Halloween crab - Dead or molting?

[platypuskid2]

Does anyone know enough about Halloween crabs to tell if they go limp like hermit crabs before they molt? I'm worried that lunar is dead but it's been so long that he hasn't molted and regrown his leg that it's probably time for him to molt anyways. Can anyone confirm or deny?


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[HermitCrabFan]

I don't know much about Halloween crabs, but from what I've read (Which is little, remember) their molting process is similar to Hermit Crabs, so I think they might go limp before they molt. Keep him protected from the other crabs but don't move him too much in case he's surface molting.

[platypuskid2]

I don't know much about Halloween crabs, but from what I've read (Which is little, remember) their molting process is similar to Hermit Crabs, so I think they might go limp before they molt. Keep him protected from the other crabs but don't move him too much in case he's surface molting.

he'll be nice and safe since he's the only one I have


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[platypuskid2]

I don't know much about Halloween crabs, but from what I've read (Which is little, remember) their molting process is similar to Hermit Crabs, so I think they might go limp before they molt. Keep him protected from the other crabs but don't move him too much in case he's surface molting.

dead, he was dead not molting


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[C_fiesta]

I don't know much about Halloween crabs, but from what I've read (Which is little, remember) their molting process is similar to Hermit Crabs, so I think they might go limp before they molt. Keep him protected from the other crabs but don't move him too much in case he's surface molting.

dead, he was dead not molting


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I'm sorry for your loss!

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[wodesorel]

Dude, there is something going on with your critters. I'm not saying it's anything you are doing, but it might be something outside of your control, like something in the water or something in the environment like pest control or maybe a bad bottle of dechlorinator. I would strongly suggest going through a list of things your hermits and other crabs share and see what might be a common denominator and go from there. I'm just really worried you're going to keep experiencing losses like this.

[platypuskid2]

Dude, there is something going on with your critters. I'm not saying it's anything you are doing, but it might be something outside of your control, like something in the water or something in the environment like pest control or maybe a bad bottle of dechlorinator. I would strongly suggest going through a list of things your hermits and other crabs share and see what might be a common denominator and go from there. I'm just really worried you're going to keep experiencing losses like this.

I completely agree because tau hasn't gotten any better either, the only thing that the crabs shared in each of their tanks was the food and I recently got them new food. So it's either the cuttle bone (unlikely), the natural organic coconut (more unlikely), or the new commercial food I got from the pet store (most likely). Everything else in the tanks is up to perfect crab standard so it must be the new food. If you don't think so, what else do you think I could be doing wrong?


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[wodesorel]

I've seen your photos and my gut is telling me you aren't doing anything wrong. This has happened before to another member and no one was ever able to pin down why their crabs kept dying.

Don't limit it to just new things, either. With crabs it can be a long buildup, or exposure from months before.

Did you use the same substrate for both, or substrate that was bought in the same place? I know when I've had unusual trouble with rescues in the past I've dumped my sub and replaced it and it seemed to have stopped the problem. I consider that one a last ditch effort because of the weight involved, but it's generally a cheap endeavor to swap out a few bags of sand and see if it makes a difference, especially since it's molting trouble. I always lean towards substrate and water when it's molting trouble as the former can poison or prevent digging, and the latter can lead to chemical or metal buildups that can harm them especially over time. Just throwing out ideas, you know how your animals and tanks are repsonding.

[platypuskid2]

I've seen your photos and my gut is telling me you aren't doing anything wrong. This has happened before to another member and no one was ever able to pin down why their crabs kept dying.

Don't limit it to just new things, either. With crabs it can be a long buildup, or exposure from months before.

Did you use the same substrate for both, or substrate that was bought in the same place? I know when I've had unusual trouble with rescues in the past I've dumped my sub and replaced it and it seemed to have stopped the problem. I consider that one a last ditch effort because of the weight involved, but it's generally a cheap endeavor to swap out a few bags of sand and see if it makes a difference, especially since it's molting trouble. I always lean towards substrate and water when it's molting trouble as the former can poison or prevent digging, and the latter can lead to chemical or metal buildups that can harm them especially over time. Just throwing out ideas, you know how your animals and tanks are repsonding.

Tau didn't make it. I'm down to seven crabs and I don't think I can stand another one dying. I don't want to just stop because I love my crabs and that's why I can't stand to see another one go. Another problem is I'm short on money even though a couple bags of sand is cheap. I really need help because I don't know what's going wrong. I have one molting right now and I feel that if I dig her up to replace the sand she'll end up like Tau. I'll try to get the problem solved whatever it may be but I'm running out of crabs and I don't see the point in getting anymore if I'm just going to end up killing them. I'm a bad crab dad.


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[wodesorel]

No you aren't!! Sadly these things happen sometimes. Do what you can for now and once you've had a chance to process these losses sit and have a good brainstorm about what might have happened. Something might strike you as feeling funny, and go from there. I always crabbed by my gut, and I learned over time to trust those nagging feelings as they were usually right and saved crabs. (And I'm talking gut instincts to dig when no one else would have recommended it to find living naked crabs in need of immediate help, type situations.)

[C_fiesta]

Have you got your crabs all from the same store? I wonder if there's an issue with the store/supplier. How many have you lost total vs how many have you had total? A few losses are unheard of...

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[WednesdayA]

Dude, there is something going on with your critters. I'm not saying it's anything you are doing, but it might be something outside of your control, like something in the water or something in the environment like pest control or maybe a bad bottle of dechlorinator. I would strongly suggest going through a list of things your hermits and other crabs share and see what might be a common denominator and go from there. I'm just really worried you're going to keep experiencing losses like this.

^^^^^ I 100% agree with this! Where I live the tap water is so bad there are 12 different kinds of parasites in there since the freeze last winter… I’ve seen all kinds in enclosures so I only do bottled water or I have an ROD machine. Also once my rabbits kept getting infected with mites, lice, fly strike, etc. we kept moving & the had medicine we couldn’t figure out why it kept getting worse.. until I went to the Petco my mom had been going to and all over the shelves and crawling into bags of hay I got samples of 5 confirmed bugs they were infected in, plus they had a ton of flies & had maggots crawling into the packages as well. We sued. So definitely always start looking into things… & neither of these you would find online. Just 2 bad experiences - also check for animal food recalls or reviews on any new food before you get it - so many products can come infected with all sorts of things!