I made a terrible mistake

[Cydonia]

I screwed up big time. I have had my crab since December of last year, so 13 months now. About two weeks ago I changed the substrate in his crabitat to a different kind because the other stuff was getting old and I thought he might like the new one. He had been very active before that but once I changed it he started to quiet down. He buried himself kind of under his food dish and didn't come out for a few days. This is not that unusual for him so I didn't worry, but on Wednesday night I decided to check on him. When I pulled his shell up it looked like he was falling apart. I could barely look at him and I panicked and called my fiance who had just gone out of state 2 days before and told him the crab was dead. He knows how much I love the crab and after talking about it a little he suggested I put the crab's body in a baggie and take it to the garage so it wouldn't stink up the house and then I could bury him with my 2 children the next day because they loved him too.

I'm sure you can now guess my terrible error. The crab was in the garage all night and it is about 35-40 degrees F here. I went to work in the morning and all of a sudden a light bulb went off that maybe he was actually molting and not dead. I wasn't thinking the night before because I was disturbed at the way I found him and thinking about what to tell my children. I wish it would have happened 2 days ago when my fiance was home because he would have taken a closer look. When I realized what had happened I went home and got the crab and took him back in the house to look and sure enough, there is no way he was dead. His appearance had actually improved from the night before so I put him back in the crabitat but I suspect it's too late because so many hours went by.

I guess I am just posting because I have some dumb hope that he actually survived. I checked him yesterday evening and he didn't look totally dead yet but who knows. I know if he's molting I'm not supposed to disturb him so I don't want to keep checking just in case.

Please don't be too harsh on me; I already feel terrible that I probably killed something I loved with my stupidity. If anything I'm wondering if I'm not the only person that thought the crab was dead when it was really molting. Thanks.

[annopia]

i wouldn't be harsh to you about this...you made a mistake. we all do, we're human.. when i was doing a deep clean a couple years ago i almost threw away one of my teenie ruggies....it was only chance that i look into the bag one last time before tosing it and saw her moving.

like you said, his chances aren't good, but there is some chance, so don't give up hope yet. he may surprise you, i hope he does. you aren't the only one whose made that mistake, the shed exo of a molter looks almost exactly like a dead crab.

we all make mistakes

annopia

[wolfnipplechips]

Yep! We all make mistakes! Especially when we first start up a new hobby, like crab keeping. They are complicated little animals. Nobody will judge you in any negative way for what you did. It's an easy mistake to make at first. Before I started keeping crabs, my step brother had a few. One of his crabs molted, but he thought it was dead, and he buried it in our yard for a few days. And him, being a gross little boy, went to dig up the remains of his dead crab, only to discover it was alive, and it had actually molted. This all happened in Alaska, where temps at the time were similar to yours. I'd say your crab has a chance, for sure. I really hope your crab makes it, but don't beat yourself up if it doesn't. If nothing else, it will be a great learning experience. Best of luck!

[Cydonia]

Thank you for the responses! Your story is encouraging wolfnipplechips. Hopefully my little guy will fare as well!

[Jackolope]

they need high temperatures like between 74-80 degrees, though mine have survived at as low as 66 (because i didn't know my heater broke) but if they face extreme temp changes they will drop their legs. if he is still in his shell he isn't dead, but if you smell something like death then he probably didn't make it. usually there is a six hour window between the time they are exposed and the time they begin to show signs of temp stress.

if he has passed i'm sorry, but for future crabs it may be best to always keep them in the house, since it is more temp controlled.

[annopia]

Thank you for the responses! Your story is encouraging wolfnipplechips. Hopefully my little guy will fare as well!

crabs will surprise you. i have rescued crabs that i didnt think would live an hour that survived a year. so there is always hope.

annopia

[Jackolope]

also if he does survive don't worry he will regrow legs during his next molt.

[rane4102]

I'm so sorry that happened, but I am very hopeful and excited to see you update this with the happy news that he survived and molted successfully. Everyone makes mistakes, and all you can do is learn from it and move on. I mean, I had crabs for the first time when I was a little kid and looking back at that I feel absolutely horrible at how I treated them. Who knows, if I had given them proper care they would still be alive today - ten years later.

[Zoeythelost]

hope he pulls through for u. i know people heard have lost electricity and had the temps go pretty low and the crabs still survive. hes got a chance. please keep us updated

[annopia]

any update on your little one?

annopia

[Cydonia]

Well sadly, it seems that my little guy did not make it. I guess this is a good learning experience because I would like to get another crab, probably 2, and I will know much better next time. Thank you again for all the responses.

[Zoeythelost]

i'm so sorry mistakes happens and we learn from them. i'm sure u will be a great crabby mom in the future

[CrabbyMom33]

I'm sorry for your loss. Mistakes do happen and the important thing is that you not only learned by it, but you shared it with everyone so that others can learn by it as well. DragonsFly has a good idea that maybe you can save some other crabs that are with owners that don't really want them, but don't know what to do with them.

[Jackolope]