HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I went to check on Jigsaw in my ISO tank this morning, and could almost swear I saw the slightest movement. Then again my eyes are bad. I decided to take a video of him, so I could zoom in and see if there in fact was movement. However I saw some tiny white dots crawling on him. Are these mites? Can they be treated while he's regrowing his exoskeleton?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/luzu2bhuu1uya ... 1.MOV?dl=0

I honestly couldn't see anything, but then again, it's late - and my eyes are bugged out from looking at my zoeae. If they are white then they would be food mites. Is your crab alive?

GotButterflies wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:52 pm

I honestly couldn't see anything, but then again, it's late - and my eyes are bugged out from looking at my zoeae. If they are white then they would be food mites. Is your crab alive?

I confirmed that they were food mites and I cleaned around as much as possibly;e. As far as being alive... that I don't know. I have a video clip showing how limp he is. He hasn't moved or done anything since day 8. There was a day where I thought he moved, but... I could be wrong. Here's the clip of me lifting him to check.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qb2g6z3jypkkn ... 5.MOV?dl=0

If he's dead I can accept that. I just want to know for sure. He stopped being active or even moving since 7/08. He hasn't eaten since either. I realized this was a possibility when I brought him home. I just want to be absolutely sure before I make any hasty judgments. He smells pretty bad too. Not a rotting fish smell. That's the confusing part. It's hard to describe what it smells like. It's a terrible chemical/rotting smell. But it's also not strong enough to go throughout the kritter keeeper... which is also confusing. He's been immobile and inactive for a week. I just want to know for sure.

Hi, I would wait a little more until the hermy falls off the shell. During a my first year of crabbing, I have 3 dead ones. 2 out of 3 are died because of PPS. One down for molting and never came up for over 8 months. If dead, they usually fall off the shell when being picked up.

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p2gg86 wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:33 am

Hi, I would wait a little more until the hermy falls off the shell. During a my first year of crabbing, I have 3 dead ones. 2 out of 3 are died because of PPS. One down for molting and never came up for over 8 months. If dead, they usually fall off the shell when being picked up.

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Okay. I'll wait on it then and keep replacing the food and water just in case. I've cared for surface molts before, I'm just not used to something like this. And he's been like this for a week. So I guess I'm just worried.