HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Greetings all,
I need some feedback please. We are newbies in the world of Hermit Crabs. We set up the tank about a week ago (6" play sand + fiber) got the humidity and temperature up, got the supplies and finally, 3 days ago on Tuesday, brought home 3 small-medium hermit crabs in ridiculous painted shells and introduced them. They settled in, one switched shells immediately (others still haven't) and they seem to be acclimating. This afternoon when I got home, one was missing. Finally found sight of him, burrowed under their favorite corner of the tank. I guess that's molting, but to be honest, I had thought I'd have time before dealing with this. Not knowing them long, I must have missed whatever signs might have been there.
My issues are twofold:
Firstly, he is burrowed directly under their favorite hiding place, against the glass, with the others right overhead. I don't see how I can isolate him. How important is this?? I've heard that they can be cannibalistic, but don't see what I can do. Don't want to stress it by digging it up. Any suggestions?
Secondly, we were planning on driving the tank to my daughter at school this Sunday (they are for her). It is now Thursday, so I doubt he will surface before then. They will be disconnected from the heat source and bounced (inevitably) in the car for an hour trip. Is this a really bad idea for the molter?? Might he surface before then? Again, I could really use some guidance.
Thank you

Welcome!

What size is your tank? You have the proper substrate depth so you should be fine on that. No need to iso a molting crab assume there are no crowding issues, and as long as your tank is at least a 10 gallon you should be fine. I'd just leave him be.

Transportation can be a little tricky, but it sounds like there isn't a lot of choice. It's unlikely he'll be up by then since the molting process can take up to 3 months and if he's de-stressing first (likely since he's new) it can take even longer. His little cave SHOULD hold up fine on the car ride if you don't drive like a maniac and hit all the potholes you see That's also assuming it's the proper sandcastle consistency - tunnels hold up pretty darn well. Just don't blast the AC or anything to keep the temps okay, and do a thorough misting of the tank to keep the humidity up.

Relax. they dig for more reasons than molting. They dig down when first brought home to destress from everything they went through between the beach and your tank. They also dig for fun. If you have deep enough sandcastle consistency substrate you wont need to iso for molts. If you are careful being under the sand would be ok for the trip. Make sure the vehicle is warm and toasty before you bring them out to it, mist the tank first and wrap the tank in a blanket to keep the heat in. It isn't recommended to dig them up but if you catch him above ground at night (typically around 1am) you will know he is only destress in and can be brought topside for the trip.

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Thank you both.
I will drive slowly, will blast the heat and make sure to check the sand. If I need to moisten the substrate, what is the best way? Hadn't thought of that.
I also didn't know that they dig for other reasons besides molting...good to know.
Now, if I could just coax them out of those ridiculous painted shells, but they are ignoring everything I offered.

They will change when they are ready! crabs love digging so like Kelly said, he is probably de-stressing. Here are a few pics of the huge holes my crabs keep making every night from their digging adventures! There is always a new one!

They kick out the sand when they go down and leave a big mess behind them!
Just hanging out



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JulieKS
When you mixed the sand and Eco earth, whas the EE moistened? The substrate should be sand castle consistency to ensure the tunnels do not collapse and suffocate the crabs while they are molting

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