Naked crab - 2 days now and no shell

[CJBB70]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Mixed Eco Earth & play sand (2:1) approx. 7" deep

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 -located on side away from heater, 3" above substrate. Usually temp 70-80 and humidity 75-80

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Two heating pads attached to sides of tank

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)? Both fresh and salt. All Living Things brand used to dechlorinate both. Salt used is Instant Ocean (1/2 cup per gallon)

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Fresh food replaced every day. Usually combination of popcorn/crackers/oats, honey, protein (egg, plain chicken, shrimp or nuts), fruit (grape, melon, apple, coconut) and veg (grated carrot, lettuce, kale). Commercial food given very 2 days (All Living Things brand)

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? 18 months and PP (although she has a much smaller big claw than the other crabs so now we're wondering if we got that wrong)

7. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 40 gallon glass tank with hinged glass lid

8. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 7 crabs total - 1 large, 4 medium and 2 small

9. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? approx. 20-25

10. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

11. How often do you clean the tank and how? Surface clean 1/week, full clean every 4-6 weeks . Full clean - everything is removed, all empty shells, toys etc. are boiled and rinsed, tank is washed down with boiling water and then rinsed with dechlorinated water.

12. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No sponges

13. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? No

14. 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.)? We have two artificial plastic trees that they all love to spend their time on. We also have plastic coconut huts and a plastic log for them to hide in.

15. Please describe the emergency situation in detail

We noticed that she was out of her shell 2 days ago. She was moving around and none of the other crabs were bothering her so we put a cut-off plastic bowl around her to isolate her and added several shells, water & food to try and get her to go into a shell (we can't find the shell she came out of at all and so we think it's buried somewhere in the main tank - it's not on any of the other crabs). She managed to use the shell pile to climb out of there still naked and so we removed her into a 10 gallon isolation tank yesterday. She is moving, eating, drinking etc. and showing no signs of wanting to dig herself down into the substrate. She keeps sitting on the shell pile but won't take one. She has been in the same shell since we got her and has shown no interest in moving before now even though the shell was far too small. We have been keeping the isolation tank extra humid and spraying her 4 times a day but no sign of her moving back into a shell and we're getting really worried.

[Ellysara]

At this point you probably need to reshell her yourself. Choose a shell that is slightly too big and as similar to the one she came out of as possible. Make sure it and her abdomen are clean of sand by rinsing in dechlorinated fresh water and leave a bit of water in the shell. Gently uncurl her abdomen and slide her back into the shell until her tail goes around the curve in the shell.

She has survived longer than most without a shell so I doubt she will last much longer without some help. It's a good sign that she is active.

During your deep cleans, are you removing even the substrate? This could be causing stress to your crabs and messing with their molt cycle as well. Even just removing all the decor that often is probably overkill/stressful.

If you temp is dipping below 75 more often than once every several months, you should probably get another heat source. Such low temps can be detrimental.

Hope this helps and I hope the best for your crab!! Maybe when she gets in a shell and calms down you can post a pic to ID her.

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[CJBB70]

Thanks for the advice. Earlier we tried to ease her into a shell but she had stopped moving completely so I think it might have been too late. We'll leave her for a bit to be certain but it doesn't look good.

One question about tank cleaning - we find that after 5-6 weeks, the substrate gets boggy and really smelly which is why we change it so often. We always wait until all crabs are accounted for on the surface before cleaning though. Is there anything we can do to stop it getting so nasty but still keep the humidity level up?

[Ellysara]

I'm guessing you are having to spray everyday to keep up the humidity? That is probably semi-flooding the substrate over time. Do you have a moss pit? A damp moss pit helps keep up humidity. The thing that finally stabilized my humidity however was adding an air stone to the fresh water pool. Consistently keeps my humidity up over 80 with me only spraying once a week. And this is with a heat lamp, which are notorious for sapping the humidity. I would give that a try.

Also, it could be that your substrate is just beginning to establish some good poop-and-food-breaking-down bacteria that is causing the smell? I don't know for sure.

[YYWW]

HCA usually recommends 5:1 sand to EE, and i think having so much more EE in your tank is what lets it get boggy, as well as expensive! Maybe try more sand and less EE if the smell bothers you. And take note that more sand will dry more aggressively.


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