Crab mostly out of shell and not moving?

[etaylor]

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?
Play sand and coco peat, 11cm (about 4.5 inches i believe)

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, towards the back in a corner, average temp is 22-25°c (70-77f) and humidity sits around 80%

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
2 heat mats stuck to the back above the 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)?
Fresh and salt are offered, usually the water comes from bottles and I was using krabooz salt but swapped it out for Aqua one hermit crab salt (i’m open to different brand suggestions if anyone has any in Australia)

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Food packs off of etsy (Coenobita collective) alone with cuttlefish and fresh fruits & veggies every other day and occasionally egg and eggshells.
I remove fresh food a day after it was put in and change out the dry food every 3-4 days.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I bought this crab around this time last year, latest early January. He’s a Coenobita variabilis, aussie

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
He dug down back in February within the first week I got him if i remember correctly, he was down for a few weeks so I assume he molted then.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
Tank, 15 gallon, lid is mesh with wood ontop that has many different sized holes in it, but I also cover with a towel to keep in humidity (tank was second hand, i’m assuming the lid was homemade as it’s a bit dodgy looking)

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3, the other two are really small, i’d say shell openings are 1.5cm at most, the last crab (the one this post is for) has a shell opening at around 2.5cm

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
3-5 per crab, all have D openings as i’ve read aussie crabs prefer those


11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
I did have a candle on the other side of my room a few days ago if that could be something?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Spot clean and remove top layer of sand every month or when it is visibly dirty, I have changed the substrate every 5 months since getting them as there is usually a crab dug down and i don’t want to disturb.

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?
I upgraded them from a 10gal to 15gal this past week


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.
I upgraded tanks as stated before about a week ago, this specific crab has been walking around but mostly hiding in his hut which he usually did in his old tank anyways, yesterday I was out and came back and found his shell empty on one side of the tank and him in the other, I immediately did the isolation technique with a container and within 2 minutes max he was in his shell from two changes ago (crab in shell a, changed to b, naked, then back in shell a) I then left him for probably 30 minutes then let him back out into the tank (I did in take iso). He kind of stood staring at his fake leaves plant for about 3 hours then i came back and he was ontop of a log/stick with no shell on again, with the way him and his shell was positioned i think he dropped it after climbing up there. Immediately put him into a larger, taller container with sand that’s about 8cm, a small bowl of fresh water and more shells, left him overnight and wok up today and he’s been sitting in his shell the opposite way than usual and he isn’t even 2cm deep inside it. Ive left him alone today other than casting a shadow over him to see if he flinches which he has (me stressing he isn’t alive and having to make sure) I did put in a tiny piece of cuttlefish and a drop of honey on a toothpick as I read that could help with lethargy somewhere. Now at 9pm i’ve tried to cast a shadow and not a single movement from him but there’s no rotting smell.

Sorry for the massive paragraph but does anyone know what’s happening? Is he surface milking, dying, sick? I’m struggling with dying symptoms being really similar to premolting ones.

Any advice on my tank situation would also be helpful as I want to make sure if this little guy passes, I can avoid the same mistake for my other two.

.

[curlysister]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Play sand and coco peat, 11cm (about 4.5 inches i believe)

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, towards the back in a corner, average temp is 22-25°c (70-77f) and humidity sits around 80%

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
2 heat mats stuck to the back above the 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)?
Fresh and salt are offered, usually the water comes from bottles and I was using krabooz salt but swapped it out for Aqua one hermit crab salt (i’m open to different brand suggestions if anyone has any in Australia)

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Food packs off of etsy (Coenobita collective) alone with cuttlefish and fresh fruits & veggies every other day and occasionally egg and eggshells.
I remove fresh food a day after it was put in and change out the dry food every 3-4 days.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I bought this crab around this time last year, latest early January. He’s a Coenobita variabilis, aussie

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
He dug down back in February within the first week I got him if i remember correctly, he was down for a few weeks so I assume he molted then.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
Tank, 15 gallon, lid is mesh with wood ontop that has many different sized holes in it, but I also cover with a towel to keep in humidity (tank was second hand, i’m assuming the lid was homemade as it’s a bit dodgy looking)

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3, the other two are really small, i’d say shell openings are 1.5cm at most, the last crab (the one this post is for) has a shell opening at around 2.5cm

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
3-5 per crab, all have D openings as i’ve read aussie crabs prefer those


11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
I did have a candle on the other side of my room a few days ago if that could be something?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Spot clean and remove top layer of sand every month or when it is visibly dirty, I have changed the substrate every 5 months since getting them as there is usually a crab dug down and i don’t want to disturb.

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?
I upgraded them from a 10gal to 15gal this past week


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.
I upgraded tanks as stated before about a week ago, this specific crab has been walking around but mostly hiding in his hut which he usually did in his old tank anyways, yesterday I was out and came back and found his shell empty on one side of the tank and him in the other, I immediately did the isolation technique with a container and within 2 minutes max he was in his shell from two changes ago (crab in shell a, changed to b, naked, then back in shell a) I then left him for probably 30 minutes then let him back out into the tank (I did in take iso). He kind of stood staring at his fake leaves plant for about 3 hours then i came back and he was ontop of a log/stick with no shell on again, with the way him and his shell was positioned i think he dropped it after climbing up there. Immediately put him into a larger, taller container with sand that’s about 8cm, a small bowl of fresh water and more shells, left him overnight and wok up today and he’s been sitting in his shell the opposite way than usual and he isn’t even 2cm deep inside it. Ive left him alone today other than casting a shadow over him to see if he flinches which he has (me stressing he isn’t alive and having to make sure) I did put in a tiny piece of cuttlefish and a drop of honey on a toothpick as I read that could help with lethargy somewhere. Now at 9pm i’ve tried to cast a shadow and not a single movement from him but there’s no rotting smell.

Sorry for the massive paragraph but does anyone know what’s happening? Is he surface milking, dying, sick? I’m struggling with dying symptoms being really similar to premolting ones.

Any advice on my tank situation would also be helpful as I want to make sure if this little guy passes, I can avoid the same mistake for my other two.
Curly - Your tank conditions sound good. I'm not really seeing any reason why your crab would be going naked. They do drop their shell when too weak to carry it, so the shell would be heavier up on a branch not supported on the sand - you are likely correct that he dropped it after climbing. I would isolate your crab from the others while he is weak like this. Sometimes all you can do is wait and see which way it goes - we can't do any diagnostics to see why the aren't feeling good.