HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have a tiny crab that buried itself for 2 weeks, and came out a few days ago. He looks pale, cant flip his shell over, and has been relatively inactive since. He was eating and drinking but with minimal movement. 2 days ago I found him out of his shell. I put his shell next to him and he took it within minutes. I moved him to the middle of tank, placed 2 similar sized shells, with a bottlecap of dechlorinated water and a couple foods like organic mango, blueberry, leaf little, bee pollen and crushed up cuttlebone. He has moved about an inch in the last 24 hours. He has been isolated since so our other crab wont take advantage.

It's been about 3 months since his last molt- he was eating alot so we think he was ready to molt, but he buried himself right before a heatwave started. At one point, our tank was reading over 90F. I started putting icepacks in the tank to cool them down and now the temp has stabilized. Our other, slightly larger crab has been fine throughout all of this.

Could that much heat have done that much damage to him?
Any advice on how to help him out?


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?


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


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


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


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?


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.


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I dont know how to help but i hope your hermie is okay. keep HCA updated. Goodluck!

Can you fill out the emergency template so we can get a better look into your tank conditions?

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Substrate is 5:1 play sand:eco earth

I have 2 gauges that read temp and humidity on either side of the tank, one closer to the back, one towards the front. Temp has been around 80, humidity over 90.

I have a heat pad from the Bean Farm on the back wall, above the substrate.

We have fresh and salt water treated with aqueon, and instant ocean salt prepared as instructed. We made 1 gallon of each for easy prep.

They are fed all organic foods, usually apple and blueberry, although we've tried a bunch of other produce which they have been uninterested in. We also feed them cricket, mealworms, variety of organic and unsalted nuts, and dried fruits. We replace it once it starts getting extremely moldy (3-4 days).

We got 2 carribeans 5 months ago

They both molted around the same time 3 months ago, both buried for 4-5 weeks.

They are in a 10gal tank with a mesh lid sealed with plastic wrap.

We have 2 crabs, unsure of exact size, but on the smaller end. One had a 3/4 shell opening. The smaller one with the problems has about 1/2 inch shell opening.

We have 4-5 shells for each crab.

No fumes or chemical, just extreme, LA heat

I dont clean the tank, other than picking out old moldy food with a "hermit crab pooper scooper"

No sponges, nothing new has been recently added.

The last time they molted, I know they were relatively inactive, but after a few days, they were more active than ever. My second, larger crab has been fine and super active. They are usually most active at night, but the little one with the problem does come out for food during the day, which he now has stopped eating for 2 days.

A 10g tank is a very tiny box for animals used to traveling for miles every night. You don't say how deep your substrate is. A little over 90 degrees F is not too hot for PP's, especially if it didn't last long. I'm not sure about icing the tank to bring the temp down; that's kind of extreme?

Generally a crab going without a shell is a really bad sign. It is possible that so much damage was done to this crab in the process of being captured and abused into captivity that he was not able to recover in that first molt. But it also sounds like this molt may have been interrupted for some reason. You say he "looks pale," and was only down for 2 weeks, when the previous molt took about 5 weeks, so it sounds like he did not actually molt. Maybe the other one accidentally dug him up or something else caused him to surface before he could molt. If that is the case, you might want to treat him like a surface molt and iso him.

DragonsFly wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 26, 2021 6:22 pm

A 10g tank is a very tiny box for animals used to traveling for miles every night. You don't say how deep your substrate is. A little over 90 degrees F is not too hot for PP's, especially if it didn't last long. I'm not sure about icing the tank to bring the temp down; that's kind of extreme?

Generally a crab going without a shell is a really bad sign. It is possible that so much damage was done to this crab in the process of being captured and abused into captivity that he was not able to recover in that first molt. But it also sounds like this molt may have been interrupted for some reason. You say he "looks pale," and was only down for 2 weeks, when the previous molt took about 5 weeks, so it sounds like he did not actually molt. Maybe the other one accidentally dug him up or something else caused him to surface before he could molt. If that is the case, you might want to treat him like a surface molt and iso him.

Half of my tank is substrate, so about 6 inches. I know 10 gal is small, we've been keeping an eye out on tanks to upgrade but we were considering just building up by buying another 10gal and taking the bottom off. The crab has seemed happy and healthy, hes been active, loves eating, climbs rocks and sticks up until this past week. Someone suggested to me to use ice packs which is why I start doing it. Ive read heat over 90 can cause irreversible damage, thats why I was worried. Hes been in iso for 2 days, gave him new food and water today and he started eating which is more than hes done. He was still struggling to flip his shell when he tripped over something, so hes still very weak.

If he is staying in his shell and eating, maybe he'll be okay. That's a hopeful sign, anyway. He may or may not need to complete a molt; just keep conditions good and keep an eye on him.

Building up with another 10g is a good short-term idea (obviously not while one is having trouble, if your iso is in the 10g).

For the longer term: I traded up to a 120g high by scouring online "yard sale" and craigslist-type sites for cheap tanks. Found 2 30g tanks, one with stand, for $20; they were filthy, totally encrusted with old algae, which is why nobody wanted to buy them, but I scoured them out and sold them, one for $20 and the one with the stand for $40; took that $60 and bought 2 used bowfronts; cleaned those and sold them for more than I paid for them, kept trading up and trading up until I ended up with a 120g high and stand that I basically paid $100 for. Took me about 4 months total, I think, maybe 5. Lesson learned: if you are willing to put in the time and effort and be patient, you can accomplish pretty amazing things.