How can you tell if a crab has molted?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:56 am

Herbert, (I think), has come up from about 4 weeks buried. How can I tell if he's molted or was just destressing?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:59 am

If his color has changed, he has little black points at the tips of his legs, or he looks hairy then he has molted. If not, it was just destressing.

Tetracolor · Post by **Tetracolor** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:10 pm

Just like what she said. After a molt the color typically changes, the nails are sharper, and they have hairier legs.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:14 pm

I think Herbert has molted then. He has sharp pointy black toes.

I can't tell if he's hairy though, and I'm not sure about the color, since he was home for all of 12 hours before he buried, but he seems to be doing well. Is there any special food I should offer him, since he seems to be fresh from a molt. I found him in the salt-water dish this morning. I'll be sure to put some shrimp skeletal bits in for him.

Kilimanjaro · Post by **Kilimanjaro** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:17 pm

It's usually to give your hermit extra calcium after a molt. Offer foods like shrimp exoskeleton, cuttlebone, eggshell, broccoli heads. Those foods contain a lot of calcium.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:55 pm

Thanks.
Official statement here is that Herbert has molted. He went down about 12 hours after coming home and has been down for 3 1/2 weeks. Upon taking a good close look at him, I do see that his legs are TOTALLY hairy (don't know how I didn't notice), he seems to be a more purplish hue, and he DEFINITELY has pokey little black toenails!
Hooray for our first molt! He is beautiful, active, and eating!

MudCrabDude · Post by **MudCrabDude** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:07 am

Congrats!

As for myself, nowadays, I take pictures of the crabs frequently (thanks to a camera loaned to me). I use the pics as references for growth and color changes when they hide for months on end and then finally reappear. Gives me an excuse to handle/interact with them if they are roaming about the tank, too

Hermit crabbing + Amateur Photography = "Two great tastes that taste great together..."