Sad to say, I am having the same problems. I have crabs which die when molting. (In fact, I think all which died is due to molting failure.) When I found their dead bodies, they are not in their shell. Is it that crabs will move out of their shell when molting?
Sometimes, I have one or two which runs nakedly. I use the cup method and it works.
I think my tank is quite hot as I stay in tropical countries. The sand seems dry and note that I spray A LOT of water everyday. How can I lower it? Do I need to cover the tank?
My hygrometer and themometer spoilt recently and I cant figure out anything.
Crabs keep dying
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I'm not going to tell you the same thing everyone else is because they seem to have you covered, but I did want to add a comment about your substrate.
Calci-sand is okay, but a lot of people here don't like to use it because 1) It clumps, 2) It gets a strange odor when wet (seems like you experienced this), and 3) it's so expensive... among various other reasons. I think a quick switch from the gravel (bad) of most petstore set-ups to calci-sand might also contribute to PPS (Post Purchase Stress). Crabs also can't dig in gravel, which you said was your other substrate.
A lot of people here use plain playsand that can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot for $2-3 per 50 pound bag, so it lasts a long time and is generally fine to use straight out of the bag, but can also be baked to sterilize it. Or you can use a coconut fiber bedding like Eco-Earth or Jungle Bed (JB does have a small amount of calci-sand mixed in to provide a little of the calcium supplement). Any of these substrates would be fine with your remaining calci-sand mixed in with it, too.
Just a thought. Hope you have better luck. I'm sorry for your losses
Calci-sand is okay, but a lot of people here don't like to use it because 1) It clumps, 2) It gets a strange odor when wet (seems like you experienced this), and 3) it's so expensive... among various other reasons. I think a quick switch from the gravel (bad) of most petstore set-ups to calci-sand might also contribute to PPS (Post Purchase Stress). Crabs also can't dig in gravel, which you said was your other substrate.
A lot of people here use plain playsand that can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot for $2-3 per 50 pound bag, so it lasts a long time and is generally fine to use straight out of the bag, but can also be baked to sterilize it. Or you can use a coconut fiber bedding like Eco-Earth or Jungle Bed (JB does have a small amount of calci-sand mixed in to provide a little of the calcium supplement). Any of these substrates would be fine with your remaining calci-sand mixed in with it, too.
Just a thought. Hope you have better luck. I'm sorry for your losses