Mites, Molting, PPS?

[citiliviey]

I purchased 3 crabs from a place called the East Bay Vivarium that I love very much. They take the best care of their hermit crabs and of their reptiles that I've seen locally. I've actually found exotics (other than Ecudorians) there, that includes Indos, Ruggies, and Violas. I believe I purchased two Ruggies and one Viola yesterday. The Viola is the one that I believe is sick. All of them are active (or...were). I set them up in my spare tank last night and they had a great time.
This morning the Viola was chilling by a hollow plastic log hide and I just let it pass. The other crabs are across the tank from him not bothering him at all. Then afew hours passed and he's been there for a while so I checked to make sure he was alive and he was. Now he is hanging out of his shell in the same place. He's not much reacting to me but I can see his abdomen is partially out and it's definitely moving. So he is surely alive and no one is bothering him to my knowledge. Here are some pictures.

[citiliviey]

This is when he (not sure of gender actually) arrived home, he seemed happy and healthy.



These on the other hand are how I found him most recently and they were taken within the past half hour I would say and he is still doing the same stuff I explained above.

[soilentgringa]

To me it appears as if the crab has been torn. It is possible that the others tried to take her shell. I'm so sorry

[citiliviey]

Oh my goodness, okay, thank you. I never noticed her being particularly being bullied. I knew crabs fought but "torn" never even crossed my mind. The (I believe) Ruggies are still nowhere near her, I never heard chirping, and they both have shells that are "turbo" (I think) while she has the one shown in the picture. These three crabs are currently in my ISO tank, therefore I must ask what I should do with her until she smells, and also are there any actions I should take right now too?

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[soilentgringa]

Because of the way her eyes are drooped down to the point where you can't even see them in the photo, I would say she has passed. It is also possible that she was trying to leave the shell but I don't know if they would rip themselves out of a shell
I am so sorry.

[citiliviey]

Thank you for your support, I thought it was a good idea to keep them together since they came from the same place, that is what I've been told before but I guess every crab is different.

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[CallaLily]

Is that his gills exposed in the second and third picture? The surrounding area looks inflammed too. Here's another post with exposed gills: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 54&t=86209. Sorry I'm on my phone and can't see pics too clearly. It looks like an injury to me. From a fight or maybe during collection.

Please wait until you're sure he's passed. Stillness and drooping does not always equal death. I've personally had one crab that appeared very much dead that wasn't! And I've read about many more here. I'd hate for you to bury him or whatever still alive.

[wodesorel]

Yes, those are exposed lungs. I've only had this happen once with an E when I first started crabbing. At the time I thought it was signs of her molting, but over the years I've come to realize that it was something else that damaged the delicate tissues that are supposed to cover that area of their bodies.

Even the color on her abdomen is indicative of a dying crab. It is always good to make sure they smell first, if only so that you know you're not burying or throwing away a still living crab. Keep her comfortable until the end, it's unfortunately all that can be done at this point. I'm so sorry!