Humane euthanasia?

[lulaagrl]

Hi - I posted this the other day: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=101284

Since then, the hermit crab is completely limp - her legs are all completely soft, no hard exoskeleton structure left in them, and just limp and hanging there and she barely moves. They are like gel. You can't even see her antennae, they are just clumped up with the rest of her deteriorating legs. She is hanging out of her shell and you can see the little tiny legs they use to hold their bodies in their shells also just hanging out. At first I thought she was molting a second time because all her legs looked clear-ish and loose but then I realized that it's all her actual body, and she's not molting again. I know this might go on for a couple days and I just wondered if there was any way to humanely euthanize a crab. I know with fish we have used a product called "finquil" which is an anesthetic but essentially you just give them an overdose. I can't stand to watch her go on like this...

Thank you.

[YYWW]

I'm sorry for such a heartbreaking experience! I can't answer your question but just wanted to offer my sympathy. I hope you get the answers you need!


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[MuseCrazy]

Freezer :/

[wodesorel]

Not freezer! That is extremely inhumane!

Only way to do it is take them to a vet. Potassium Chloride is the only drug considered to be humane for crustaceans, followed by physical destruction of the brain.

Edited to add: This is from an animal's right group, and what they consider to be the best method: http://www.onekind.org/uploads/publicat ... aceans.pdf

This is the official American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines - but remember, they don't generally recognise that lesser animals - including crabs - feel pain! They consider knocking out a crustacean and then boiling it an acceptable method of euthanasia: https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Docume ... anasia.pdf

[lulaagrl]

Thank you so much. I called our local emergency vet and they said they could do it first using an anesthetic gas in a chamber and then an injection. We couldn't bring ourselves to bring her in yet though... we found mites on her so we rinsed her off. This morning she is totally motionless but not yet hanging out of her shell. I just feel so horrible letting her languish but it's like we're not sure if she has a chance or not. If all her limbs are soft and withered away, does she have a chance? Should I go ahead with the euthanasia?

Now I've found these little bugs that were jumping around in her water dish, in the main tank now. So far I only found them in one of the dishes so I replaced it. I read on here that they were harmless but I wonder now if they were somehow related to the mites we found on her...

[wodesorel]

Without true lungs I'm not sure if a gas chamber would even work. All the scientific papers I've found have only used injections. Vets are not taught about hermit crabs and should never be trusted to give accurate advice. It's not their fault, but it's not something that is covered and if it is, it's 30 years out of date.

Food mites will move in after death, as they are not picky about what they eat so long as it's not alive anymore. It sounds like she's already gone. I'm so sorry.

If this ever happens again, please know that this would have been an emergency if she hadn't finished most of her exo within 2-3 weeks after a surface molt. They don't always finish their legs tips and big claws, but everything else should have been eaten quickly. She should have looked back to normal within that time frame as well. Something went terribly wrong with her last molt. It happens sometimes, and often there isn't a reason that we can figure out.

[lulaagrl]

Oh my gosh.... she did not eat much of her exo after the surface molt. She just gradually declined. What would you advise doing if something like that happens again? Does force feeding help (I read a method on here about sticking a Q tip right up to their mouth, forcing them to clean the stuff off their mouth)? I know you aren't supposed to disturb them right after a molt though.

I have picked out little things here and there I've done wrong that all probably led to this, but I know I can't dwell on it. Things like using the wrong type of salt for the water, feeding commercial food, etc. This is certainly a learning experience. But a tough one. I just feel so bad that she had to suffer through it...

[lulaagrl]

Hey guys...she is still alive but barely moving... Working on dropping all her legs I think. Is there anything I can give her to keep her hydrated and fed? Like some sort of juice?

[YYWW]

The poor thing! There's no juice I've ever heard of.
I don't remember you filling out the emergency questionnaire so i dont even know where to start. It does sound like its too late and i dont want to stress you or your crab further. Please think of how you want to proceed.


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[Scarlz]

Honey works well as an energy packed food for sick crabs. I usually offer that and water. I also try to hand feed when and if they get this bad for me... You can put some honey on the end of a qtip and try to offer it to her.

[Skymall007]

Keep us posted. I am so sorry this is happening.

[lulaagrl]

Hey guys. She is still alive and moving but now her small claw is going soft. She already dropped all the legs. I guess it is only a matter of time. The big pincher is still in tact. I am giving her small amounts of food like honey on the pincher but I am not sure if she's even able to eat it.

I did post the questionnaire in my original post about her a couple months ago and all the conditions were great - the 2 things I'd been doing wrong was feeding occasional commercial foods and using the wrong kind of salt for the water (for freshwater fish) so I corrected those things but it may have been too late. Before this last surface molt she probably hadn't molted for about 8 to 10 months.

[lulaagrl]

Another update -- I just went to give her a second bath, since we had found the mites on her a few days ago, just to make sure they were all gone. I put her back in and then checked a few minutes later and she was crawling around, complete with all her claws and legs, but looking a very pale peach color. So, I think all of these leg droppings have actually been another surface molt just 2 months after her original surface molt. I am overjoyed to find out she is still fully intact but extremely worried that now that I've handled her so much and done all this work to care for her thinking she was on the verge of death, I may have severely stressed her during this molt. Needless to say, no more touching until she is done, but I just hope I didn't ruin the molt!!! It is SO hard with these crabs to know what is the right thing to do!!

[YYWW]

Hopefully she is a tough one, and you can take this experience to have better crabbing instincts going forward! There is hope, though!!!


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[KellyCrabbieLove]

Update? Been following this thread. Hoping she is doing better.