HCA: Hermit Crab Association

My small sized crab Leia shocked me when I got home from work tonight. I have had Leia for a year now and she is yet to molt with me. Yes I have all of the optimum conditions in the tank etc. however Leia didn't seem to take interest in burying in the substrate. Leia was hanging almost completely out of her shell and wasn't moving at all. She looked like she is overdue for a molt. I put her in an ISO tank with a variety of food and water because if she is indeed trying to surface molt I don't want another crab to get to her. However she is moving around very slowly right now in the ISO tank. How long should i wait to see if she is trying to molt? I don't wanter her to be stressed out being away from her tank mates but at the same time I don't want to risk cannibalism!!

Definitely leave her be for now & see what she does. She may possibly be getting ready for a molt. If so be sure she has access to plenty of pre molt foods.

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I don't have time at the moment to fill out the template but I have done a bunch of research on the favorable tank conditions for hermit crabs I have met them all. I'll do a quick one 80-80 temp humidity 30 shells, 6 small to medium sized crabs in a 40g breeder. Yes I plan on upgrading tank size in the future. Plenty of protein,calcium,carotene,animal protein, fats etc. included in their diet. Deep saltwater and freshwater bowls with safety nets in them along with vines so they can climb out. Substrate is 7-8 inches deep (playsand 5:1 cocofiber). So more about Leia, she went limp last night and she has not molted since I got her which was a year ago. I did not want to take the chance so I immediately moved her to an ISO tank with food,water and a couple hidey spots and a jungle vine. She is the only crab in the ISO tank. I moved her over 12 hours ago. I just checked on her and she is indeed hanging mostly out of her shell and is very limp. Oh yeah and I noticed when she was hanging out last night that her molting sac was very large. So I guess that will be a good thing. I also will add that she was in the water bowl more than usual the past week or so and she did eat a lot of food along with that. I have never had a surface molter before. What is the best way to take care of her from this point on? Also, have I done the right things so far?

Give her space, and keep maintenance of the iso to a min.... try not to stress her out too much by constantly peeking in... Sounds like it, i assume you placed a hide over her to give her some privacy.?

Yes I did I put a pyramid hideaway over her. She's in a spot where she has total darkness now just like she would if she was buried. I'm going to leave her be from this point on. Now it's a matter of waiting it out. Thank you guys for your replies! I was truly nervous last night since I've never had this happen before. I'm sure Leia appreciates your advice as well c: I'll keep you guys updated

Good news, Leia has started her molt and things seem to be going smooth so far! Since Leia is small sized and she is surface molting how long do you guys think it will take her? I know it varies from crab to crab but I just want a general time frame

That's great! Generally speaking, it only takes a few mins to a couple of hours for any crab to molt (shed their skin). Usually they'll rest for a couple of days. Then they'll start eating their exo which can take a few days or a couple of weeks. During this time their exo is hardening and they're getting much need nutrition/energy from their old exo... You'll know when he's ready to go back in with general population. He'll be really active!

Edit- remember to provide him with a dark and quiet place away from others and try to keep any disturbances (peeking) to a minimum.

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Just realized your baby is a girl.... Sorry!

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Thank you daws!!

You may notice a hole afterwards where she may dig back up & around to the surface.


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YW!

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Update:
About a week after I made this post Leia went completely stiff and has remained that way to this point. She is still under a hideaway too which is good. I've been misting the tank to keep the humidity up. When I checked on her today I noticed that her back is turning red. If I'm not mistaken, that is probably leia's new exoskeleton growing out of her old one right?