HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


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

3:1 playsand to ee ratio. I used too much ee but it is a mix of both

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?

Digital zoomed located at top corner of tank
Been reading 75-78 degrees and 80-90% humidity.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
I have 2 zoomed tank heaters attached to the sides above the substrate line. They are new and I’m still trying to see if I like them or not.

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)?

DC with prime fresh and DC IO salt with submergible dishes although once they all come up from a molt I will change them

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

I feed a variety of foods bought from stores on Etsy. Green sand and worm casing are available at all times. I have some wheat puffs and millet in there. River shrimp and mealworms usually always.
I change it out when it gets moldy.

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

rescued her about a month ago and I think she is PP

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

I think she is in mid molt bc once I put her in August 25th she’s been down. I think she may be finished if not close to finished as I had another crab about the same size as her go down at the same time and he is now up

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

I have a 29 gal tank with a glass lid

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

3 crabs I want to say they are all small

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

15 shells

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

No

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

I don’t. Spot clean with a scooper to get moldy food out

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

No

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

No

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 went to get the saltwater dish out to change the water and there is a hole underneath. I can see her shell and she moved a little bit. I don’t want to disturb her more and I’m afraid of putting the dish back on top of her bc it is a little heavy and I don’t want to cave her in. What should I do? I have a yogurt container that has holes in it that I have covered her and the hole with right now. I went to take a picture and she had dug deeper in and I could see her moving. She looks like she has a little color not quite as dark has she was when I put her in.

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I can’t edit it but here is the picture I took




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can't really see from the photo, but it sounds to me like you have done the right thing. Putting something over her to protect her and keep her separate from the other crabs, but not cave in her hole. She obviously isn't ready to come up yet, if she dug down a bit deeper. Did you see any exo in there with her? How deep is your sub?

I did not see any exo and my substrate is about 6 inches deep. It settled some and I didn’t account for that when I set the tank up.

This happens a lot. I think it is because the water dish (or other objects) help to somewhat compact and therefore stabilize the substrate, so it seems to the crab that under those objects is a better place to make a cave. I think you've done the best you can for now, as well, and in the future, you might consider putting something under the water sources that doesn't get moved when you take out the water dishes to clean them. I don't know what you are using for a water dish, but--for example--if you are using a plastic food storage container (which is a common choice), you can just use two containers together, then take out just the top one to change the water and clean it, leaving the bottom one undisturbed to hold the place in/on the substrate while the water dish is out being cleaned. When I have my fountain in the tank, I have a piece of plexiglas cut to the shape of the bottom of the fountain that the fountain sits on; so when I take the fountain out to clean it, that flat object stays there on the substrate. That way, if anybody IS under there, their cave doesn't get disturbed. So you might think about putting a "place holder" of some sort under the water dishes so in the future, when you take them out, you don't have to worry if somebody is trying to molt under there.

Yes! Once everyone is up and not molting I am going to change them out to something like that. She dug a lot deeper to where I couldn’t see her anymore so I did just put the water dish back on there for them. Thanks y’all!

I think that's fine. If she was still able to dig, she wasn't fully into "molting mode" yet--or if she is again able to dig, you may be correct that she is almost ready to come up anyway. I would go ahead and VERY CAREFULLY change to some kind of system (for both water sources) that allows something to stay there when you clean the water sources as soon as you can; then you won't have to worry about her (or anybody else) molting under there. The reason I say to go ahead and do it as soon as you can and not wait until "everyone is up and not molting" is because you may find that it is a LONG time until all three are up at the same time. It may not be, but with little ones who have recently been abused into captivity, they can pop down for several molts in fairly quick succession in order to repair damage done in that process, so you might have a "round robin" kind of thing where one or the other is down molting at any given time, for quite a while.

Best wishes!

Right. I understand and that makes sense. The other 2 already molted and are back up but I’m sure could potentially go down again anytime. I could do at least the one that I know she is not around. Thanks for the advice!!