Surface moult

[Sky4379]

So about a month and a half ago I purchased two little hermit crabs from the pet store. At the start they were both very active and then one went underground for a while and I presumed he was moulting so I left him underground. Then two nights ago I woke up and he had come above ground and moulted in their little hut. Isolating him in the tank was not possible to I carefully moved him to a temporary tank with his exoskeleton which is where he is now. I have a feeling this weird behaviour is post pet store syndrome as I have the conditions right in the tank eg humidity is correct, I have a heat mat and the correct substrate (plays and and coco peat at about 6 inches) and the right food and water bowls. He has yet to eat his exoskeleton and I was wondering how long it would be until he ate it? Also will he bury himself again or stay on the surface and how long should I expect it to be before he’s back to normal. I also should not his tank was unintentionally jolted causing him to be knocked over and then I carefully put him back where he was, should I be concerned about this? Would something like that kill him? Be crab owner here so any advice is appreciated, Thankyou

[JoeHermits]

He’ll eat the exoskeleton on his own time. Most of the time spent underground is just recovery time, so it may take a while.

As for the jostling, there’s a small window that lasts about a day or two immediately after a molt where they’re at their softest and most vulnerable. However, even if he was injured there’s not much you can do but monitor and wait.


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[Pumpkincrab]

What are you feeding them?

[Sky4379]

I feed him a pet store brand of food mixed with fruits and vegetables and sometimes chicken and pork

[Pumpkincrab]

Sadly, hermit crab pellets have harmful preservatives and additives.
I would recommend you make your own mixes or buy them off of sites like Etsy.
A crab's diet should include: Protein, calcium, fruits, veggies, leaf litter, chitins, and fats. All of these help contribute to healthy molts and just a generally happy crab!

[Sky4379]

The food from the pet store is not pellets it has things like dried shrimp seaweed oats and other things like that in it

[FJrocks003]

The food from the pet store is not pellets it has things like dried shrimp seaweed oats and other things like that in it

What brand is it? The most common one is zod-med/thrive, these have load of preservatives so I would use them if I were you.