How long is too long?

[crabbymama]

I have six PP's of varying sizes from quarter sized to jumbo. Currently all are underground. My jumbo (Tractor) went down about 4 weeks ago and I've seen him through bottom of tank so I know he is okay. One of my med/large guys Diesel went down in the past week. One of the little guys Gary went under about a month ago. The other three a little one Myrtle, a med/large Charlie and a small Mr. Crabs have all been gone for a while. I think probably right around Christmas. I have a bad feeling about those three. What do you guys think? How long is too long? When do I dig? Or since I know I have living crabs under do I not dig yet?

[CallaLily]

It really varies crab to crab. They can be under to molt anywhere from a week to several months. Sometimes newer crabs can spend a lot of time under destressing as well and then molt before resurfacing, making their time underground even longer. Then there are crabs who resurface very late at night, only to dig right back down before anyone notices.

Since you have other crabs under I do not recommend you dig. It helps to remember that if they have passed, there's nothing you can do now (and they'll cause no harm to the tank) but if they're fine, digging can do more harm than good - for them and the other crabs. Most of the time it's best to wait it out.

I hope they are alive and well and resurface for you soon. Good luck!

[curlysister]

I like that advice - if they have passed away, there is nothing you can do now to help, but if they are fine, then digging can do more harm.

[crabbymama]

Thats great advice. Funny thing today when I got home my big guy was back up. Funny how when you start worrying they just pop up. Still got my fingers crossed on the others.

[Ladysun1969]

I got my 2 black back land crabs on April 10th. They both started digging immediately after being introduced to the tank. That night, one or both of them raided the food dish, then there was no sign of them the next morning.

I found one of them had dug down a few inches - I could see him through a "window" in the side of the tank. When he saw me seeing him, he pushed some substrate up against the glass, so I could see where he was, but couldn't see him. As far as I can tell, he is still there.

I saw no sign of the other one, but did notice a hole appearing every evening, plus food disappearing from the dish. Last night, I stayed up late and actually saw her! She ran back underground when she saw me seeing her.

So, it seems I have one of each type of digger - a waiter and a night-stalker.

I hope they both de-stress & come out soon, but I know it's only been 2 weeks and they could be down a lot longer. *sigh*