Surface molt --what are they like?

[Guest]

Hey guys.

I figured out the template but it is in another post. SORRY!

I have a hermie who has been hanging out in the salt water lagoon and the hermie hut for days. Last night he got pushed out of the hut. When I picked him up he is STIFF and hanging out of his shell. He moved a tiny bit. There is no smell. Could this be a surface molt? I will try and fill out a crabitat form.Everything has been normal in there though. Gosh I feel bad. I hope he isn't dying

I put him under some moss and I am going to leave him alone. Any advice? suggestions?

Cricket

[Guest]

1. Substrate used? playsand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? It moves between 70 and 80--I am constantly having to monitor it.

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? unknown

4. Temperature of crabitat? about 75

5. Location of gauges? midway on back of tank. I have 2 humidity guages and they have been calibrated

6. What is your heat source? It is warm here so none yet. We do have central heat and air. Tank is away from drafts,air flow, and in no direct sunlight.

7. Types of water available? fresh and salt lagoon

8. Dechlorinator used? yes

9. What do you feed? fresh foods and some E free store snacks like coconut and dried shrimp

10. How long have you had the crab in question? about 3 months

11. Do you know the species? all my hermies are PP

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? Once a week in declor. with stress coat

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? 10 gallon glass with glass aqua type top and flor. lights--low wattage and not left on

There are your template answers from your other post.

As for why. Since you only have had them such a short time it could be what I have seen called Post Purchase Stress. There isn't much you can do for it other than leave him completly alone. Sometimes they pull through it and sometimes they don't.

As for your humidity fluxuations, while not awful because humidity isn't constant in the wild, are you sure it doesn't go below or above what you posted? As it drops below 70 it's like the crabs are trying to breath through a cloth that keeps getting thicker. As it goes above 80 it's like they are trying to breath through a cloth that keeps getting wetter.

You said you have an all glass lid. Have you tried propping it up with something. Not a lot just a crack. I have noticed people on here seem to have good luck getting their humidity to level out using lids with holes cut in them that can be covered. Using airstones in the water dishes in the tank. I personally use a screen lid with about 90% of it covered. On days when the humidity is really high in my area I peel back some of the covering and on the days it's really low in my area I put the covering back down. Mine is usually between 74-76%. At night when the moon glow is the only bulb on it drops down to 72-74% if I mist the tank right before bed.

[Guest]

Thanks for moving my other post-it really simplifies things!

My lid is a typical aqua lid--glass on back with some holes and a plastic flip lid on top with more areas that are open with the light across the glass part but the light is removable. I have more trouble with too much humidity as opposed to to little. Thats why I keep the sand drier and no sponges and I don't mist. I don't feel he is going to make it but I am going to just leave him alone.

Thanks for answering my post.

Cricket

[Guest]

I wouldn't have covered him with moss.

And I know why he may have surfaced if he's molting. At least half your sand should be wet. So they can dig down. That's just like you trying to make a sand castle in dry sand (them trying to dig will be just as hard)

Hanging out. Is it an exo? Any chemicalish smell? My crab, Kero, smells like that now, during a molt, and when she was going to molt.

I would ISO him and not cover him with anything, especially sand. I'm not sure about moss, though. But to be safe I say don't cover him.

[Guest]

Moss is not going to crush him or suffocate him. That is the reason they tell you not to recover them back up when you dig them up. Because they make a cave with an airpocket in it. The moss allows airflow but also lets him think he is hiding so it brings down the stress.

Also.. Are you sure it wasn't his exo hanging out of the shell? I know when I had my first molter I could have sworn that he was dead and hanging out of his shell. I sat by the aquarium and watched for movement and swore I saw a little flicker of leg movement. I used a spoon and put him in ISO and stood watch where he couldn't see me. Over and over again I swore I saw him move even though he was hanging out of his shell. Next morning only half of him was hanging out of his shell. And by the end of the week there was nothing hanging out of his shell and I felt so excited.

Then I stumbled upon a picture somewhere on this site of an exo and felt like a fool. I'd been keeping a death watch on the exo that was hanging out of his shell.

Here's the pic I stumbled across
Freshly Shed Exo

[Guest]

This crab was NEVER buried. He was in the hermie hut and when another crab went into the hut he pushed him out. I noticed he was "weird" and picked him up and he is stiff as a board. I set him in a quiet corner and lightly covered him in moss. The moss is loosley packed and he always sleeps in it in that corner. My hermies love moss. The one who went under, chose the hermie hut to dig in and bury himself. I felt it was a bad place to keep a "surface" molter.

I have not ever dug up a molter or even a digger.

When I get my sand moist my humidity gets so high it is off the scale and I have to take off the lid and fan it for days.

I can't have sponges either.

My tank really holds in the humidity and most days my lid is cracked to keep it down.

Thanks so much for your answering of my post! I am worried but leaving him alone. There is no smell but he has not moved.

Cricket

[Guest]

Did you ISO him? Maybe you can try to make it a bit less humid, cause you need a bit of moist sand.....for digging

[Guest]

I have 2-3 crabs down and they don't seem to have any problems. They hang out around the lagoon which slowly seeps. There are 2 which go down for days and come back and then there are 2 who were under 2 months and one who is still down after 2 months. I will sometimes pour the lagoon water in the sand but I have to be very careful and watch my gauges. I then will have to prop the lid open for a few days to keep the humidity down and the cats out. My sand is not DRY it is just not moist.

If I get my sand to wet my crabs will die. It will be to humid.

Cricket