Lost pincher?

[CheekyChels]

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of playsand and EE

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?
Humidity: 80
Temperature: 80

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
UTH on side of tank just above substrate

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)?
Salt and Freshwater. Aquasafe was the only freshwater conditioner they had and im not sure what the brand of the saltwater is but I got it from an aquarium place and ive seen other people on here use it before saying it was okay

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Fruits, nuts, honey (only gave it to them once), crickets, mealworms, shrimp, calcium cuttle bone. Everything is organic btw

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
3 PP's I got them on valentines day this year

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
im pretty sure he has molted because when he came up his colors were very bright and he had a lot more little hairs than he used to

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
~29 gallon tank

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3 small crabs smaller than a half dollar

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
I have about 15 extra shells around their tank

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I haven't had to do a full substrate change or anything. I boiled everything before I put it in the tank and I wipe the sides of the tank down after I mist so no water droplets will make the Sub too wet

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No sponges

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
A new shell which I cleaned and dried before putting in

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 that I can think of?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
My most active crab Albert has been out every day for the last 2 weeks or so. He spend most of the day by the food and water and he hides behind his flower pot for darkness I guess. Recently he picked a shell that was too small for him. The one he was in before looked fine and I didn't think the smaller one he changed into was a bad thing although he couldn't go all the way in but I cant really force him out of that shell so idk. He has been really active and out all the time and usually goes into the water several times a day and just moves around doing his crabby business. For the past 2 days hes hasn't really moved at all hes just been staying halfway out of his shell which was kind of worrying but he was still pretty active so I didn't really think much about it he even moved away from another crab that came near him so I knew he wasn't dead or anything. Well a few minutes ago I was checking on another crab that was out and about and noticed albert doing something weird with his claw and then it just CAME OFF. HE USED HIS SMALL PINCHER TO CUT HIS BIG PINCHER OFF. What do I do now? Has anyone ever seen this happen before? All 3 of them have seemed pretty happy lately so idk if this is from stress or something. Any thoughts would be helpful, thanks!!!

.

[CrabbyLover77]

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of playsand and EE

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?
Humidity: 80
Temperature: 80

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
UTH on side of tank just above substrate

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)?
Salt and Freshwater. Aquasafe was the only freshwater conditioner they had and im not sure what the brand of the saltwater is but I got it from an aquarium place and ive seen other people on here use it before saying it was okay

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Fruits, nuts, honey (only gave it to them once), crickets, mealworms, shrimp, calcium cuttle bone. Everything is organic btw

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
3 PP's I got them on valentines day this year

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
im pretty sure he has molted because when he came up his colors were very bright and he had a lot more little hairs than he used to

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
~29 gallon tank

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3 small crabs smaller than a half dollar

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
I have about 15 extra shells around their tank

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I haven't had to do a full substrate change or anything. I boiled everything before I put it in the tank and I wipe the sides of the tank down after I mist so no water droplets will make the Sub too wet

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No sponges

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
A new shell which I cleaned and dried before putting in

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 that I can think of?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
My most active crab Albert has been out every day for the last 2 weeks or so. He spend most of the day by the food and water and he hides behind his flower pot for darkness I guess. Recently he picked a shell that was too small for him. The one he was in before looked fine and I didn't think the smaller one he changed into was a bad thing although he couldn't go all the way in but I cant really force him out of that shell so idk. He has been really active and out all the time and usually goes into the water several times a day and just moves around doing his crabby business. For the past 2 days hes hasn't really moved at all hes just been staying halfway out of his shell which was kind of worrying but he was still pretty active so I didn't really think much about it he even moved away from another crab that came near him so I knew he wasn't dead or anything. Well a few minutes ago I was checking on another crab that was out and about and noticed albert doing something weird with his claw and then it just CAME OFF. HE USED HIS SMALL PINCHER TO CUT HIS BIG PINCHER OFF. What do I do now? Has anyone ever seen this happen before? All 3 of them have seemed pretty happy lately so idk if this is from stress or something. Any thoughts would be helpful, thanks!!!

.

It sounds like it might be stress related:
https://www.thesprucepets.com/hermit-cr ... gs-1239075

How deep is your substrate? It sounds like all of your tank conditions are good. Have you done a check for mites? The website I posted above said to do an overall check of the crab's body and the tank to look for small mites that could be stressing it out.

"Check the tank and crabs for mites, which appear as tiny moving specks, and make this a regular habit. Hold your crab up by the shell until it extends outside of it (blow gently on the crab to entice it out if necessary) and inspect its body as well."

I hope everything works out ok!!

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[CheekyChels]

Sorry, my sub is around 6 inches!!


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[CrabbyLover77]

That's ok! Everything sounds good. Did you do a mite check?

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[CheekyChels]

I looked around and I don’t see anything in there. Would mites be around food? I checked everywhere like on plants and in the dirt and I couldn’t find any. The food and water don’t have any bugs either


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[CheekyChels]

Also.... Should I take his chopped off claw out or leave it in there to see if he eats it?


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[CrabbyLover77]

Mites that would be harmful to crabs would be attached to the crabs themselves. Mites hanging out around the food and water would likely be harmless. Here is the HCA care sheet about mites:

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic? ... source=app

As for leaving the claw in there, I'm not sure about that one. I'm hoping another crabber will jump in here and give more insight.


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[curlysister]

I'm not sure what is going on. Your conditions seem pretty good, nothing glaringly needs improvement.
Your crabs are still pretty new, so could still be a problem from previous conditions.
If the leg is a whole leg, and not just exo, they probably won't eat it, so I would think you can remove it.
Crabs can regrow legs during a molt.

[Motörcrab]

I'm am also a bit puzzled with this. Is there any possible way you can upload a few pictures of your crabitat. The easiest way is to download the TapTalk app on your phone and upload photos from there. That may help us see any possible issues with your crabitat.

The only question I have is how many hiding spots are in your tank for the crabs?
Just thinking out loud and simply guessing here. Perhaps as mentioned above it could be a stress related thing similar to how captive birds will pull out their feathers. My only thought would be not having enough activities for stimulation. Cholla to climb on, exercise wheels, and maybe not enough places for your crabs to hide above ground. I'm just thinking out loud for ideas that may be helpful.

[JoeHermits]

Have you examined the dropped claw at all? Anything on it black (shell rot) or otherwise damaged or diseased?

Sometimes hermit crabs will drop damaged or injured limbs with the intention of growing them back later.


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[CheekyChels]

So sadly he was dead this morning when I went to check on him. I am so sad idk what I did wrong. I will take pics of my tank later when I have more time. Should I tear the tank apart and see if I can find anything bad? I’ve had one I haven’t found for quite a while now so idk... tank smells fishy


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[CheekyChels]

The one I haven’t seen for quite a while was also kinda his buddy like they were always out together. Maybe he was just sad idk


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[CheekyChels]

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[CheekyChels]

I had to replace their bowls because I dropped one today cleaning and it broke. These were the only non glowing ones at the pet store. I’m about to add their food in now that’s why the tray is empty


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[CheekyChels]

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