Naked Crab

[soilentgringa]

Hello.

I am extremely sorry that I wasn't able to address this sooner. I've had a bacterial infection and had some other things going on this last week that prevented me from being on my computer; and the mobile I have now since I lost the other one doesn't have a screen large enough for me to really read and respond on.

Okay so, I am going to break down everything from the questionnaire and reply:

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
1/2 coconut fiber and 1/2 sand at sandcastle consitency. It is about 6 and a half inch.

As long as your sub is at least 3X deeper than your largest crab for now, this is okay. My personal preference is to fill the tank at least halfway or at least 12", but I have large crabs. Also, if you have 11 crabs in a 55, I would suggest deeper substrate anyway so that there is less of a risk of them running across each other and attacking during a molt.

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?
The gauges arw right in the middle on the tank on the back wall, the temp is usally right at 70 and the humidity ranges between 65 and 70, Im having a bit of trouble keeping the humidity up.

I see that no one else caught this or has addressed this but both your temps and humidity are too low. Your temps need to be at least 80 degrees and your humidity needs to be around 80 or up as well. If your substrate is at a good consistency, and your lid is sealed and you still cannot maintain a stable humidity, try adding bubblers to your pools. Both pools should be deep enough for your crabs to fully submerge in. As long as they have some sort of ladder or object to climb out on, they will not drown. You also need to calibrate your hygrometer. I will add a link on how to do that. Digital is best, the analog are notoriously inaccurate.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
And heating pad on the side and back of the tank.

What sort of heating pad? What brand? How large?

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)?
The fresh water is treated with API tap water conditoner, and for the salt water I use Jungle Aquarium salt (1/4 tbs per gallon)

Aquarium salt is not the correct type for marine creatures. This is salt used for conditioning freshwater tanks and is inadequate for land hermit crabs. Since they come from the ocean, they need a marine grade salt mix. Oceanic and Instant Ocean are two brands that are commonly used. Instant Ocean is 1/2 C salt to a gallon of water. This will provide over 70 elements that they need to have successful molts and thrive. As long as your water conditioner removes heavy metals, chlorine and ammonia it is fine. We have a list in the Water thread; I will also link that. Both fresh and salt water need to be dechlorinated before use. Just adding salt to fresh water will not remove harmful chemicals in the water.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I replace their food everyday, I always give them my home made everyday food (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats, dried egg shells, dried coconut, a few different types of beans, and gronola, all of it is organic and ground up to make it easier to eat) I also give them "treats" which are different everyday, applesauce, baby food, mango, honey, rice, all kinds of stuff. It is all organic.

Do you give your crabs any kind of animal protein at all? They have to have some sort of (dead) insects like grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, etc. both for protein and chitin sources for their exoskeletons. Boiled/scrambled eggs with no seasoning, dried shrimp, krill, pieces of fish, raw unseasoned meat, (no ham or bacon or sausage). They need calcium and chitin sources like the eggshells, crushed shells, or cuttlebone. If your crabs have not been receiving any of these, this is one reason why it may not be thriving.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
About 6 months and he is a purple pincher.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
He just hardened from his molt.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
A 55 gallon fish tank

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
11 All small, except for the guy in question, he is medium size.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
About 20 at the moment, I plan to get more this summer.

Each crab needs a minimum of 3-5 shells in shapes that your species likes. PP's like turbos the most. Turbo Fluctuousos are the most popular shell out of over 50 PP's that I have. Tapestry turbos, pearled turbos, and the green turbos are all good choices. They will not wear gold mouths as they are too heavy. I have no PP's in babylon shells at all, even though we have hundreds of shells in the tanks. One PP is in a land fairy shell and currently only a couple are in murexes so if budget is an issue I would go to JoAnn Fabric or another craft store and try to find bags of green turbo shells. They are usually cheap and you can use coupons to help with the cost.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Not that I know of.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I spot clean everynight. But I usally do a deep clean every year and a half ( I replace the substrate, and boil everything that is safe to boil) I just had to replace my substrate due to mold.

What kind of mold was in the tank? Mold happens in the warm humidity of a crabitat. It is not necessary to replace the substrate because of mold. You just scoop out the mold and toss it. Crabs are scavengers and eat moldy and rotting food in the wild on the daily. I don't even remove their food unless it is just stinky foul or seriously moldy.

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?
A rescue crab from the store, But he was put in isolation for 2 weeks before I put him in.

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.)?


Another thing I want to note is that if your crab continues to go naked, what you need to do is: Very gently rinse the crab and a slightly too large shell and manually slide his abdomen into the shell. Allow him to "seat" himself into the shell and isolate the crab with good waters and nutritious foods: raw unpasteurized honey, all natural peanut butter with no added salt or hydrogenated oils, crushed boiled egg-shell and all, and leave it along.

Many times when a crab consistently goes naked, it is too weak to carry a shell and it is dying. For some reason dying crabs almost always try to get to water and naked crabs can commonly be found in the water dishes.

I will link the Water and Shell guides below and would ask that you read over the care guides. I believe I've covered everything and I hope that your crab pulls through.

[soilentgringa]

Water Guide:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92553

Shell Guide:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92552

How to Calibrate a Hygrometer:

viewtopic.php?t=92540

Food Guide:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92557