HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Well I thought it was a little strange when Capt. Jack showed up after a shorter than normal molt for him (one month)....I was changing food & picking out buried food when he decided to be social. I discovered he's missing his big claw!!! He's nice & hairy, pointy legs...slightly pale but the biggest problem is a missing big claw!! He was moving great & hanging out in my hands. Watched me change food & all as usual.

Reckon something went wrong during his short molt? What can I do to encourage him to molt again to regrow?


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Is it totally gone? It looks more damaged from what I can see in the top picture. Might have just been an unfortunate accident under the surface If he hasn't already, he will likely drop the damaged limb since it's easier to drop it and then regrow on the next molt than it is to keep it. I've seen this occur in other crabs before, so don't be surprised if he drops it. I would just feed him lots of nutrient rich food, especially protein and calcium. I've had limbs regrow and it's pretty neat! It will come in smaller and brighter in color (from my experience) but after a few molts it should be back to normal size

hermitharbor wrote:Is it totally gone? It looks more damaged from what I can see in the top picture. Might have just been an unfortunate accident under the surface If he hasn't already, he will likely drop the damaged limb since it's easier to drop it and then regrow on the next molt than it is to keep it. I've seen this occur in other crabs before, so don't be surprised if he drops it. I would just feed him lots of nutrient rich food, especially protein and calcium. I've had limbs regrow and it's pretty neat! It will come in smaller and brighter in color (from my experience) but after a few molts it should be back to normal size

Good deal! I gave him plenty of protein, what's best for calcium?


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You can do something as simple as crushed egg shells, but my guys never showed much interest. They LOVE cuttlebone though! You can get it at the petstore, they sell it in packs for the birds. Just make sure it's plain in color (I've seen them colored before)

As long as you give them a balanced diet they should be happy.

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Oh yea! I have tons of cuttlebone!


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While my colony goes crazy for eggshells (left in halves, not crushed) and cuttlebone, their absolute hands-down favourite seems to be crushed oyster shell (marketed for birds) which I sprinkle over the sub throughout the tank. They hoover that stuff up.

That happened to my guy Tuna too! He dropped his claw and molted twice, back to back, shortly after. It was like nothing ever happened after a couple months Supply with eggshells cuttlebone and honey like everyone's saying, should be fine As long as he can eat, I think he'll be fine


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My guys love eggshells halves. Sometimes I'll put sweet potato or peanut butter in them and it's like a lil edible bowl. They go nuts for it

Great!! Thanks guys!!


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