Crab lost 2 legs and isn't moving

[asmadi17]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? A mix of playsand and coconut fiber. About 3-4 inches deep

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Yes generally temp around 72-80, humidity has been challenging the past few weeks as summer has ended, but usually around 70%. I started using some plexiglass on top of my screened lid to help keep it humid.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? None

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Both, I use Zoo Med and followed the instructions

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Pellets and a zoo med fruit mix. I change it maybe twice a week, they don't seem to each much of it.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? 6 weeks, not sure

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Don't think so

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 10G glass tank with screened lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2, large

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 2

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? Not to my knowledge

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? every couple of weeks, change out the substrate and wipe down the sides

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? 1, rinsed with dechlorinated water

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? No

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? Not really

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

As I was changing out the substrate last night I found a leg. By the end of the night the crab had lost another leg and is just hanging limp out of the shell now. It does not smell at all yet and looks fairly white in the body. It seemed fine a few days ago. I don't think the other crab did anything they don't seem to interact much. One odd thing about this crab was I never saw it burrow at all in the 6 weeks since we got it. Our other crab is constantly digging. Things went bad so fast and I have no idea where I went wrong, any ideas?

[curlysister]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? A mix of playsand and coconut fiber. About 3-4 inches deep
Curly: Your substrate needs to be at least 6 inches deep, or 3 times as deep as your largest crab, whichever is deeper. Many of us use a 5:1 playsand : EE mix, and it should be moist enough to hold it's shape but not wet.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Yes generally temp around 72-80, humidity has been challenging the past few weeks as summer has ended, but usually around 70%. I started using some plexiglass on top of my screened lid to help keep it humid.
Curly: Humidity should be a bit higherm over 80% is best.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? None
Curly: Mosts of us use UTH mounted on the back or side of the tank. Will your heat stay up at that level without a heater now that summer is over?

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Both, I use Zoo Med and followed the instructions
Curly: ZooMed is not a good brand to use, even though it will say it's for hermit crabs. You need a dechlorinator such as Prime, and marine salt such as Instant Ocean.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Pellets and a zoo med fruit mix. I change it maybe twice a week, they don't seem to each much of it.
Curly: Pellets are not considered safe for crabs. Many products labelled for hermit crabs are unfortunately not safe for them. Commercial pellets have additives and preservatives. Check out the Food section for proper nutritional information, including the food pyramid and safe/ unsafe foods.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? 6 weeks, not sure

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Don't think so

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 10G glass tank with screened lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2, large

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 2
Curly: HCA recommends a minimum of 3-5 extra shells per crab. Check out the Shells section for help on proper shells to purchase.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? Not to my knowledge

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? every couple of weeks, change out the substrate and wipe down the sides
Curly: Substrate does not need to be changed. Just poop and rotting food spot-cleaned.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? 1, rinsed with dechlorinated water
Curly: Sponges are not necessary, and often hold bacteria.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? No

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? Not really

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

As I was changing out the substrate last night I found a leg. By the end of the night the crab had lost another leg and is just hanging limp out of the shell now. It does not smell at all yet and looks fairly white in the body. It seemed fine a few days ago. I don't think the other crab did anything they don't seem to interact much. One odd thing about this crab was I never saw it burrow at all in the 6 weeks since we got it. Our other crab is constantly digging. Things went bad so fast and I have no idea where I went wrong, any ideas?
Curly: Was the crab on the surface, or did you dig him up? If a crab is under the substrate, it is only recommended to dig under extreme circumstances such as a flood or bacterial bloom.

asmadi17 Posts: 1Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2018 1:52 pm

[asmadi17]

Thanks for your response. This crab was and is always on the surface.

I think I need a new tank lid/hood to keep the humidity up when it's not summer, do you have any recommendations there?

Also do you think I should add more substrate right now before I know for sure the crab is dead? I'm hesitant to touch it.

I'll get working on the heater, better food, removing the sponge and adding more shells. Thanks again.

[elly_bananas]

Thanks for your response. This crab was and is always on the surface.

I think I need a new tank lid/hood to keep the humidity up when it's not summer, do you have any recommendations there?

Also do you think I should add more substrate right now before I know for sure the crab is dead? I'm hesitant to touch it.

I'll get working on the heater, better food, removing the sponge and adding more shells. Thanks again.

You can seal the screen lid with things like press and seal, saran wrap, even plexi, using heat tape, or duct tape to seal it all tight. Substrate is pretty important and following the recommended guidelines of sub mixture, inches and ratios will keep you in the safe zone. And that means one less thing to worry about.

Is he actually missing limbs or are you seeing a shed exoskeleton? He could be having a surface molt, in which case he made need to be isolated. You can do that using the top half of an enpty 2 liter bottle, put right over him and providing small cap fulls of fresh and salt water, raw organic honey, and calcium like egg shell, cuttle bone, etc

If you have a guy down, its recommended to lay down an inch of sub at a time that way you wont collapse the digger under too much weight. But definetly get that done soon as possible.

As far as the heat source goes, you can find under tank heaters (uth) at places like beanfarm.com or reptilebasics.com . Im partial to the latter. We put them on the back of the tank above the substrate on the outside and even use things like cardboard and tin foil, or reflectix insulation to insulate the heater against the back.

Also i gotta say, that 10 gal is considered WAY too small for 1 large crab let alone 2, so you may want to start looking in local facebook yard sale pages or market place. Craigslist, apps like let go and others for a good deal or better... free for a larger tank. Bigger is always better here, and if your serious about crabbin, youll want to have space for options.

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[fandt94]

I agree with the previous advice,..just wanted to check in and see how your crab is doing

[asmadi17]

It's actual missing limbs, appears to be the back legs 1 on each side. No change so far, it hasn't moved and still doesn't smell at all. I took all of the recommendations so far expect for the larger tank. Do you have an recommendations on which tank? If I go up to a 20 gallon I assume we are talking the long shaped one 30" x 12" x 12"?

[elly_bananas]

It's actual missing limbs, appears to be the back legs 1 on each side. No change so far, it hasn't moved and still doesn't smell at all. I took all of the recommendations so far expect for the larger tank. Do you have an recommendations on which tank? If I go up to a 20 gallon I assume we are talking the long shaped one 30" x 12" x 12"?

I personally, probably like most started with a 10, then i got a 20 long as u describe, the moment i put 6 inches of sub in there, i knew i wouldnt be happy because they only have 6 inches above sub to "live" and it was super difficult for me to view them after i wrapped 3 sides with insulation . Maybe I should have got a tall one instead. Lol. But.. That tank lasted me maybe 8 months. I scored a 36 gal bow front off a facebook local yard sale group for 50 bucks. Already i want more space and its been a month, but its adequate for my 3 medium crabs.

As far as your guy goes, i would put some healing foods in there like i said some raw honey, calcium etc. Maybe isolate him, there isnt enough space for 2 large crabs in there and this could be an example of that. Dropped limbs are a known sign of stress but there could be some tank aggression because of lack of space and shells. You should ditch those pellets too, theyre garbage really. You can find great stuff on etsy cheap like healthy hermit, hermies kitchen, hermit crab patch... shops like that sell great hermit approved foods at a low price to get you started. They need lots of proteins and calcium etc. You can check out the safe food list here in the forum as well as the crab conditions section for a better idea of what your large crabs need and how to get them. This forum is a great tool, look around, help is everywhere.

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[curlysister]

Here's the link to crab sizes, tank sizes, how much space they need, etc.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 26&t=92541