Please help with my hermie situation

[Crabby7Crabber]

So, I think my only E is molting right now. I added more substrate and he instantly buried himself, as well as one of my pps. I want to leave him be, but i'm afraid my larger PP will dig him up! He's my first ever E, so I want to make sure he's safe! How quick do E's usually recover? Should I take the two that are up and put them into my 5g while suspected molting is happening? My other little PP is diggin around lately, and is currently dug. I stuck my finger down and hit my E's shell, then I felt so bad! I can't really tell if he made a cave, but he might've! Shoud I cover the hole I made with my finger up, so if he is molting his smell doesn't fill the tank, or should I leave it because I don't want to suffocate him? My bigger pp is out and just siting close to where the E is buried. Just sitting. Maybe he's pooping? Maybe he's plotting cannibalism? Help!

[Maddamay32]

What makes you think he's molting? Crabs like to dog for fun or just to "get away" if their stressed, which may be the case since you were changing up their little home.

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[Crabby7Crabber]

Well, he came from a pet store that didn't have the correct substrate and supplies, as did my two tiny pps (they other pp i bought at the boardwalk). Around his joints were red last time I checked, and I think that might have something to do with it. I just have anxiety, so when my hermits go down for more than two or three days I'm nervous until they come back up. :roll: (report: bigger pp is still in exact spot) Would it be okay if I added moss tomorrow? i need their humidity up, it's not as great as I really want it to be (I'm having trouble and hoping moss will help).

[Maddamay32]

Yeah definitely add moss. I would say don't cover the little hole you made with your finger, if he just dug down he will be able to correct that opening.

Don't JUST add moss, keep it in some sort or container like a Tupperware bowl turned on it's side. Really any crab safe hidey where they can't bury all your moss lol. And of course keep the moss moist, that's what helps with humidity.

I don't know what your water pools look like or how deep they are, but if you're able to buy a water bubbler or two, your crabs life will be greatly enriched. I was using a reptile humidifier at one point to keep my humidity stable (FYI those humidifiers are known to create floods and guess what happened to me?!) but eventually added bubblers just to see and. They. Work. Wonders.

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[DevilNDisguise]

I don't have personal experience with E's quite yet, but I imagine that they behave in similar ways to PP's; basically, when it comes to destressing and molting, I'd imagine they'd be just as unpredictable. Every crab is different, so destressing/molting periods all last for a different amount of time.

Digging is a completely natural thing that they do. As long as you've provided the proper substrate, depth, your tank is large enough to fit all of them, and you're offering a well-balanced diet, I wouldn't imagine you'd have to worry about your other crabs going after your potential molter. At no costs should you go digging for anyone underground, unless it's an emergency like flooding or bacterial bloom, for example.

Now that you've dug your E, though, I wouldn't re-bury him. If he is molting, burying him back up will only suffocate him as he'll be too weak to re-create his cave. If he isn't molting, he'll simply move on to a different spot when he feels like it. You'll probably have to find something to cover the hole, to protect him, just in case he is molting, though. One method a lot of people do is cut off the top portion of a large soda bottle and use that to put over the molter. This is usually done for surface molters, but I don't see why the method couldn't be used on a revealed crab that's just in a hole.

[Crabby7Crabber]

Yeah definitely add moss. I would say don't cover the little hole you made with your finger, if he just dug down he will be able to correct that opening.

Don't JUST add moss, keep it in some sort or container like a Tupperware bowl turned on it's side. Really any crab safe hidey where they can't bury all your moss lol. And of course keep the moss moist, that's what helps with humidity.

I don't know what your water pools look like or how deep they are, but if you're able to buy a water bubbler or two, your crabs life will be greatly enriched. I was using a reptile humidifier at one point to keep my humidity stable (FYI those humidifiers are known to create floods and guess what happened to me?!) but eventually added bubblers just to see and. They. Work. Wonders.

Sent from my cp3705AS using Tapatalk

Yeah, thanks for the tips. And I'll be getting bubblers when I upgrade my tank(right now I just could an't).

[Crabby7Crabber]

I don't have personal experience with E's quite yet, but I imagine that they behave in similar ways to PP's; basically, when it comes to destressing and molting, I'd imagine they'd be just as unpredictable. Every crab is different, so destressing/molting periods all last for a different amount of time.

Digging is a completely natural thing that they do. As long as you've provided the proper substrate, depth, your tank is large enough to fit all of them, and you're offering a well-balanced diet, I wouldn't imagine you'd have to worry about your other crabs going after your potential molter. At no costs should you go digging for anyone underground, unless it's an emergency like flooding or bacterial bloom, for example.

Now that you've dug your E, though, I wouldn't re-bury him. If he is molting, burying him back up will only suffocate him as he'll be too weak to re-create his cave. If he isn't molting, he'll simply move on to a different spot when he feels like it. You'll probably have to find something to cover the hole, to protect him, just in case he is molting, though. One method a lot of people do is cut off the top portion of a large soda bottle and use that to put over the molter. This is usually done for surface molters, but I don't see why the method couldn't be used on a revealed crab that's just in a hole.

Is sticking a single finger in the sub and touching his shel different from digging him up?

[DevilNDisguise]

Is sticking a single finger in the sub and touching his shel different from digging him up?

Not necessarily. It reveals him to vulnerabilities either way. Disruptions in the substrate can cause caves to collapse, and that goes for sticking your finger down to search for him. If his cave was prodded at, it could've lost its stability. If you can't see him because the only hole made was just you putting your finger down, there's the risk that he could've been buried in some of that sand.

[Crabby7Crabber]

Is sticking a single finger in the sub and touching his shel different from digging him up?

okay, bc I stuck my finger in. Should I unbury him…?

[DevilNDisguise]

okay, bc I stuck my finger in. Should I unbury him…?

Personally, if I were in your situation, I probably would just to avoid the risks of his cave or tunnel potentially having fallen in. But I'm also a paranoid crab parent and would be afraid of my crabbie possibly suffocating.

Others might have a different outlook on it, though, but I get very worried when it comes to the side-effects of searching below the substrate for anyone. Again, if there's been a disruption, there's no telling what could or could have happened, if you can't visibly see anything.

[Crabby7Crabber]

Personally, if I were in your situation, I probably would just to avoid the risks of his cave or tunnel potentially having fallen in. But I'm also a paranoid crab parent and would be afraid of my crabbie possibly suffocating.

Others might have a different outlook on it, though, but I get very worried when it comes to the side-effects of searching below the substrate for anyone. Again, if there's been a disruption, there's no telling what could or could have happened, if you can't visibly see anything.

So, that's a... I hear scraping where I'm guessing he is...

[Crabby7Crabber]

OK, I finally cracked-- I started removing the dirt in the spot, though, to find he wasn't there! Like I said, I heard a lot of scraping, but maybe he moved? For now the E is unaccounted for, but I've seen all the others tonight, including the other PP that was digging I won't bother or look for him, but feeling slightly better because he could've adjusted myself. DND, I'm also super paranoid and worrisome for my babies; you're not the only one!!!

[DevilNDisguise]

OK, I finally cracked-- I started removing the dirt in the spot, though, to find he wasn't there! Like I said, I heard a lot of scraping, but maybe he moved? For now the E is unaccounted for, but I've seen all the others tonight, including the other PP that was digging I won't bother or look for him, but feeling slightly better because he could've adjusted myself. DND, I'm also super paranoid and worrisome for my babies; you're not the only one!!!

That's a good thing, then. It means he wasn't molting and was probably just hiding.
Definitely no more searching for him from now on. Again, your other crabs should leave him be as long as everything is correct in your crabitat.

I'm glad everything worked out!

[Crabby7Crabber]

That's a good thing, then. It means he wasn't molting and was probably just hiding.
Definitely no more searching for him from now on. Again, your other crabs should leave him be as long as everything is correct in your crabitat.

I'm glad everything worked out!

Thank you!