Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

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andyasdgfh
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Location: CA

Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by andyasdgfh » Sat Mar 12, 2022 11:43 pm

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
5:1 play sand to eco earth. About 6.5" 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?
Digital temperature and humidity reader. Humidity 75-83 as of recently. Before it was in the 90s.
Temp between 75-82


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
UTH on the back of tank 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)?
Both fresh and salt. With seachem and instant ocean

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Fresh fruits, veggies, dehydrated bugs, egg shells, green sand


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
2 purple pinchers. About a month or so


7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
One is possibly molting right now. Has been underground for about 2 weeks, maybe a smidge longer.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
30gal tank, sealed glass lid

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

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

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

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Spot cleaning daily, change the water every 2 days, pools are slightly bigger

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


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.)?
No

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

One of the crabs (the most active one) changed shells and immediately went underground afterwards and has been underground for 2ish weeks,maybe more. She was above ground for a solid 2 weeks and very active beforehand.
I assume she is molting. I was wetting the substrate near the UTH as it was starting to dry out. As I was lightly fluffing only the top layer, I found a tunnel. It didn't collapse completely but I did kick a little dirt in the entrance. It's still maintained it's shape but some semi moist, semi dry sand fell in. Didn't completely seal it off. I can still see the entrance. Should I be worried? It was completely sealed off with the top layer of completely dry sand so I wasn't able to see it beforehand :(

.

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CrabbyLover77
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Re: Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:18 am

I would say you're ok since you can still see the tunnel (it hasn't collapsed), but maybe someone else will jump in here too.

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Topic author
andyasdgfh
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2022 11:15 pm
Location: CA

Re: Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by andyasdgfh » Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:42 am

The entrance is still roundish in shape. And is about an inch deep before hitting the small pile of fluffed moist-ish sand.
It's also not packed in or anything since I was only lightly moving the top sand around. As I was fluffing and brushing sand around lightly, I suddenly felt perfect hole appear, though I wasn't able to see the original undisturbed tunnel so idk how bad the damage is :(

I'm really hoping I don't have to dig them up and possibly disturb their molt, as I don't have an extra iso tank to keep them in.

I'm freaking out 🥲 my husband is keeping calm, saying they probably run into all kinds of things in the wild that constantly disturb their tunnels, other crabs/animals trampling over and kicking dirt into the entrance and they do just fine. He's thinking I'm underestimating their digging abilities and their natural crabby instincts/problem solving skills.

I'm open and hoping for as many opinions as possible.

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Re: Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:55 am

If it were me, I wouldn't dig anyone up yet. Since you were being careful to begin with, and just a little bit of extra sand fell in, I would guess the entire tunnel and cave didn't collapse. That's just my take though. It's so tough, but try not to beat yourself up. Your tank conditions sound great.

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JoeHermits
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Re: Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by JoeHermits » Sun Mar 13, 2022 7:54 am

You collapsed the entrance, not the tunnel itself. If you’re concerned you can put something on top of the hole to seal it for peace of mind but no one has been harmed.


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Topic author
andyasdgfh
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2022 11:15 pm
Location: CA

Re: Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by andyasdgfh » Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:48 pm

I woke up this morning and the entrance isn't there anymore. I'm assuming my other crab dragged some dirt over it. Nothing looks compact or sealed. Just fluffed sand over it.

And I'm going to assume everything is fine and I'm just worrying? 🥲

:anon:

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Re: Disturbed tunnel. Not collapsed completely

Post by CrabbyLover77 » Sun Mar 13, 2022 1:05 pm

They guy in the tunnel might have moved around and recovered his entrance too. I wouldn't worry, but that's always easier said than done for sure lol.

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