HCA: Hermit Crab Association

HI! so my small crab (smaller than a golf ball) Scully went into molt about 5 weeks ago. I know it can take a while but im positive she hasn't come up at all and i'm worried. is there a way I can check on her or do i just have to wait? I found some concerning mold(?) growth in the sand right after she went under but i cant treat it because im worried about disturbing her. She molted 3 days after I brought her home from the pet store and i havent seen hide or hair from her since then.

Just have to wait it out. Probably the second hardest thing in the hobby after breeding them and yet we all have to go through it. If the mold is just on the very surface of the sand you can probably scoop it out without disturbing her and be fine. If not the mold shouldn't bother her anyway. Either way, just leave her be. 5 weeks is not too long.

Good luck!

Agree with CCC. There is no way to safely check if they are alive when underground. Many of us don't start to worry until at least four months have passed.
Surface mold is usually from some food bits that have been scattered about, and the fuzzy mold and bit of sub can simply be removed.
Did she surface molt 3 days after you brought her home? It's odd that she would bury right after that. Did she eat her exo? How long after the surface molt did she bury herself? Do you have other crabs in the tank?

She's in a tank by herself, I moved the other one out to a new setup because he was digging in the same spot she was buried and i was worried he was going to dig her up. She didn't surface molt, she was perfectly fine except she was a weird chalky grey color. I just woke up the next morning and she had buried herself. I thought that she had gotten out until i saw the sand pile. The cage is starting to smell nasty, I think she might have died. Maybe she was sick when I got her. I'm not quite sure what happened. EDIT: I probably should have added that there's not really enough sand in the tank shes in (about 3in where she buried herself). It's a very long story but the short version is that she buried herself ONE DAY before I was going to move them to an adequate enclosure which was why I was worried. She's fairly small but I know 3in isn't enough sand. and im worried something went wrong