HCA: Hermit Crab Association

How long do I wait for Shiny to come up??? He's been under in his Iso since mid-January. He shed his exo about a month ago. From everything I read here, I expected he'd eat it in a few days and be up. But he ate part of it and then the rest sat there for another 3 weeks. A large part of the exo sat uneaten. No evidence that Shiny has exited his hold under his water dish. I put fresh food in every day and there are no prints showing he's been anywhere near the food dish. But whenever I peeked in on him, he'd always waggle his antennae at me and let me know he was ok.

Today it was a little different. I lifted the water dish and was sure he was dead. I could see all his legs sticking out of the shell and he was motionless. And his legs were facing me such that he was upside down. I was just planning where to dispose of him when suddenly the legs slipped back into his shell. He is in a slightly different place than before and I don't see the exo remains, though there is a little pile of sand with bits of exo in it so I'm wondering if he just moved it around.

Anyway, what's up with him? Will he ever come out? Should I be worried? Seems that molting is long over. Should I move him to the bigger tank?

peace,
ci

Give him time. A molt takes a lot of energy and he has to harden up before he feels safe to come up. It is not uncommon for a two month molt.

It can seem forever but I'm guessing that he's hardened up and is just resting before pushing to the surface again.

It can be hard waiting for the little guys as they take their time. No worries though, I'm sure you'll see him up and about again soon once he recovers from his moult.

Patience, grasshopper!

You can't rush nature...he will come up when he's ready...

wickedannabella wrote:Patience, grasshopper!

You can't rush nature...he will come up when he's ready...

Easier said than done.

Ok, ok I hear you. Be Patient. But honestly, I thought I was being patient! After all, based on what I've read here, molting is usually done by now, eating the exo takes a lot less time, and coming back up happens sooner <sigh>.

We have another, Nedne, who's been under for quite awhile as well. Not as long as Shiny, but several weeks. He reappeared recently and didn't look like he'd molted at all. We got him with a tip broken off one leg...wouldn't that be repaired after a molt? Anyway, we saw him one night and he was active and friendly as anything, and then we've not seem in the week since!

The good news is that we do still have two who are out and about every night - our biggest Diamond, and our littlest, Snowflake. I think Snowflake is in love with Diamond if that is possible. She follows him everywhere and whenever he settles down for the day, she nestles in either on top of him or next to him. Isn't that funny? He's very patient with her.

peace,
ci