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?
6 in eco/sand mix...3 successful molts already

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?
Temp 75-78. Humidity between 77-83


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Uth on sides not underneath

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)?
Salt and fresh bubbler pools..instant ocean and fresh primer

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Fresh veggies, fruits, shrimp, etc...varied

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
5 pp since 5 months

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Had 3-4 molt..this one is on second molt..his first molt was in march to april

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
40g breeder glass lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 pp...small to med

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
15 to 20 shells

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

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Haven't yet but try to rearrange toys climbers etc every few weeks

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.

A molter accidentally was dug up because I was looking for buried shells the others were hiding and turning the soil up just to freshen things up a little. His cave collapsed. No iso tank so I put 2 liter top over him and sprinkled some cuttle bone in there. Created a barrier to protect him from others. Put fresh shrimp and blood worms for other crabs on opposite side of tank to entice them far away. I went to check on him and he has come out of his shell. His skin hasn't hardened yet but he is able to move around. Since he's in a different position from when I discovered him. He looks grayish pink so I'm assuming he already shed his old exo. Didnt actually see it because I didn't want to dig around and stress him out more since he's vulnerable. Will he go back in? How long should I wait? I feel so awful I don't want him to die! Please help.
.

Was there any exo with him when you dug him up?

A crab drops it's shell when it is too weak to carry it. Unfortunately, digging up a crab can cause a huge amount of stress. A naked crab will not survive. Check out the following care sheet for how to get him back into a shell.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=122302

I just checked on him..he did go back in..thank God..I seriously prayed for him. He buried himself a little further down. I added a little bit of sub on top of him through the top bottle part. Like a tablespoon full. Just enough to cover him all the way. I didnt pack it down. I am going to keep the bottle on him with the barriers along the side as well so nobody can get to him. It's a wide enough bottle that it should be encasing the exo.I think there may have been a tiny exo leg sticking up but not 100% sure. I was just looking through the bottle. I'll cross my fingers that he stays cozy and can finish eating what he needs to and resurface. Should I add a little more sub on him every day or no? Not sure if they can rebuild a cave. Pretty sure he's in a post molt stage since he's been down about 8 weeks. I knew I should have left the back tank corner alone. I've been so careful not to disrupt any of my crabs but I hadn't sprayed down or freshened up that corner in 3 months since it's hard to reach. Anything else I can do to help him successfully finish this molt?

No, do not re-bury him with sub. If he's moving around, you will want to give him a small amount of both fresh and salt water (I have used bottle caps before), and some good foods.
Crabs will move when they are underground, so you won't always know where they are. That's why it's best not to do any redecorating that involves pulling thing out of the sub or pushing them in, or digging up buried things, or fluffing up the sub.

Ok thank you so much for your help. I'll put bottle caps in there and more food. Just out of curiosity, since the majority of my sub mix is eco earth..how do I get rid of the poo? It's hard to see so I mix it into the top layer of earth to degrade. Is there something else I can do that's safer? That's what i was doing in the back corner because they like to bury their food too so i try to find bits of it before molding. I don't want to put bugs in my tank. I've read that some say the tank takes care of itself..which makes sense because they're scavengers. Should I just leave it all so this doesn't happen again? I'm still somewhat new to crabbing and want to take the best care of them.