Does changing into a larger shell signal a coming molt??

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:46 am

I have two little ones who have been under for about 2 1/2 weeks. They are in my old tank, which I am really trying to clear out of the tank area to make more room for my new tank, which most of the crabs are already in. The question is, could they be molting? They had both gone under for several weeks after I got them. I thought that they had molted, but I can't remember now if I actually saw their pointy black toes or not. If they did molt, they came up from that around the beginning of march. They are both about 1/2" foot span, standing normally. They both, after coming up last time, changed into bigger shells. (Zoe changed into a WAY bigger shell.) So could they be molting again?
I so, is there a careful way I could dig around to get them out of the old tank, maybe into a small ISO? Or is digging up crabs always very dangerous?

MudCrabDude · Post by **MudCrabDude** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:43 pm

Pumpkin Skipper wrote:Re: Does changing into a larger shell signal a coming molt??

Not necessarily.

Pumpkin Skipper wrote: Or is digging up crabs always very dangerous?

Probably not. If you feel that you have to dig in order to do cleanups to the room or a tank leak or emergencies or such, then usually they can live through such if done briefly and carefully.

Usually digging is not recommended when we harp so much in these forums for the interested newbie crab owners who feel they need to dig the crab because: a) they want to play with the crab or b)curious as to where the crab is in the tank or c)due to boredom or constant needless worring about their status or something like that. In other words, if it cannot be avoided due to an urgent/important situation, then you may dig.

Just be aware that the risks do occur, and if something does happen, such as the crab happen to be molting at the moment, don't beat up yourself too much about it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:44 pm

It sounds like your guys are teenies, so it wouldn't be unusual for them to molt every month or two. So, yes, they could be molting again.

Sometimes my crabs will change shells just prior to molting. But, some crabs change shells just for the heck of it. I swear the little ones LOVE to wear a much larger shell than they truly need......I think that they believe the larger shell makes them look big & tough.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 02, 2008 10:01 am

Zoe changed into a shell that is so big that you can't even tell there's a crab inside if she pulls all the way in. It's so cute to see her tiny little head and legs sticking out of that big shell. Fortunately for her, it did seem to be a light shell, kind of white and brown flecked, more of a whale eye shape than a turbo. I even washed out a bunch of more size appropriate shells for her after she made the switch. But then she changed into another that was just as big, very pretty though. Then she spent about 2 days in a nice striped turbo that fit beautifully. But then, back to the giant shell.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 02, 2008 10:19 am

It is so neat that your guys switch shells so often. I am always switching up the shells and providing tons of variety....but they never switch!! I even boiled the shells in the salt water solution (don't worry..it wasn't aquarium or table salt) which I was told is supposed to attract the crabs to the shells even more. I saw a couple of my micros checking a few of the shells out...but only 1 out of 12 crabs actually changed shells.

Maybe they just like their original shells too much? At least I don't have a hard time figuring out who is who because they are always wearing the same outfit!! But it would be nice and interesting to see if they would change shells.

Side note: My micro that changed shells, chose a shell that is WAY to big for him as well. It looks like he can barely lift it up to walk...but the shell isn't very heavy. He has been doing better in it now (starting to climb and such). Too funny. It definitely made me laugh!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:57 am

All in all, I had the same wishes as you. Most of my crabs still haven't changed shells, then a few of them went into a shell changing flurry and I could hardly keep track of who was who! In fact, some of my identification at this point is at least 25% guessing. :roll:
River (I think) left her shell hidden somewhere when she changed, then Lola changed into Zoe's old shell when she went on her shopping spree.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:29 pm

hermiegal wrote:
Side note: My micro that changed shells, chose a shell that is WAY to big for him as well. It looks like he can barely lift it up to walk...but the shell isn't very heavy. He has been doing better in it now (starting to climb and such). Too funny. It definitely made me laugh!!

Wacky little kritters aren't they??

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:33 am

I'm starting to get a little worried about Zoe. She's still down there. I decided to suck it up and keep both tanks going until my two babies surfaced. I was starting to think neither would. Ever. Then Lola came up mid last week. I'm still waiting on Zoe. I think I'll give her a couple more weeks. I think she's been down about 4. Everyone cross your fingers for me. She's been such a spunky gal, and so fun to watch through all of her shell changes. After she comes up then everyone will officially be in their beautiful new home.

As a side note, the little new guy I got about a month back when I first set up the new tank, the smallest of the rescues, just came up from molting!! I was most worried about her, since she's a small/tiny and the previous owner said that she hadn't molted in the year that she had her. But she just appeared yesterday and has been trying on a wild pokey shell. My daughter just named her Grace.