HCA: Hermit Crab Association

OK, well, my son was asked by the pet store to take home an injured crab that he named Gimpy. The crab was free, and neither of us has any illusions that he'll survive. He still doesn't have the 10gal iso setup yet. Still needs 1 more small heating pad and a thermostat.

Right now Gimpy is in the 20gal tank, in a cocohut my son and I made, with a couple of shells of about the size he seemed to need. This morning, I looked inside the cocohut with a flashlight (maybe not my brightest idea, haha), and I saw a naked crab. I showed my son, and he said there was signs of life, so he put one of our largest decoration shells in front of the cocohut. We're hoping that he's not going to surface molt before we have the 10gal setup ready, but it's looking like he's too afraid to with that open wound (we think its right behind his eye stalks, cuz of where the hole in the shell showed us on his body).

What can we do to protect this crab (if anything) without further stressing him? When it comes time to move our naked crab, how do we safely transfer him? What else should we be doing, if anything, for this injured Gimpy crabby?

Hello,
I first want to start off with how amazing it is that you took this crab, even in if you didn't have much hope for it.

Make sure if you have other crabs that he is away from them. The cocohut is a good idea. Moving him could stress him out, so I would leave him as long as he is away from other crabs.

Make sure he has plenty of shells to change into. o would also recommend boiling his old shell incase something is inside of it.

Good Luck,
Bonnie

Giving him a chance to reshell on his own for a bit is ok. If that doesn't work, you may have to help him into a shell. Make sure both crab and shell are clean. Using a slightly too large shell can make it easier. I know you don't want to add stress to your little guy but it's very important he get back in a shell. Once shelled, ISO in proper conditions with easy access to food, FW, and SW. I hope he pulls through! Can you describe the wound you mentioned more?

It's really hard to describe, as we didn't get a real clear look at it. What we saw were his shelled body, and a couple of legs, with a hole(?) in his body behind what appeared to be his eye stalks. It looks like when the shell broke, a sharp piece punctured his exo...

Can we get into the cocohut and take out the broken shell wi/out overly stressing him more??? We really don't want to add to his distress. Also, uh, how exactly would we help him get into a shell?

It is extremely important to reshell, even though it will add some stress. Naked crabs that won't reshell don't usually last very long.

Wash the shell and crab in lukewarm dechlor water, leaving a small amount of water in the shell. Carefully uncurl the crabs tush and slip it into the shell opening, then gently tap the crab in an attempt to get him to pull back into the shell properly. Afterwards, leave him be as much as possible as long as he stays shelled.

I'm not sure what to think of the wound but it sounds like it should be fixed in his next molt. I've had a couple crabs with fairly clean looking holes in their exos upon purchase/adoption that healed up just fine.

Gimpy did not make it. When I attempted to reshell him I found his abdomen already shriveled and dried out. Wish I had better news.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I am having a similar emergency with one crab. He recently molted and another crab aggressively pulled him out of his shell. I tried to wash him and put him in a new shell but I don't think he's going to make it.