New Tank - move molting crab or leave in old tank

[squeelvr06]

Hiya,
I recently got a new tank which has two active small crabs in it. My old tank still has a molting crab in it. I would just leave him there but I only have a heat source for one tank, and the only other one I have isnt effective so im struggling to keep his tank warm enough, the temp is dropping quite low since its winter here now. Ive had to use a heat pack and blankets around the outside of the tank to try and keep it warm and even that only brings it up to like 18 degrees celcius.
Any advice on raising tank temps without a heater? (its a plastic tank)
Do you think its best if I leave him there to finish his molt by himself?
Will it be bad to introduce him to the other two post molt if he takes a while?
Should I just put him in an isolation container with a heater and sand?
I'm really not sure, this is his first molt with me and I want him to be comfortable but so far its been pretty rough, his tunnel collapsed and flooded so I had to take him out of it to fix it and put him back in (idk if this was the right thing to do) and hes been quite disrupted . Im rlly worried ab him and want him to get through this molt

[curlysister]

When did you dig him up? And when you put him back in, did you bury him under the sand, or isolate him from the other crabs?

[squeelvr06]

When did you dig him up? And when you put him back in, did you bury him under the sand, or isolate him from the other crabs?

I dug him up yesterday as soon as it flooded in. His burrow is underneath a water bowl so I emptied the bowl but put him back in the burrow under there after I cleaned it up. I moved the other two crabs into the new tank so yes he is isolated in the old tank by himself.

[curlysister]

18C is going to be too cold for a molting crab. How big is the container he is in? Will it fit inside the new tank? Or you may need to put him in a small iso container into the main tank, so he has proper heat and humidity.
Had he eaten his exo yet?

[squeelvr06]

18C is going to be too cold for a molting crab. How big is the container he is in? Will it fit inside the new tank? Or you may need to put him in a small iso container into the main tank, so he has proper heat and humidity.
Had he eaten his exo yet?

I dont believe he has eaten his exo yet because he's still in his shell, but I havent checked for a few days. He's currently still in his 10 gal tank. If i move him into an iso container into the main tank, what should I put in the container with him? And is there any pre-cautions to take with moving him? Also if I relocate him should I bury him myself or something? Because hes pretty far into his molt and pretty weak so im unsure if he'll bury himself
Sorry for all the questions

[curlysister]

If you dig up a molting crab, do not re-bury them - you are correct that they can not dig themselves out and they will suffocate.

Crabs don't leave their shells while molting.

If you move him, he will need to be isolated with his exoskeleton. You will want to carefully dig him up, going in from the side, then carefully transfer him to a container. You can put a bit of eco earth or moss or something soft in the bottom of something like a margarine container. Once they shed and eat their exo, they will need to harden up. You can put a small container (like pop bottle caps) of fresh and salt water in with him once he's eaten his exo, then add other foods. Once he is moving around normally, he can be put back in the main tank - consider a quick dip in the fresh water for all the crabs so they all smell the same.

[squeelvr06]

If you dig up a molting crab, do not re-bury them - you are correct that they can not dig themselves out and they will suffocate.

Crabs don't leave their shells while molting.

If you move him, he will need to be isolated with his exoskeleton. You will want to carefully dig him up, going in from the side, then carefully transfer him to a container. You can put a bit of eco earth or moss or something soft in the bottom of something like a margarine container. Once they shed and eat their exo, they will need to harden up. You can put a small container (like pop bottle caps) of fresh and salt water in with him once he's eaten his exo, then add other foods. Once he is moving around normally, he can be put back in the main tank - consider a quick dip in the fresh water for all the crabs so they all smell the same.

Alright i've got him in the main tank in a clear plastic container with holes in the top, cloth over top to keep it dark and some sand substrate with water bowls. I put him in the corner closest to the heater so he'll stay nice and warm.
Thankyou so much for your help lovely I rlly appreciate it . Hope the rest of his molt goes smoothly