HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I am a new hermit crab owner and my smallest hermit crab just molted. At first i thought the exoskeleton was a dead crab but after some research realized it was not. Well hermit crabs are supposed to eat their exoskeleton right? It looks like Kelpcake nibbled on it but didn't really eat it. It has been a few days and it is still not eaten. I don't know what to do right now any advice?

Is he on the surface? Crabs should dig and bury in the substrate when they molt - what kind and how deep is your substrate?

If you have other crabs, you will need to isolate the molter from the other crabs - until they harden up the new exo, they are vulnerable to being harmed or killed by other crabs.

I don't have any isolation tanks besides the tiny little container my hermies came in. (I kept it because I thought I could find a use for it.) Should I keep Kelpcake in there? Bubbles is harmless and hides most of the time I do not think he would harm Kelpcake. My substrate is about two inches deep and it is 100% EE ( small crabs. ) It molted underground and I accidentally dug up the exoskeleton. Kelpcake was nowhere near that spot. Kelpcake is not molting anymore though and kinda shrunk.

Just so I am clear - he molted underground and then came up on his own, and then you dug up his exo? Or he was underground and you dug up the crab and his exo?

If he did not come up on his own, he may not have completely hardened, and he won't have had the 'new' smell scrubbed off by exo when he dug back up. So in that case, he will need to be isolated - even if your other crab is 'docile', a freshly molted crab smells like food, not a friend. You can isolate him in the same tank and the other crab - in a margarine container with holes in the lid, or a cut off pop bottle with the lid off (so that the crab is in the same temp and humidity as your main tank, but safe from the other crab).

Substrate should be at least three times as deep as your largest crab, and be moist enough that it holds it's shape for them to dig tunnels and make caves without it collapsing. How long have you had the crabs?

I have had them for a couple weeks and they lived together in the pet store. And yes he molted underground and came up on his own he choose the same shell after molting and he looked like he shrunk. I thought he never molted at all but I started shuffling around the dirt to see if I could find his exo well I did and I put Kelpcake and the exo in a a small container in the tank that he could easily get out of. I was hoping he would eat it but he only nibbled on it. He is hiding somewhere right now. So you think I should divide the tank? For how long should I divide them? Right now they have a food mite problem and I am about to do a full tank clean. ( I don't know the gender of the crabs because they will never come out so he, she idk)

If he came up on his own, and is moving around normally, you may not need to isolate him. Is he acting normally?
What are your temp and humidity?

He is acting normal and I think he even ate a little I do not have a humidity gauge or a thermometer and I have no heat mat but it is pretty warm in there and the humidity feels fine.

HermitCrabCHICA wrote:He is acting normal and I think he even ate a little I do not have a humidity gauge or a thermometer and I have no heat mat but it is pretty warm in there and the humidity feels fine.

Do you know what your room temp is? That is likely the temp of your tank. If your using a/c, that could be quite cold. For PP, you should shoot for 75-85°F. Also, hermits have modified gills, and need humidity in the air to breath. You should grab a digital thermostat asap so you can monitor these two numbers. Humidity should never drop below 70%, but a good number to shoot for is 80%. I bought a hygrometer in store and online and neither cost me over $15.

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I have conditioner on but it is still quite hot in my room I have a thermometer but not a digital one I will look for a hydrometer but I can't really get one of those fancy expensive ones. The thermometer I have in my room says, 79 degrees Fahrenheit. I keep them where the sun coming through my window hits the tank just right. I am getting a mister to mist the tank soon and that should keep it humid in there.

Don't worry about the hygrometer being fancy, mine def aren't. I think the one I found at Tractor Supply was on sale for $8-$10. Here's one at Lowe's for $9.98
https://www.lowes.com/pd/AcuRite-Comfor ... lsrc=aw.ds

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Thx!

Yw! Happy Crabbing!

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One more question. What do I do with the uneaten exo? Do I throw it out?

I'd leave it in there. He may want to munch on it later.

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