New Crab lost 2 limbs, then was attacked and lost a 3rd!

[Amaggiepie]

Hello! I am totally new here and will start by saying that I feel guilty for this because I got these crabs at Ocean City last week for my kids knowing nothing about them and I did not have them set up right until today. So theyve been in a wire cage with gravel and food and one water dish since we got them a week ago.

Today I was reading up on everything so I got a 10 gallon aquarium and coconut substrate, a coco hut, heating pad, water bowls, water conditioners for fresh and salt water, and some calcium sand which I have since learned is bad for them so i need to get some play sand instead. While I was setting up the new habitat the larger crab, Stinky Joe (my son named it) dropped his big pincher and a leg. At first we thought my daughter may have hurt him and that he was dead...but he wasnt! Im still not sure why he dropped the legs. Anyway we got them all set up, and we also have a much smaller crab, Princess Poppy, so we put them both in there.

I put the water near the injured crab and he was drinking from the sponge and holding himself up a bit. As the tank warmed PP started being more active than Ive ever seen her...my fault for being an idiot. She ran all around the cage and checked out the coco hut, climbed the sticks and shells, and seemed so happy. I left the room to brush my youngest kids teeth and when i came back I saw PP wresting with SJ and he had dropped another leg. I pulled her off and put her in a separate glass dish with food water and coco substrate and a log bc i dont have an ISO tank yet. It seemed better to move her than the injured crab.

I dont know what to do but my son is seriously in love with his crab and hes been crying all night over the dropped legs worrying hes going to die. Help me learn how to nurse this poor thing back to health? He has to make it!

[Tom2433360]

I'm not the one to help you with this situation because I'm not as experienced as other people on here are, but here is the complete care sheet if you need it: https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=ht ... are_type=t

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[Tom2433360]

Also, when you get more sand, make sure to have enough (six inches deep). You can put the coco fiber on top or mix it in. When I was starting out, I found the water thing really confusing. The hermit crab water conditioners you see at the pet stores are bad, unfortunately. Make sure to pick up a dechlorinator that says it removes chorine, chloramine, ammonia, and heavy metals. Treat the freshwater with this. For the salt water, use instant ocean salt (found at pet stores, too) in addition to the dechlorinator mentioned previously. Also, temperature(F) and humidity should be 80/80 minimum. Put the heating pad on the side, too. And, if you're finding that the heating pad isn't keeping the heat up very well, you might want to get an ultratherm heater from reptile basics. I'm sorry that I can't help you with this situation, but these are just some tips that I wish I knew when starting out. Hopefully a more experienced owner can help soon.

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[wodesorel]

Once they start dropping multiple limbs, it's not a good sign. They have the ability to conserve energy by sacrificing limbs. Sometimes it lets them reserve enough to molt and recover, but more often it's a sign that the crab is too weak to survive. Please be prepared.

Know that it was nothing that you did!! They go through heck before we ever get them. That week would not have made a difference. It happens so often we have a term for it - post purchase syndrome and an article that explains why it happens and ideas of how to stop it here http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 67&t=92531

You did right by moving the other crab. She was likely taking advantage of the situation and trying to take his shell. If she changes shells it should be safe to try them back together, but they would need to be watched closely for a while.

[Amaggiepie]

Thanks for the quick responses. Shes so much smaller than him I cant imgine why shed want his shell? Anyone know why crabs do this? Im trying to figure how to best explain it to my son who was very upset to see the crab fight.

SJ seems to be holding his own for now. Hes holding himself up and is hanging out of his shell. I put food and water within reach in case he cant walk. My substrate isnt deep enough so tomorrow im going to get a second tank for the healthy crab and set up both correctly.

Any recommendations on where to buy the food, water treatments, and proper shells? All the photos are missing from the shell guide. I want to get them the right things...of they die well end up with more crabs im sure. My poor kid is traumatized over the legs falling off though...starting to feel like this wasnt the best idea for him

[Amaggiepie]

Well he died while I was in the shower. he was standing out of his shell with his cute little face and all. I cried. He was a cool dude. We really enjoyed him. Its going to break my sons heart when he wakes up tomorrow and I have to tell him.

I put Princess Poppy back in the main cage after I cleaned it all up. Still planning to fix it up nice tomorrow for her. Im sure well get another crab but...any tips on where to buy or how to go about it to avoid fights and sudden death? I want to get it right this time.

[wodesorel]

I am so so sorry. Are you sure he's gone? When they surface molt they will go weak and look dead. We always recommend waiting for them to smell to be sure because there have been rare cases where it wasn't death, but with little kids that might not be possible.

Maybe explain that it's like when two kids fight over the same toy - sometimes one kid will get hurt because the other doesn't realize that he's bigger and stronger? (And that not that far off from what is going on. The interest is all in the shell because it gives a better chance of survival, and larger shells are hard to come by. The goal is not really to hurt the other crab in the process, they're really trying to scare them out.) His crab was really sick and no one knew about it because there are no hermit crab doctors.

Photobucket revoked access to everyone's photos this month without warning. The author of the shell guide will be working on fixing it, but it's going to take some time. If you afford them, The Hermit Crab Patch sells nothing but the right types of shells.

For food you can purchase online from a store that caters to hermit crabs, or you can use the nutrition pyramid and the safe food list to use what you may already be eating yourself. I know we've had moms that turned it into a game for their kids with different veggies and fruits and meats.

The water conditioner most of us use is Prime. It lasts forever! Any shop that has fish supplies should have it. Instant Ocean is needed for their saltwater, that will be at any place that has saltwater supplies. Most pet shops will have at least one box on the shelf.

I would strongly suggest waiting a while to see how Poppy does and then make a choice on another hermit. Post Purchase Syndrome is common and there isn't a good way to know ahead of time which ones will make it. They have to get through their first molt before you can breathe a sigh of relief. I think it's less likely with adoptions as the ones who have survived are stronger. Otherwise try to find a store with good conditions as the crabs will be less stressed.

I see adoptions all the time where it was a kids pet and they're rehoming it when he or she goes off to college. The problem is that there can be losses at the start, and with a little kid it can be impossible to explain in a way that consoles them.

[Amaggiepie]

Pretty sure he was dead. His antennae and eyes were all droopy and lifeless and he had absolutely no reactions to movements near him or being touched. It was less than an hour after he dropped the third leg. But even on the small off chance that he was trying to surface molt so soon I really dont think my son could have handled seeing the crab looking dead after watching him drop his legs and get attacked tonight.

Now that I know more about them I can educate him and hopefully well be able to make a decision on whether to get more crabs. Knowing what can happen ahead of time will hopefully prepare him more for the scarierlookong aspects of crab life such as molting and shell swapping.

Adopting definitely sounds like a great idea. I really appreciate all of your help and this forum. I have parrots and it was forums like this that helped me learn all about them years ago but sadly more forum type sites seem to be dead with the rise of Facebook.