Help! Surface Molt? Crab Exposed and I Need Help.

[CrabbyHermit]

Thought maybe my crab was dead and feel apart. Before I could say anything my bf tried pickling him up. His shell is off and he's laying there limp.

[landlubber]

I'm sorry this is happening to you guys. The limp crab you are looking at out of the shell, is the abdomen attached? I'm trying to figure out if what you are looking at is the exo and the crab is tucked deep back in the shell, or if it's the actual crab you are looking at?

[CrabbyHermit]

Positive is the crab. He has to go back in the shell right and somehow be protected?

[CrabbyHermit]

I put a liter coke bottle around him but put him back in right?

[landlubber]

Yes, you want to try and re-shell him. Since he is clearly very stressed, I would go right to hand re-shelling him. You dip the crab's abdomen into declorinated water, gently uncurl the abdomen and slide him into the shell. Isolate to keep him safe, and depending on what limbs were lost (if the BP and feeder pincher is gone) he may need to be hand-fed. You can put some honey, organic baby food or other soft foods onto the top of a toothpick in front of his mouthparts for him to eat.

Crabs have recovered from this state, but he's in bad shape I'm afraid. He will need to molt right away with perfect conditions and great nutrition to make it. I hope he comes around for you.

[wodesorel]

Is there any way to share a photo? It's a lot easier in these situation to see the crab.

[CrabbyHermit]

Everything I've read says put them back in asap so if I don't get a reply soon I'm going to.

[CrabbyHermit]

[purpleperson]

Yes you definitely need to re-shell him. Crabs do not live long out of their shells.

Because he is limp, are you are he's still alive? Does it smell "fishy" in there? Is there any antennae movement?


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[CrabbyHermit]

My boyfriend thought he saw a back leg move. He doesn't smell dead. But I'm not 100% sure. Curious how long can they live outside of their shell?

[CrabbyHermit]

Whats his chances of survival?

[purpleperson]

They can't live long without a shell as their abdomens need protecting and it will dry out. You really do need to reshell him ASAP. Sometimes it can take awhile for the "death smell" to come around.

Personally, I don't have enough experience with crabs that are out of shells to give you a proper percentage of survival..


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[CrabbyHermit]

He's back in. And protected. Fingers crossed. All my crabs are dying or molting or something. This is frustrating. The other crab that was at the petstore with him was this way too. Butitookmychances. But if he was molting wouldn't his broken of ends of his legs look like, they were regenerating? I'm a worry wart, this will bother me until he's ok. How long does a surface molt take for a large crab?

[landlubber]

You did great, it's hard to do for me because I always get so panicked with a naked crab, my heart is just beating out of my chest (luckily it hasn't happened a whole lot).

When a crab molts, whether on the surface or under it the crab will basically remain motionless for days or even weeks saving up energy. Then, suddenly compared with all the resting in just a matter of a few seconds or minuets they shed their exo. What this looks like is the crab will lean out of the their shell, kind of heave a bit, and then the new, soft, pale, translucent crab body will be seen moving backwards, deep back into the shell. The exo will be intact at this time, and look just like a dead crab with no abdomen. It doesn't actually break into peices, or split in half or anything like that. Then the crab will rest again, sometimes for days and days before it even has the strength to eat the exo. Once they start eating it then it's in pieces, and the pieces will be hollow (that's one way you can tell exo pieces from dropped limbs or eaten crab legs). It could take them days or even weeks (this all depends on their size mostly) for them to eat the exo (and usually a little bit will be left-I save them in case another crab gets its exo stolen). This whole process is considered "molting." After the exo is gone the crab may start moving around again, sometimes slowly at first and soon with a seeming renewed energy.

Does this explain the process so it's easier to picture??? This is why, based on what you described, I think your crab is losing limbs due to PPS. Molting crabs don't really drop legs, they lose the whole old exo all in one piece-pieces don't fall off a little at a time when they molt.

[wodesorel]

He looks alive and okay. All limbs accounted for. He could be dying or he could be molting. Make sure he's propped into a sitting position in case it is a surface molt. Did he have any kind of protrusion on his left side? (Opposite of what was photographed.) He should have a molt sac if it is a molt.

Have you seen the molting FAQ? It explains the process: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 23&t=92527

This is what a surface molt looks like: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=82577