HCA: Hermit Crab Association

recently I had a teenie E (the doubleknit crab) molt in one of my reptile moss filled second levels. he was attacked by a small PP, and his big pincher (the molter) was ripped off. I suspected something was wrong (could see the exo from under the caddy and the PP was WAY too close for my comfort), so I found him, scooped up what remaining exo I could find, and iso'd him with my rescue domino (iso divided in two so there is no risk).

I'm not sure if it happened because he was attacked during the process of molting and it put him off a bit, or if he was having a troubled molt prior to the attack, but he was not able to get the exo more than 1/2 way off an outside walking leg. I kept the leg wet with dechlor water (using a pipet a couple times a day), and he successfully ate off a good portion of the bottom old exo, so he has "trimmed" it to just a bit longer than a normal leg. here are some pics:

pre molt/attack:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lily_acb/ ... pg&.src=ph

pics taken today:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lily_acb/ ... pg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lily_acb/ ... pg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lily_acb/ ... pg&.src=ph


my dilema is whether to keep him in iso until his next molt. he is such a character and really one of my favorites. i think being in the iso bores him, as does the fact that he can't hang out with his buddy, turd. do you think lila (attacker) would be a threat to him once he's hard? she has never ever shown any aggression before this incident, i rarely see her, she loves hanging out underground or in the moss pit. so really i need other peoples' opinions on if i should iso him until his next molt (which, seeing as the molt/attack happened saturday, could be a while).

Caroline

if he is active I would not hesitate to put him back and watch...it may be cause he was vulnerable and had the molt smell all over him. He sounds like a trooper already

My crab Tom came up from his molt with a bit of exo stuck on his leg just like Doubleknit has. I left him in the main tank and it either fell off on its own or was eaten off. Either way, he's fine now and is my most active crab. You can see the warped part on his left back walking leg where the exo was stuck in this picture:


I would wait at least a week from the incident until Doubleknit is really hardened up and rested from his molt and the attack before putting him in the main tank since he can't fight off Lila so well w/o his BP.

If you are really worried, and you have enough room and tanks to do this, you could ISO Lila for awhile since she seems a bit antisocial and more interested in digging than socializing right now anyway. But I wouldn't risk putting her in with your rescue Domino! All you need is for poor Domino to get attacked!

Looks like Doubleknit is a real survivor!

thanks for the input guys...I guess I'll wait a couple days for the doubleknit crab (a kinda wierd name, i guess) to harden up more and put him back in the main tank (but keep an eye on him of course). it was kinda sad...his size-buddy (dora, rescued w/domino) just came up from a good molt and is up and about. the big guys seem to exclude the doubleknit crab a lot, and i wanted him to have a buddy his size.

unfortunatly i don't have room to iso lila . now that i am in a dorm room everything is really cramped. only about 160 square feet of space for us to store all our stuff and furniture, so my only iso option is the one where domino is. i am thinking maybe it was just oppourtunity that led lila to do this? i will be very very vigilant in the future to make sure nobody molts in the moss pit again, as that may have been the problem.

starmaiden: i hope the doubleknit crab gets the exo off like your tom did...how long after the molt did it stay on? did you wet it to keep it a little soft to make it easier to work on?


Caroline

starmaiden: i hope the doubleknit crab gets the exo off like your tom did...how long after the molt did it stay on? did you wet it to keep it a little soft to make it easier to work on?

It honestly didn't occur to me to do that! He was spending a lot of time around the water dishes anyway so he was doing a good job of keeping it wet by himself! It only took him 3 or 4 days to shed or nibble it the rest of the way off. It was just a small piece on his last joint of that leg, not as much as Doubleknit crab, so it may take your crab longer to get his stuck exo the rest of the way off.

oh, don't feel bad about not thinking of the water thing on your own! i certainly didn't it was suggested by another crabber (marie [ladybug] from csj). i have been in daily correspondance via email with her regarding domino for two and a half weeks now, and shes been so much help.

the doubleknit crab is looking more upbeat now, hopefully he will be ready for the main tank in a week or so (i've got my fingers crossed). the stuck leg is almost functional, so he's only really disable by one limb (the bp).

Caroline