HELP! Crab crawled out, fell, out of shell, lost 3 legs, not moving, antennae still moving

[jeanne leigh]

I am living in a hotel for 2 weeks during job training and brought Carl with me. So everything right now is not his normal habitat and I have not answered the questions below as it is not relevant in this case (right now he has the same substrate, food, water, heating pad, etc). At home, he is active and growing. For 6 days he seemed fine and normal in the hotel.

He escaped from his temporary enclosure on a counter and fell about 4' onto a vinyl floor. When I noticed him, it could have been up to 24 hours ago. He was out of his shell, but antennae were still moving. I put him back in the warmest part of his enclosure with his shell next to him. I checked on him (about 12 hours later) and he had not moved, thought he was dead, but antennae still moving. He has lost 3 legs. Is there anything I can do for him? I know he's suffering.

Thank you
Jeanne






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?


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?


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?


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)?


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?


7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?


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


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


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


11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?


12. How often do you clean the tank and how?


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


14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?


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.)?


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.


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[curlysister]

Falling four feet may have unfortunately caused internal damage that you can't see.
If he isn't in a shell, you can try to get him back into one (see the care sheet that explains it). Feed him some high energy foods, like a bit of honey.
Unfortunately, this doesn't sound good.

[Hollym2247]

1. Reshell
2. Keep him warm
3. Healing foods (honey, bee pollen) and both kinds of water in reach.
4. Dark shelter

I had a crab I disturbed molting years ago. Either he had a bad molt already or I injured him. He dropped his big claw and most of his legs. After almost a year in isolation, with good conditions and lots of darkness and healing food he recovered and runs the tank now.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jeanne leigh]

Thank you both so much! I had done everything except for the honey, but he didn’t make it past Sunday. At least he’s no longer suffering.