HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I did a deep clean today. I figured Mr. Crabs had popped up recently so there couldn't be anyone down molting yet. Turns out I was wrong. One of my new little Es from Tammy at TCP surprised me... really surprised me. I'm digging under the water dish to sift out all the little crabbies from the EE/calcisand mix so I can replace it all with playsand, and I find a shell. This was a little odd, since normally there was an E in that shell. She'd just switched, and seemed to really like that one. So, I start digging a little faster, and I find a few limbs... now I'm digging really fast. Out pops a naked E, still very soft. I think she chirped at me, I gasped at her, both of us appeared to make faces, and I got her, shell, and exo bundled off into a betta cup in my ISO tank.

This is the second crabby that did this while molting in my tank. Both have since turned out OK. *Crosses fingers for Nixon's next molt* The problem was that Nixon was naked, (I thought), because she got attacked and was missing a few limbs. I assumed she ejected shell and hid deeper down to avoid getting attacked again. Now I'm not so sure.

Do Es and Straws normally pull off the odd naked scare like this while molting? I'd hate to think it's something in my substrate that's making them streak. I've switched out the main tank to good reliable play sand, but ISO's still got my old mixture... and two molting straws. Little worried here, both my straws are diggers and odds aren't good they'll both molt at the same rate. I don't wanna find out what happens if someone gets dug up naked by whoever finishes first.

It has been speculation that Es molt outside of their shells. I have to believe that they do. I have caught 3 of my Es naked while molting. I suspect that this could also be true of straws, as I have had several come up naked from molting, before choosing a shell top-side.

WOW! *Kathy* I had not known about this Before.
I did speculate on Es but Not Straws too. I have not owned any Straws though.
This is Why I like the HCA! So much. We learn alot of stuff from eachother!

I believe E's do. But I dont think Straws do. None of mine have, that is. And I've had 7 molts with them.....

Is it unhealthy that E's molt out of their shells?

I just had my biggest crab, an E, do a naked molt. I also found him under the water dish just as naked as could be, and he really startled me. Right now, he's back up and sitting in his honey dish. He seems lethargic this morning (he just came up three nights ago) but he's eating.

I did panic when he came up, though, because he came out naked and then went after one of the much smaller crabs, trying to steal her shell. I grabbed him out of the tank, put him in a bowl of shells his size, and it took no time at all for him to choose the nicest one and pop into it.

Other than sitting in the salt water dish for an hour after choosing a new shell,he seemed fine.

Hmmm, well that does make me feel a whole lot better about my setup. If this is happening more than once, and to far more experienced crabbers than me, perhaps we should update the caresheets for C. Perlatus and C. Compressus. Slip a line in there somewhere that reads:

May occasionally molt naked. Have extra shells their size on ground level to avoid fights.

That way, hopefully someone else with these two won't get as worked up as I did.

I have no idea what was up with the near shell fight. My molter was surrounded by good shells, because after I found him naked I covered his spot with damp moss and surrounded him with nice shells in case he suddenly decided that shells were in this season.


Hmmm....how about "Shells: the new naked!"?


Anyway, I hope that this crab isn't going to be difficult again. It really is nervewracking to watch a naked molt, isn't it?


Cindy

*Kathy* wrote:It has been speculation that Es molt outside of their shells. I have to believe that they do. I have caught 3 of my Es naked while molting. I suspect that this could also be true of straws, as I have had several come up naked from molting, before choosing a shell top-side.

I haven't seen it while molting, but I've had a *bunch* of streaker Es and a couple of streaker Straws after molts that seem to find their shells after they get done.

You HAVE to resist the urge to glass method them, they are often very soft still ( I assume they come up to harden in the air ( I almost always find them clinging to a vine or a column ) ) and will bend their leggies if you cup method them back into a shell. Learn from my mistakes.