HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm just wondering, what the time frame is from when they shed the exo to when they start eating it. My straw Rube, who I got last summer, molted, regrew a leg and came up labor day weekend. She's been down again for about 2 1/2 weeks. For the last week she's left a window so naturally I keep checking on her. For 3 days now, she appears dead. Hoping she's molted, but so far can not tell that she's eating her exo. From what I see, it's still all in one piece. Any idea when i should start to worry that she might be dead instead of molted? She was my first straw to survive PPS and molt for me. [smilie=dunno.gif]

I have a medium sized C. brevimanus that ate the exo 2-3 days after its molt. I've had a small C. clypeatus eat the exo 1-2 days after the molt.

Hopefully all is ok and the little crabby is ok.

I presume 7 days and then you may start a careful inspection thereafter.

Good luck!

Hmmmm...I had an E that never at the exo....I had her in ISO because I dug her up during a deep clean. I put her in there with her exo. She never did eat it, but came out and started walking around the iso after about a week. So I put her back in the main. She's just fine.

Is it possible that some crabs don't eat the exo at all??

I'm sure the seperation had something to do with why he didn't eat it. I've got a theory that some crabs that come in new don't eat their exo, or leave a lot of it because they have shed too many toxins (beach pollution maybe) and it's safer not to. I only ever have a crab not eat their exo on their first molt home with me.

It appears now as though she's eating some of her exo. Thank god. As long as I know she's molted and not dead. it's hard to tell from the bottom of the tank through the glass. My large pp Bruno is still down there too. I'm anxiously awaiting his return as it's his first molt with me.

At least you can see them a bit. My tank is on a shelf, so I can only see them on the sides of the tank, which isn't too often.

I've noticed that straws tend to rest for several days before starting to eat the exo. Most of my other species seem to shed the exo one day, and immediately start eating it by the next day.

From my experience with straws, molting seems to stress them more than other species. That is why you hear so many stories about straws completely shedding their exo, and then dying before they ever begin eating the exo. I've seen this happen many times with my own straws, but usually only with their first molt with me, which could still be considered the PPS period.

The good news, is that your darling is beginning to eat the exo. Keep us posted on her progress, and congrats on the molt!!!

Yay! [smilie=clap.gif]