Hermit crab molting out of shell

[brianna_bates2]

I have a surface molter who is out of its shell she hasn't eaten any of her exoskeleton but has moved a little through out the week. I'm really scared that I could lose her please help if you have any advice.

[soilentgringa]

Hello,

How long has the crab been on the surface molting? How long has it been out of a shell?

Has the crab been isolated at all?

I've never attempted to reshell a soft, molting crab, but you may have to try. The likelihood that it would have deformities from hardening in an awkward position without a shell is high.

If you have rubber gloves like for hospitals or hair dyeing, and you can very gently pick the crab up and slide it's abdomen into a too large shell, that might help. Then isolate in good conditions with the leftover exoskeleton. Keep it dark for a few days and don't bother it unless you either: A-hear movement or B-smell a rotten fish death smell.

If you have time to fill out the emergency template questions and let us know what your current setup is like, we can help you address any areas of concern and find out what could be causing this. Surface molts are not the norm and generally happen when crabs are new from very poor conditions or the tank conditions aren't ideal.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

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?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

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)?

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. 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.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

[brianna_bates2]

Hello,

How long has the crab been on the surface molting? How long has it been out of a shell?

Has the crab been isolated at all?

I've never attempted to reshell a soft, molting crab, but you may have to try. The likelihood that it would have deformities from hardening in an awkward position without a shell is high.

If you have rubber gloves like for hospitals or hair dyeing, and you can very gently pick the crab up and slide it's abdomen into a too large shell, that might help. Then isolate in good conditions with the leftover exoskeleton. Keep it dark for a few days and don't bother it unless you either: A-hear movement or B-smell a rotten fish death smell.

If you have time to fill out the emergency template questions and let us know what your current setup is like, we can help you address any areas of concern and find out what could be causing this. Surface molts are not the norm and generally happen when crabs are new from very poor conditions or the tank conditions aren't ideal.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

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?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

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)?

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. 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.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

I carefully tried to move her into a larger shell and put her exoskeleton next to her but I think she is already gone... she hasn't moved in three days but she doesn't smell.

She was in a very large cage with another hermit crab that had sand but did not hold in humidity well so yesterday I moved them both into different tanks. I isolated her 3 days ago and I moved my other crab into a separate larger tank. I've switched to coconut fiber substrate instead of sand because of the sand clumping. There is plenty of food and water.

[brianna_bates2]

1. Was using coconut sand 2 inches thick 3 days ago I switched to cocunut fiber substrate because it is more moist (4 inches thick
2. I was not using a tank but now I am (before I had a very large netted cage with coconut sand on the bottom with multiple water dishes , I now realise they need a tank enclosure and not a mesh enclosure, 3 days ago I set up two tanks, a isolation tank and a regular habitat , I now have gauges to measure temp and humidity 75 degrees
3. I have a heat mat on the side of the tank
4. Fresh water solution from "all living things"
5. Variety diet by "all living things" it supports healthy exoskeleton growth and formation and is a good source of protein (every four days I replace the food) I also give coconut slivers as a treat
6. 2 purple pinchers I've had them for 2 years
7. This is there first most (I have had other crabs in the past who have had successful molts)
8. Was using a chameleon mesh cage ( 24 inches by 12 inches)and has a towel over the the mesh lid, now using a 10 gallon tank with a mesh lid but has a towel over the top
9. 2 small crabs
10. 1 now I have 3 that I just bought
11. No way I live eco friendly in my house and foster cats and rabbits so I am extremely careful with all my animals
12. I scooped the sand every week and replaced it every 2-3 months but I recently switched to a tank because of the lack of humidity for my molting crab so the current tank is totally clean
13. I haven't used sponges for a very long time I just use dishes for there water
14. No
15. I hold them almost every day. I love my hermies very very much. They are apart of my family just like my other animals.
16. My crab began molting out of her shell on Tuesday night I moved her shell and exoskeleton near her and kept a moist towel near her plus her dome over her (both of my hermies sleep in it all the time) she was moving a little and seemed to be molting the rest of her exoskeleton but then she just stopped and I posted my original message on Friday when she was still seeming try shed her exoskeleton but yesterday morning I decided that she passed on... I did this morning follow the advise of carefully moving her into a large shell but i think it's to late I just wish there could be a miracle

[DragonsFly]

Read the sticky about dead crabs--I wouldn't "throw her away" until you're very, very sure. That said, if they have not molted in two years that is a very bad sign that conditions have not allowed for molting. If they are in inadequate conditions, they can hold off molting for awhile, but over time a hormone builds up from delaying the molting that eventually, I'm sorry to say, will kill them.

Please read over the care sheets carefully; unfortunately hermit crabs are sold as "easy care" "pets" when in fact they are neither easy care nor pets at all. Best wishes; there really is an outside chance that you may get your miracle if you are able to correct all conditions; in any case, best wishes with the remaining crabs.

[brianna_bates2]

Read the sticky about dead crabs--I wouldn't "throw her away" until you're very, very sure. That said, if they have not molted in two years that is a very bad sign that conditions have not allowed for molting. If they are in inadequate conditions, they can hold off molting for awhile, but over time a hormone builds up from delaying the molting that eventually, I'm sorry to say, will kill them.

Please read over the care sheets carefully; unfortunately hermit crabs are sold as "easy care" "pets" when in fact they are neither easy care nor pets at all. Best wishes; there really is an outside chance that you may get your miracle if you are able to correct all conditions; in any case, best wishes with the remaining crabs.

I have them in a more humid environment as of 4 days ago. My other hermit crab has began to most...luckily under the substrate and not on surface. I have hermit crabs for many years now and most have had very successful molts but I've never had something like this happen before. They've always molted in there shell. It's really odd what has happened and I'm very very distraught that my poor hermie had to go through this because I love them all very much.

Thank you very much for your help. I truly appreciate it.

[DragonsFly]

I know this is very distressing, but we can also look at these kinds of times as learning opportunities, so hopefully something good can come out of them.

I don't know where you live, but I'm guessing it must be fairly warm and humid, if you've been able to keep crabs for several years in a mesh cage, and even had some successful molts. Still, two years between molts is a very long time--a dangerously long time--unless your crabs are very, very large. So:

Make sure that they have proper substrate, "sandcastle" consistency (if you stick a finger down into the substrate, the hole your finger makes should stay well formed), but not too wet (water should not pool at the bottom of the tank), and deep enough (a good general rule is that it should be at least three times as deep as the size of your largest crab).

Make sure that you have temperature and humidity gauges in the tank (I always use several, posted here and there around the tank, because conditions can vary even within quite a small tank). I have them stuck with velcro to pieces of acrylic, so I can move them easily to different places in the tank. The gauges should read between 75 to up to the high 90's in temperature (for PP's), and for humidity, 80% or higher (it is best not to have it near 100% for long periods of time, but that's not usually the problem!). Humidity can drop to around 75% during the hottest part of the day and that's fine for PP's, but if it gets lower than that on a regular basis it will hurt them, because they breathe with modified gills, so they need high humidity in order to be able to breathe.

There are lots of other things to make sure about with hermit crabs (like I said, really not "easy care"), but one other thing to highlight related to molting issues is to make sure that their diet includes good sources of protein and chitin. Insects and shrimp (shrimp tails, freeze-dried shrimp, etc.) are good sources of chitin, which they need to rebuild their own exoskeleton. Minerals, including calcium, are also important. While "calci-sand" is a bad idea to use as substrate, some people offer it as a mineral supplement, and there are other mineral supplements that you can offer that include more different minerals, as well as small bivalve shells or crushed shells scattered on the substrate.

For more information and ideas about improving their conditions, check out the care sheets here, and you can learn a lot by reading other people's questions and asking more of your own. Even people who have been keeping crabs for decades are still constantly learning how to make their conditions better, so be encouraged that you have absolutely done the right thing by coming here and learning more!

Best wishes!