MOLTING ISSUE?!?
Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 8:40 pm
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? 4-5 inches. Loose coconut fiber and sand mixture.
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? No, it broke a week ago - but its usually 70-80 degrees and around 50-80% humidity (depending on time of day and when I spray it down)
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? yes, I use heat pads on one side of my 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. I use all living things water conditioner.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? replaced every couple days. They get a good plate of nutrition (proteins - like dried krill, dried shrimp, mealworms; fruits & veggies- like apples, carrots, blueberries, spinach; calcium - like eggshells or crushed oyster shells; other - like hemp seeds, chia seeds, safe flowers)
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Had it for about a year. I'm not sure what species it is.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Not yet- this would be its first molt.
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 four crabs, and they're in a 50 gallon EXO TERRA tank with a mesh lid.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 4. One large, three medium.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? about 13 shells
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? no
12. How often do you clean the tank and how? every six months
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.)? this crab I will be talking about below is my shy crab. He comes out to eat when no one else is out eating. He's like an introvert basically.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. One of my medium sized crabs decided to molt above the substrate (it's his first molt since I've had him - I picked him up at a beach side store last year). Because there are three other crabs in the tank, I covered the molting crab with a 2L bottletop to keep others from harming him. The crab seems to be about 1 week into the molt, and he has shed a good majority of his exoskeleton. However, during the molt, he seems to have completely taken off his large claw and another leg. On top of this, he 'woke up' in the middle of the molt and attempted to find an escape from the bottle's boundaries - clearly he wasn't expecting to be surrounded by a bottle upon waking up. He still has some exoskeleton that hasn't come off a couple of his legs and are just attached to him. I decided to move him and the remaining exoskeleton that was in the substrate into an isolation tank. He is currently in the ISO tank, BUT I just want to know if 1) this is normal during a molt? This has never happened with my other crabs - they have all molted under substrate. 2) will he continue to molt in this ISO tank? (and ideally shed the rest of the exoskeleton that is stuck onto his legs) 3) Will he grow back the legs he took off? (and did he take them off because of the stress of the above-substrate molt?) 4) did I disrupt his molt by moving him?
PLEASE give me any advice or info. I am so worried.
.
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? 4-5 inches. Loose coconut fiber and sand mixture.
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? No, it broke a week ago - but its usually 70-80 degrees and around 50-80% humidity (depending on time of day and when I spray it down)
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? yes, I use heat pads on one side of my 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. I use all living things water conditioner.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? replaced every couple days. They get a good plate of nutrition (proteins - like dried krill, dried shrimp, mealworms; fruits & veggies- like apples, carrots, blueberries, spinach; calcium - like eggshells or crushed oyster shells; other - like hemp seeds, chia seeds, safe flowers)
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Had it for about a year. I'm not sure what species it is.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Not yet- this would be its first molt.
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 four crabs, and they're in a 50 gallon EXO TERRA tank with a mesh lid.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 4. One large, three medium.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? about 13 shells
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? no
12. How often do you clean the tank and how? every six months
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.)? this crab I will be talking about below is my shy crab. He comes out to eat when no one else is out eating. He's like an introvert basically.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. One of my medium sized crabs decided to molt above the substrate (it's his first molt since I've had him - I picked him up at a beach side store last year). Because there are three other crabs in the tank, I covered the molting crab with a 2L bottletop to keep others from harming him. The crab seems to be about 1 week into the molt, and he has shed a good majority of his exoskeleton. However, during the molt, he seems to have completely taken off his large claw and another leg. On top of this, he 'woke up' in the middle of the molt and attempted to find an escape from the bottle's boundaries - clearly he wasn't expecting to be surrounded by a bottle upon waking up. He still has some exoskeleton that hasn't come off a couple of his legs and are just attached to him. I decided to move him and the remaining exoskeleton that was in the substrate into an isolation tank. He is currently in the ISO tank, BUT I just want to know if 1) this is normal during a molt? This has never happened with my other crabs - they have all molted under substrate. 2) will he continue to molt in this ISO tank? (and ideally shed the rest of the exoskeleton that is stuck onto his legs) 3) Will he grow back the legs he took off? (and did he take them off because of the stress of the above-substrate molt?) 4) did I disrupt his molt by moving him?
PLEASE give me any advice or info. I am so worried.
.