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?


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?
I have two older crabs we got about a year ago. Unknown species.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
They both molted about half a year ago.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
Glass tank, screen top with a blanket over that I use to adjust airflow depending on humidity.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
Two, medium sized. Probably about 2" inches?

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?
Yes *see below for full explanation*

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.
This morning I was prepping a fresh spray bottle to mist the tank since it was reading a bit low (about 68% humidity). I had two bottles out. I realized one was has a mix of water, oil and peppermint essential oils. The other had just soapy water.
I rinsed the soaper water one out and filled it with dechlorinated water.
HOWEVER I did a dumb and accidental used the non rinsed sprayer from the other bottle (the one with the peppermint essential oil). I didn't realize until I had sprayed the tank and started smelling it.
It smells lightly of peppermint and I'm so worried I've made my poor crabs sick!
*I do not currently have the extra substrate to entirely clean the tank out
.

How r things? Any change in behavior? Smell still strong? How much did u spray? I’m no expert but even in the wild things happen that cannot be avoided. Hopefully since no extra substrate is available, it’ll just be fine for now. Fingers crossed for ya hun.

The kicker is the other day I had found one of my little guys shell empty on top, but the crab nonwhere to be found. Hence me trying to keep extra on top of keeping them happy.
I didn't spray a whole ton. A light mist along the inside glass and over the fake plants.
I'm just overly worried between missing shellless crab and now the peppermint. So far the smell seems very light. I have to stick my nose to the mesh top and take a deep snuff to really tell.

Small update:
My second crab Frankie came out of hiding and was running around the tank. So far doesn't seem phased by any lingering peppermint smell.

However my main crab Lightning is still naked and missing. I would try to isolate him but have no idea where he is and I'm too scared to try and dig around for him. I also spotted an empty exoskeleton claw. I'm not sure if it was from a recent molt or their first molt from a few months ago.

MommaBearx2 wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 24, 2019 9:25 pm

Small update:
My second crab Frankie came out of hiding and was running around the tank. So far doesn't seem phased by any lingering peppermint smell.

However my main crab Lightning is still naked and missing. I would try to isolate him but have no idea where he is and I'm too scared to try and dig around for him. I also spotted an empty exoskeleton claw. I'm not sure if it was from a recent molt or their first molt from a few months ago.

Are you sure he's naked? Could he not have changed shells and then burrowed?

Unfortunately I currently do not have many extra shells. About three and two are very large conch style (that I know realize are not the preferred shells but they like to climb on them).
In fact my second crab was out last night and tried out the one extra correct style shell. Then promptly went back into his old one.
I'm ordering a 5 pack of shells when I get paid on friday but I fear it may be too late. Though I don't smell dead crab...

Hi! I am not sure what to do about your naked crab missing but I expect that the extra shells might encourage this to not happen again. As for the mint though, I have fed my crabs mint leaves before (as they are on the safe food list) with no problems. I have never used essential oils, so I am not sure if there might be residual other ingredients, so you might want to check the bottle against the safe and unsafe food lists. If peppermint is the main ingredient and there are no confirmed crab killer chemicals in the oil, then a one-time incident will not likely be a huge problem. I hope this helps and your missing crab feels better with the new shells!

Thank you! Luckily it no longer smells like peppermint. I've seen one of my crabs active a few nights now so I don't think their effected.
I'm thinking of making a new post regarding the lost naked crab, but I think this is one of those "only time will tell" scenarios.

Thank you all for putting my mind at ease!

No problem! I'm happy to help! I know how you feel, I accidentally fed the crabs scallions once before checking the food lists (closest I could find was onions, unsafe), and the tank smelled faintly like onion for the next day or two. You might want to make that post about your lost crab, it sounds scary (for both him and you!) and more experienced crabbers might want to weigh in their opinions. I wish you and your crab the best in this stressful situation!