adding more substrate w/ molting crab

[graceisungraceful]

hi! so i realized soon after setting up my cage that i didnt have deep enough substrate (atm i have about 3 1/2 inches, which isnt deep enough for one of my crabs. its fine for the smaller one, but the larger one continues to scrape against the bottom of the cage. i can hear it ) anyways, two concerns: my larger crab has tried burying itself, and its not deep enough. im concerned by the scratching: do you think my hermit crab can get out of the substrate if its hit the bottom of the tank? im afraid that she cant get out. ANYWAYS, other thing. my smaller crab is molting, and i dont want to disturb her, but i need to put in more substrate for my larger crab. would it be okay to put substrate over a molting crab, or will that cause climate issues for the crab? im considering putting deeper substrate everywhere but where the small crab is buried. thanks!

[aussieJJDude]

First off, these guys can dig depths greater than what we can offer, and they can do fine... So its fine to add more substrate, they know which way is up. If you have buried crabs, best bet is to add a little bit slowly over a period of time; many recommend adding and inch a day.

[GotButterflies]

Like aussiejjdude said 1" every 24 hours, but do not pack it down.


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[Lephantome92]

Does this change at all if a crab is surface molting? I just moved, and it turned out the bottom half of my old sub was going bad. However, before i could get more new sub, she she'd her exo. Can i add sub around the bottle until she's surface ready, or just wait to add any at all?

[GotButterflies]

I personally would wait until she is done, but that is me. If the substrate is going bad, you might want to replace it instead of adding to it