve had this crab for about 7 months

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Just molted on the surface

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
75 gal, mesh lid with plastic wrap covering everything except for where the heat lamp is

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
9 crabs, 2 small, 7 medium

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Do i have to count them all? Lol, best guess is about 20ish at a time. I rotate some in and out once a week and boil them all in crab safe water.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I don’t really “clean” it, but i remove old food and any poop i see daily.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No sponges, crabs kept burying them

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
A 2nd moss pit so that there was enough room for all

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
I only bathe new crabs usually. I figure in nature nobody is there to tell them when it’s bath time. I have 2 crabs that seem to enjoy playtime and will come up to my hand. This crab isn’t one of them.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Already explained, but basically i picked up a crab who was molting on the surface. He was partly in the food shell and it was meal time. I realized what hapened when his old exo fell out and now i have him and his old exo sectioned off from the others in the main tank.

I think that covers it but if i left anything out let me know.

[AwesomeHermit]

If you can, you should get the exo out of the main tank and with the surface molter if I comprehended your statement correctly. They need to eat the exo for calcium to help harden their new exo. If you don't have it anymore, give them a substitute calcium source such as cuttlebone.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Heya - do you know what brands of dechlorinator & salt you've got?

Humidity may be low in part due to the heat lamp, as those tend to be drying. You can add bubblers to the water dish to improve humidity. Perhaps consider getting a UTH in the long run... having a light on all night, even a dark one, isn't ideal for them. Alternatively a ceramic heater wouldn't emit light.

For your moulter I'd maybe consider popping some damp moss into ISO with him, to create a moist-er micro habitat and guard against dessication.

Also, if you haven't already, ensure the crab's space is dark.

[Ijustcantsayno]

[quote="AwesomeHermit"]If you can, you should get the exo out of the main tank and with the surface molter if I comprehended your statement correctly. They need to eat the exo for calcium to help harden their new exo. If you don't have it anymore, give them a substitute calcium source such as cuttlebone.[/quote

His exo is with him. I left the cuttlebone with the other crabs so they hopefully won’t try to bug him.

[Ijustcantsayno]

Heya - do you know what brands of dechlorinator & salt you've got?

Humidity may be low in part due to the heat lamp, as those tend to be drying. You can add bubblers to the water dish to improve humidity. Perhaps consider getting a UTH in the long run... having a light on all night, even a dark one, isn't ideal for them. Alternatively a ceramic heater wouldn't emit light.

For your moulter I'd maybe consider popping some damp moss into ISO with him, to create a moist-er micro habitat and guard against dessication.

Also, if you haven't already, ensure the crab's space is dark.

I use prime water conditioner. Unfortunately because of my set up and kids I’m not confortable with a ceramic heater and the UTH that i have doesn’t seem to be working. I’m going to get a new UTH after Xmas. The heat lamp is just a short term solution. I totally agree with the light drying it out. I didn’t have humidity issues before the lamp.I have no real way of making his area dark and the tank is huge, should i just get him into an iso tank? I’m afraid to bother him again to do that.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Hmm... could you use a clean plastic food container that is opaque for an in tank iso? Like a margarine container or something like that? Just add a small hole for air exchange an put it overy him lIke a pop bottle iso.... that would be darker, and easier than setting up a second tat.

[Ijustcantsayno]

Hmm... could you use a clean plastic food container that is opaque for an in tank iso? Like a margarine container or something like that? Just add a small hole for air exchange an put it overy him lIke a pop bottle iso.... that would be darker, and easier than setting up a second tat.

Great idea! I just got home and no movement from my molter. I’m about to feed them so I’ll take a quick peek at my tupperware first. If I don’t have any tuperware that will work i might sacrifice one of my hand towels but it will have to be washed without detergent first. Do you think that would help with the humidity issue if it’s damp? I could use the saltwater to help hold off the inevitable mold and maybe rinse it daily when it’s dark out to avoid light exposure to my molter...

[LadyJinglyJones]

Couldn't hurt.

[AwesomeHermit]

If you can, you should get the exo out of the main tank and with the surface molter if I comprehended your statement correctly. They need to eat the exo for calcium to help harden their new exo. If you don't have it anymore, give them a substitute calcium source such as cuttlebone.[/quote

His exo is with him. I left the cuttlebone with the other crabs so they hopefully won’t try to bug him.

Oh. I misunderstood. Sorry!

[Ijustcantsayno]

Good news! Last night while i was taking the damp towel off i caught him eating his old exo! I’m taking that as a good sign after several days of no movement.

[wodesorel]

Woo, that is a weird place to choose for a surface molt. Things like this can happen sometimes, but if it were one of mine I would be seriously worried. Yes, they will sometimes choose to pull a fast one, but never in the open like that! It almost sounds like he put off molting so long he didn't have a choice as to where it was going to happen. Please consider checking your substrate to make sure something didn't chase him off of molting normally. It may have dried out too much or there may be a bacterial bloom under the surface. If you aren't seeing anything amiss then chalk it up to there being something off with the crab, but this pretty much doesn't happen unless the crab is brand new.

[Ijustcantsayno]

Woo, that is a weird place to choose for a surface molt. Things like this can happen sometimes, but if it were one of mine I would be seriously worried. Yes, they will sometimes choose to pull a fast one, but never in the open like that! It almost sounds like he put off molting so long he didn't have a choice as to where it was going to happen. Please consider checking your substrate to make sure something didn't chase him off of molting normally. It may have dried out too much or there may be a bacterial bloom under the surface. If you aren't seeing anything amiss then chalk it up to there being something off with the crab, but this pretty much doesn't happen unless the crab is brand new.

How would i check for a bacterial bloom? There are 3 other crabs that are buried down (no idea if they are molting or just down there for fun) so I really hope I don’t need to take all that sand out. It’s ALOT of sand lol. It took me forever to bake it all the first time around...I’m not looking forward to doing that again to be honest. Also the sand was moistened with 1/2 fresh water and 1/2 salt water when I initially put it into the tank. I just dug to the bottom in 1 corner of the deep end and it’s not stinky or dried out, still sandcastle ready. I also didn’t see any extra water down there. The heat lamp is towards the shallow end of the substrate and it is dry on that side.

All my other crabs seem be acting like normal crabs.. I do have 1 that is constantly active below the surface and i almost never see him. I call that one Grouch. His personality matches his name...Grouch and I are NOT friends. I know he’s ok because he’s the type that likes to switch shells all the time and I can see him digging tunnels against the glass. The rare times that I actually see him at the surface he’s usually pestering the others. I wonder if maybe Grouch disturbed this one? I’m sure I’ll never know, but it’s a thought.

[AwesomeHermit]

Woo, that is a weird place to choose for a surface molt. Things like this can happen sometimes, but if it were one of mine I would be seriously worried. Yes, they will sometimes choose to pull a fast one, but never in the open like that! It almost sounds like he put off molting so long he didn't have a choice as to where it was going to happen. Please consider checking your substrate to make sure something didn't chase him off of molting normally. It may have dried out too much or there may be a bacterial bloom under the surface. If you aren't seeing anything amiss then chalk it up to there being something off with the crab, but this pretty much doesn't happen unless the crab is brand new.

How would i check for a bacterial bloom? There are 3 other crabs that are buried down (no idea if they are molting or just down there for fun) so I really hope I don’t need to take all that sand out. It’s ALOT of sand lol. It took me forever to bake it all the first time around...I’m not looking forward to doing that again to be honest. Also the sand was moistened with 1/2 fresh water and 1/2 salt water when I initially put it into the tank. I just dug to the bottom in 1 corner of the deep end and it’s not stinky or dried out, still sandcastle ready. I also didn’t see any extra water down there. The heat lamp is towards the shallow end of the substrate and it is dry on that side.

A bacterial bloom could be checked by sticking a chop stick in a place in the substrate of the tank, where you KNOW there are no crabs molting there. If you smell something very strong, it is likely a bacterial bloom. I never had one so I don't know what exactly it smells like, so my information which I just said above is stuff that I read here.