HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have two PPs in a 20 gallon tank, one of them (Herb) dug down and has stayed there. (I posted about it in the molting section.) Now my hermit crab Aduain dug down into his little cave and stole Herb's shell. Herb is now under the substrate without a shell. I don't know what to do. I know Herb needs a shell, I have a couple of choices in their tank for them. Should I just dig him up and put a shell by him? Or reshell him myself?

Try the first option but rinse him first and do it in iso. If he won't then you will need to do it yourself. You need to do it right now. The longer without a shell the less likely he is to pull through this.

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Be very gentle and slow and careful when removing the sand and stop the moment you feel something with your fingers. He'll likely be packed in and hard to find, and it's too easy to cause damage to them when they're naked. I've had to do this before and it's worked out both good and bad, but the key was always to stay calm and take it slowly.

Okay so update, I guess Herb is molting and that's why Aduain took his shell because Herb was out of it. Should I still put the new shell next to him? Or just cover him back up and let him finish molting?

Hermit crabs molt with their shells on. Please follow the instructions above for the reshell. I would put him in an ISO, but do not re cover him. Hermits build caves underground and by coving him yourself he will not have that.


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The only time a crab should ever leave its shell is during that brief moment when they change to a new one. A shell-less hermit is always an emergency!