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?
5-8 inches eco/fiber and sand. One side of the tank is lower with sand and two pools, other side is higher mostly fiber.

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?
Yes, generally 70-75° f temp, 68-85% humidity.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Exterior heating mat attached to left side of tank.

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)?
Fresh and salt dechlorinated.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Rotation of dried fruits, meal worms, carrots/lettuce (lightly remoistened with dechlorinated water) occasionally a calcium block

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
A full year. Unknown but i think PP

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Yes, both molted about 2 months after we got them last year. They were under for 3-4 months

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 with mesh screen top. With a thick blanket over to keep moisture in

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
2 crabs. Medium size? (2ish inches)

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Currently 1 extea shell. More on order.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Spot clean weekly
Ive done A Full substate swap out once, about 6 months ago

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 have found one of my crabs shells on the surface empty and I have no idea where said crab buried down to. I don't know how long he's been naked, maybe about a month. My crabs tend to come out at night while I'm asleep.

I'm not noticing any weird smells from the tank. And I have seen my other crab surface to eat and run around.

I'm fairly new to crab care, though I did deep reasearch when we got them last year (through the hermit crab path website). As far as I understood they don't generally go naked to molt?

The other threads I read about naked crabs said to isolate them and try to get them back into shell, but I have no idea where my crab is hiding! And I'm afraid to dig around as I don't want to hurt him.

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Crabs normally drop their shells due to distress. It could be environmental, he could have been too weak to continue carrying it, or it could be both or something entirely different.

The habitat sounds decent. The main things I'd point out are the lack of shells, which you mention more are on order so that's good, the low ranges of temp and humidity, and perhaps their diet.

- There should be 3-5 shells offered for each crab you have. Keep them around the same size with some variation and make sure they're the preferred type for your specie. The more shells, the better.

- For temperature, 70 degrees isn't awful, but a little on the cooler side. Try to aim a little higher, though, between 75-85. As for the humidity, it shouldn't ever drop as low as 68%. You definitely want to keep it above 80%.

- Their diet doesn't sound bad, but they could still be missing something. Perhaps they aren't getting enough of something out of a particular category? Animal and plant protein is extremely important to them and should be offered every single day, in a variety. Mealworms alone, for example, might not be enough, especially if not fed every day.
This is a link to the safe food list here: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92557
And this is a link to one of my favorite guides on the site to use. I love to use it for reference, because the diet a hermit crab needs is very complex and specific. It really comes in handy: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92554

I am curious about what your water pools are like, as well.
What type of water dechlorinator do you use? And what kind of salt do you use for your saltwater?

As for naked crabbie, he's definitely put himself in a very time-sensitive situation. A naked crab is a vulnerable crab.
If the reason he dropped his shell was because he was too weak, I'd be surprised that he'd bury himself. So he could've dropped it for another reason.
It can be very dangerous to dig around for a crab, which is why I usually advise agaisnt it, but I think you could make an exception in this case, as long as your other crab is surfaced at the moment.