Molting outside of shell?

[Kt Kat]

3 of my crabs are in a 29 gallon with 5 inches of sandcastle substrate. I know its a little small but it is temporary until I have a larger place. They were formerly in a 55g and will return to it once I have space again. They've been in the 29 gallon for several months now.
I've owned crabs since 2017. All have had successful molts prior and even breeding behavior/eggs.
83f 84% humidity measured by Wyze probe
salt and fresh water provided (Lucky Crab Co pools)
daily food mixes from Etsy and fresh foods like plain chicken and eggshells.

The crab of concern was found when I lifted the food dish in a dugout sand cave, outside its shell, sitting next to it.
It seems to be alert and responding to stimuli.

The crab is too large for the 2 liter bottle iso method. Instead I took a plastic box I was using for the shell shop and pushed it as deep as I could, upside down, to protect the crab and their shell.

Here's my question:
My instinct is to leave them covered and leave to molt/relax, but should I force a reshell and iso more severely? Im worried about them drying out, but I don't want to stress them to death either. They've been in this condition for at least 24 hours.

[JoeHermits]

You’ll need to force an iso and reshell because unfortunately even being underground doesn’t have its risks to a naked crab

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[Kt Kat]

I gently picked him up for iso and rinsed him with the fresh water since he was caked in sand. He seems to be in poor condition. One leg missing a segment and back shell grabbers seem hardened/blackened and damaged- as if he has been trying to deal with a bad molt.

I have him inside a critter keeper within the enclosure with his shell and some favorite food but he seems more sluggish than before. I dont have high hopes with his body in such poor condition. I'm worried he won't be able to reshell. He seems like he wants to be in there but he's too injured to grab it. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do at this point.

[curlysister]

He needs to get back in a shell if he is going to have any hope of surviving. Did you try the method in the care sheet, with just a few shells in a bowl or cup with the crab?

[Kt Kat]

He's still alive!
I veeeery verry gently scooted his butt into his shell yesterday and he looked awful at first. Barely hanging out of it.
This morning he's upright, still not in the shell properly but hanging on better than before. His eye stalks are up and he's still responsive.

I've still got him in a critter keeper with moss, a small dish of water and a small serving of honey and river shrimp and hopes that he will regain strength.

[Kt Kat]

He did not make it. He had no signs of movement yesterday and began to show definite signs of decomp today.
He was still holding on to his shell despite hanging out of it so I will bury him with it. Upset that I did not get him back into his shell earlier in case that was the problem but from experience, once a crab goes naked from illness, the situation hinges on a miracle for them to recover since its a symptom of damage already done. When I examined him on Tuesday he looked rough. Its hard to describe. His exo was offcolor, blackened in spots, and the pincer part of his big claw looked like it was a jelly limb. I can only imagine he'd struggled with a molt and failed. He was notorious for very long, multi month molt cycles. I had major surgery earlier this year I lost track of how active(or not) he's been.

His name was Harry. I've had him since 2017, the first crab I ended up with as an adult. My sister won him at a white elephant exchange(awful) but my mom, and later I, did our best to give him a life. He loved pineapple, eggshells, and chicken. The rest of the tank was always more active when he was up. I've caught him guarding females and pretty sure he fathered eggs at least once!

I did what I could and I can only hope he was as comfortable as possible in his last hours.

[curlysister]

I am sorry to hear that he didn't make it. We have no way of doing any testing or diagnostics to figure out what causes illnesses to happen. He was in good heat and humidity, and I'm sure he was comfortable at the end.