Molter without shell and missing claws

[Lulu]

We have had our little PP, Napoleon, for about 1 & 1/2 years. Napoleon's claws were a little mangled when we first got him from the pet store, but after 2 successful molts, he grew them back to normal. He was also in a poor fitting shell when we got him (it looked like Napolean's hat and inspired his name). He never changed shells though, despite having many other shells to try. I wondered if he might be stuck in the old shell. He has always been a happy, social, and active crab though.

Napoleon had been underground for about a month for his 3rd molt. This morning, he was above ground, without his his shell, missing his two claw legs, and dipping in the salt water bowl. We put a new shell next to him and he climbed in it, thank goodness. He is really having trouble moving though without his claws and has just been sitting in one place in the new shell all day, peeking in and out of it. His other legs look like he completed his molt (pink, small, and soft looking). Poor guy. I am not sure if he dropped the claw legs to get out of the old shell - it had a really narrow opening.

I don't see any problems with the other crabs or the crabitat (temperature, humidity, etc.). Is there anything I should be aware of or do to help little Napoleon? Can crabbies function, eat, and drink without both claws? Any advice or ideas would be so helpful.

[landlubber]

I'm sorry he's having a hard time molting. No, he cannot eat without those claws, you will have to hand feed him (which is a great bonding experience-many people's most social crabs were hand fed so they associate humans w/food). You can dip mushed up foods with a toothpick of something like that and put it in front of his mouth parts and he will eat it. Obviously you want to feed foods which nutritionally are good for energy and molting, because he will be molting again soon to replace those parts.

[purpleperson]

I have a crab right now with no claws, and only 2 1/2 legs. He is pretty freshly molted, but is still able to eat his Exo all by himself. I plan on stating to hand feed him once he's done his Exo however.


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[wodesorel]

They can eat without claws. Offering powdered foods is best so they don't have to expend extra energy working for it. They'll put their mouth on the food item and eat that way. Make sure he has easy access and keep an eye on him. I used q-tips coated in honey and then rolled in crushed food with my limbless crab. I could bend them in half and then stick them near her mouth as she was unable to move at all. I've had other clawless crabs that could move around feed themselves out of bowls with no trouble.

He is however going to be extremely vulnerable to other hermits while he's like this. Until he's able to move around normally it would be safest to isolate him away from the others. They could see him as an easy meal. If he's soft pink he probably can't move around right now - when they molt they stay in once place for days to weeks afterwards, so him sitting still in one place would be normal. Since there's no exo it'll be important to offer him eggshells and cuttlebone and any other calcium sources you may have, especially if you think he looks soft. (I personally always have some of Alaska's Hermit's king/snow crab exo on hand as an emergency replacement for situations like this.)

It could have been a bad molt, he could have been shell-jacked by another crab, it's so hard to know when it's the first time it happens. I wouldn't worry too much yet. That he reshelled immediately is a great sign and I do think he has a wonderful chance at recovery. He'll just need a little TLC until his next molt.

[cartash86]

Brand new crab owner here. Have a very active crab, Superman and then a not so active crab. From day one not so active, Bart, has hid in the sand. once every two weeks i would remove him during cleaning just to make sure he wasnt dead. He molted last night and was out of his shell. This morning Superman had stolen Barts shell and bart is half buried in the sand. How do tell if he is still alive. There are other shells for them in the tank to choose from. Would Superman kill bart for his shell?? do i need to seperate them until Bart chooses a shell? Im so lost and need all the help i can with them. They were a gift for my son from his grandmother and i have no idea what to do with certain issues. I have been doing ALOT of research and learning alot of things. Just need help with this situation. PLEASE

[AutumnHermie]

Similar things have happened here at the HCA. Go to the emergency forum and you will see plenty of cases like this. But first of all, if Bart is not shelled, the most important thing you can do is get him back in a shell. A great way to do this is to put him in a Tupperware container with no substrate and put plenty of shells in their with him. If he does not re-shell himself within a few minutes, you'll have to do it manually. If you need to do it manually, wash your hands with warm water to wash off any lotions or soaps. Wash Bart off, and gently place him in a shell.

[cartash86]

How long can he live that way. I am at work for 8hrs and praying he;ll still be alive and okay when i get home. Is there a step by step process on manually putting him in a shell??

[purpleperson]

Hi, yes there is a process but I think you should try the other way first. (in a Tupperware with lots of appropriate shells) the crab will chose whichever one it wants that way and it's less stressful on the both of you, however if it doesn't reshell itself within an hour or so you'll have to do it manually.

I also would like to point out that you should never dig up a crab unless if you have a bacterial bloom or a flood, as its stressful for the crab and sometimes they go down for months to molt as it is a really big process for them.


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[cartash86]

Thank You very much. This has been very helpful. I will try this when i get home. One last question. When i remove him from the tank how do i handle him. I know they are very sensitive at this stage and want to take all precautions. and do i need to put his exo back in with him? i removed it not knowing they eat them.

[purpleperson]

Just handle him like normal but be very very gentle.

Yes. Place the Exo in front of the crab. You will want to ISO it in a dark place. If you don't have an ISO, you can cut the bottom of a 2L pop bottle and stick it in the sand around the crab.


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[cartash86]

Thank you so much.

[Lulu]

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice on little Napoleon above. I am happy to report that he is doing well. He changed shells a couple of times, is eating, drinking water, and moving around as much as he can. We saw that he is also missing another leg in addition to his two claw legs- ugh poor guy. I think he just had a really bad molt. He is up and moving around daily though and gets pretty excited about his food everyday- he just excitedly took down some banana a few minutes ago. He is a small to medium-sized crab and I am curious how long it might be until he molts again to regrow his limbs. Thanks again everyone for the great advice-so helpful!

[landlubber]

So glad to hear it! Thanks for the update.