HCA: Hermit Crab Association

We have three hermits. All doing well but a question about one of them…

The first one we got last summer (Joey) has molted several times and has probably tripled in size. He's slightly larger than the one that isn't molting.

The other two we adopted in late November. One was very small (Jack) and has molted in new tank a couple of times and is actually in a month long molt right now. He's also almost tripled in size in these 6 months.

The other one we adopted (Hermie) that came with him was larger, about the same size as the herm we got last summer, but he hasn't molted in five months while the other's have molted at least twice each since.

He was molting at the time we adopted him and he came up January 15. But, he hasn't molted since. And as mentioned the other ones have molted at least twice each since then.

He's very active. Actually I can hear him clanking against the glass right now climbing around on some of the fake plants.

He's purple - the others are red/pink. Maybe a different species that doesn't molt as often? Ecuadorian maybe since he's purple? Maybe his species doesn't molt as often? He could be a purple pincher like the others and just a different shade. Maybe he's older than he looks for his size and doesn't need to molt very often? The lady we got him from said she had him for about a year I think. They moved across country and I found her listing here. Needed some friends for the other guy we got last summer since his partner we bought him with didn't make it past her first molt.

Molting and tank conditions are very good. 7-8" nice, sandcastle sub. 20" tall tank. Lot's of stuff to climb on and hide around. Good food and both salt and regular water. Temps always around 80° - humidity about the same. So I don't think it's tank conditions.

So, I'm not sure - just weird the other two molt but he hasn't in this time.

Thanks

How big is the crab?
The larger they are the less frequent they molt but when they do molt, they take longer to do so.
I don't think there is anything to worry about. If he is active and healthy then there is no reason to worry.
I don't think different species take longer to molt, but some like to dig deeper.
Will you post a picture in order to see what specie of crab he is.

Here are some additional resources:
http://www.hermit-crabs.com/molting.html
http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/My-Learn ... -a/153.htm

Hope that helps.

Soo much information lol. Ok, first Es are not in anyway shape or form purple. Usually yellow, gray and ever so often a light shade of blue or green. Some crabs just don't molt as often as others. He will molt when he needs to so hopefully that can give you peace of mind. All crabs molt when they need to, it doesn't matter the breed. Granted larger crabs do not need to molt as often but when they do it takes awhile. Just like us, crabs can go in waves of growth. Sometimes they can go through a growth spurt and need a molt and other times not so much. Each crab is different and even identically sized crabs that go down the same day could come up weeks apart. They love to keep us guessing! And worrying!!!!

Smaller crabs molt more often and can grow quickly. As they get larger, they molt less often and growth slows down. At least, this is what I've experienced.

Here's the HCA article on molting too: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 23&t=92527.

And this may help with identifying species:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/species.jpg.

Like Kelly said, Es tend to be gray/blue/green (especially smaller ones) and yellow/orange/brown. It's better to look at eyes and claws when determining species though, as many species can be a variety of colors.

He was about the same size as the guy we got last summer but the guy we got last summer has since molted twice in this time and is now maybe 1.5 times size of adoptee.

I would say he's about 2" long - maybe a little bigger. I guess a little smaller than a golf ball in his shell.

This was my concern - that the two were essentially the same size - one had molted twice while the other hasn't in 5-6 months.

I was just throwing the "maybe he's an E" out there as a possibility that maybe he's a different species than the other two that doesn't molt as often. I figured he was a PP but wasn't sure.

Thanks for all your info. Much appreciated. Figured I'd just check here and make sure this was normal.

Can you post a picture of him? Or look to see if he has sharp nails? Has he dug at all?

He was molting at the time we adopted him and he came up January 15. But, he hasn't molted since.

So he last came up from a molt in January? I'm just trying to get a better understanding because you'd said it had been 5-6 months. If he came up from a molt January 15th then it's been about 16 weeks. This is within what's considered "normal". There isn't really a set-in-stone rule. It varies some crab to crab. Molt to molt.