HCA: Hermit Crab Association

For someone new to keeping hermit crabs this can be a confusing time. Some of the symptoms of molting can also be symptoms of impending death. It can be hard to tell the difference especially if you have just purchased your crab. First of all there are symptoms of molting.

• Digging
• Consuming large amounts of water or soaking in the dish
• Cloudy Eyes
• Ashy looking exo
• Lethargy (being extremely inactive)

Here’s the first place this gets confusing. When you bring home a crab from the store it may have been kept in poor conditions. It may be dehydrated, stressed out and hungry. In which case it may do the following:

• Dig down in the substrate, either to ‘destress’ for a few days or weeks, or to molt
• Consume large amounts of water (or food) or soak in the dish
• Be very lethargic

Here is the second place this gets confusing. When a crab dies, most often its limp body will droop out of the shell. After a day or two the crab will smell terribly like a rotting fish. In some cases there is no smell, but most of the time it is unmistakable. When a crab molts, it pushes off its exoskeleton which comes out of the shell and looks exactly like a limp, lifeless crab. If your crab is in this position, hanging out of its shell and limp, do the following:

• Find a way to protect it from other crabs in the tank. A molting crab can be an irresistible snack to other crabs!
• Leave the crab completely in peace other than to change the water and food

If the crab begins to smell you will know it has passed on. If not, then there is a good chance it is molting and the exoskeleton will be eaten over the next several days. There really is nothing you can do to stop your hermit crab from dying. The most important thing to remember at this point is: DO NOT HANDLE YOUR CRAB! Don’t poke it, pick it up, blow on it or otherwise disturb it. If it is dying, you are just causing it unnecessary stress. If it is molting, you are causing it more stress, which could in turn kill it. So, in conclusion, if you are asking yourself: Is my crab dying or molting? You should make sure the crab is in a safe location and wait and see. That’s it.