HCA: Hermit Crab Association

MonsterMash was doing his shell change hobby again last night, and I noticed he had something dark on his abdomen. I figured it was either a molt sack, or the darkness was playing tricks on my eyes.

Well today he dug a huge hole in a strange part of the tank... away from his normal digging grounds. It also happens to be the deepest part of the substrate (10" or so).

He woke up at night, and was checking out the shell that all the big crabs get in, and out of, every day... I pulled out a flashlight, and sure enough there's a HUGE (size of a pea, maybe a bit bigger) molt sack. He's large/jumbo depending on who you ask (size of my fist) and this would be his first molt with me.

The behavior and molt sack are pretty much a sure sign... but does anyone know how long they generally go between having a large molt sack and actually vanishing for the 3 months it will most likely take him?

I'm looking for "24-48 hours" or "one or two weeks" type of answer, as I already know its "soon". =)

thanks guys!

24-48 hours to a week or so....

If he's seemingly fasting, BUT the molt sac stays the same size, or even grows bigger, then, expect "soon".

Good luck, as bigger and older crabs tend to have harder molts than their younger, smaller counterparts, so here's to sending good molting vibes your way...