HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I think that maybe my favorite hermit crab, Madonna, who I have had for 8 years, has died. But, I can’t tell for sure.

About 3 weeks ago, my programmable humidifier malfunctioned, and basically dumped a ton of water in the area of the tank below the output tube. Madonna had dug down to molt right in that spot, about 7 weeks previously. Since Madonna is a little bit bigger than the size of a soft ball, her molts are rare, and usually last 3-4 months. She dug herself out of her molt cave, and we found Madonna resting on the surface. She had regrown all the hairs on her legs and claws, but was very pale and lethargic.

I moved her into our cork cave, but Madonna pretty quickly climbed out and settled in her favorite hangout spot. We decided to take a wait and watch approach, putting tempting high protein, high calorie food very close to her, like hard boiled eggs, freeze dried krill(a favorite), crushed pecans(another favorite), coconut oil, as well as various leafy greens. We also put egg shell, dried coral, and sea urchin shells very nearby, in case she hadn’t finished eating her exoskeleton. I immediately ordered some king crab exoskeleton too, which I thought might be a little bit closer nutritionally then coral and egg shell. We also pot a new shell nearby incase Madonna wanted to to change, which she did swap into about 2 days later. Basically, we set her up where she could have rode out the apocalypse, then left her alone, to not stress her out. At this point I didn’t know of anything else to do but watch and wait.


Madonna picked at the food, but her normal voracious appetite was nowhere to be seen. She was also still very lethargic. That was not like Madonna, because her usual behavior is to clamber all over the 18 inch climbing wall, hoard all the best food, and boss around the other crabs. But I didn’t think that there was much more we could do for her do but watch her closely, and intervene to intervene if any treatable complications came up.

After a couple of days, Madonna dug back down, presumably to de-stress and/or finish the molting process. But Madonna didn’t dig down very deep, and one of my tiny crabs disturbed her new cave, so she came back to the surface. She was still lethargic, and not eating much. In retrospect we should have moved Madonna into the isolation tank, but she always gets extremely stressed when she is moved, and won’t eat for long periods of time, so we thought it might be best to let her be, and not stress her out further.

Then about 5 days ago, Madonna walked all the way from one end of the 90 gallon habitat to the other, and submerged into the freshwater pool. She then climbed out and settled down right next to it. We thought Madonna had turned the corner, and initially she seemed better. She gathered some leaves from the forage pile, but we never saw her eat actually them, so we placed a variety of crushed nuts nearby(again,her favorite).

But then the next day Madonna basically stopped moving. Her antennas would move, and she would flinch a little if she was startled by something, but that was all. That brings us to yesterday. When I turned on the daylight bulbs yesterday morning, I found Madonna slumped mostly out of her shell, completely limp and unmoving. Her antenna were limp, and her eyes weren’t moving. She looked to me like she had probably died. My family and I checked on her many times throughout the day, but there has been no movement.

I went online to see if there was a way to tell if she had passed, but what I read said that it’s impossible to distinguish a surface molt from death, unless she stinks, or grows mold. It also said that if they are experiencing a surface molt, moving Madonna could kill her. I’ve never had a crab surface molt before, so I don’t know what that would look like. I’ve also never had a crab die on the surface, so I don’t know what that would look like either. Currently there is no odor or mold.

While I’m pretty sure Madonna has gone on to the forever beach in the sky, I want to be very sure before I remove her. Her body did slump a slightly more yesterday afternoon, but that’s been it. So, is there a way to tell if she has definitely died? I’ll be including my tank stats below
Thank you all in advance.
Urchin

PS
My elderly Grandmother, named her Madonna because she was always changing shells, and none of them ever fit. I like Madonna, and thought my Grandmother’s prudish take on her was hilarious, and the name stuck.

My tank stats:

I have 9 hermit crabs. 2 are jumbos and 4 are larges, 1 is a medium, and 2 are small. I’ve been keeping hermit crabs for 8 years. All of my crabs are adopted from families that couldn’t keep them. I have had no new additions in about 6 months.

My hermit crabs live in a 90 gallon habitat, which has 14 inches of sand and an 18 inch cork bark climbing wall, with platforms, several hides, and an 18 inch cholla wood climbing tree. My setup includes UltraTherm heaters, a heat lamp, a humidifier, and UVB light.

I have clean salt and fresh water available at all times, in containers large enough for my biggest to submerge in, with various items in it for my little ones to safely climb in and out. They have multiple natural shells in multiple sizes and varieties available at all times. What I feed my hermit crabs generally goes something like this: They always have additive free freeze dried krill, brine shrimp, blood worms, tubifex worms, and plankton available. They also get freeze dried salmon on occasion. They always have a grain available, so usually oats, but also sometimes barley, quinoa, wheat berries, or kamut. My crabs love millet sprays, so they always have organic millet sprays available. They get fresh veggies every night. They always have at least 3 varieties of green leafy vegetable, plus at least one other type of vegetable, usually whatever we are eating. They always have either coconut oil, honey or all natural peanut butter available. They always have dried fruit available, as well as getting some type of fresh fruit most nights as well. Again, generally whatever we are eating. They also get a variety of raw nuts, seeds, and hard boiled eggs a couple of times a month. To keep them from being bored, they have a large forage pile full of various leaf litter, dried grasses, hay, dried flowers, dried seaweed, nuts, seeds, and freeze dried veggies. We change up the composition regularly to keep them interested. I have dried coral, broken urchin shells sun bleached sand dollars and egg shells available at all times. I also have cholla wood, and pine cones available for them to nibble on and play with.
Thanks
Urchin

Hi there,

Unfortunately, it sounds like she has passed, I'm sorry. If she falls completely limp out of her shell when you pick her up, she's gone.
When all that water leaked, did you clean up the flood in the sand? Floods are considered an emergency and can be a danger to underground crabs. If you have to dig up crabs to clean the flood up you should. Just always be prepared to isolate any crabs that are molting when you find them.

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