Help, injured hermit crab!

[Tina.b07]

So I have 2 hermit crabs, Patty and Krabby. Patty molted almost 2 months ago (7 full weeks) and Krabby did nothing to bother her at all while she was under. Well almost 6 weeks ago, Krabby went under. She’s been showing signs that she wants to visit him but we covered up the area very well so she couldn’t get down. Tonight we came home to chaos. She dug right on top of him and was on his shell. His shell was empty so we took her out and the shell out and found his super limp injured body (very careful removed him so he didn’t suffocate). I think she bit him on his butt area because there is red liquid coming out. I moved him into a tupperware container with sand extra shells and some cuttlebone. I kept him in the same tank with a box around the outside of Tupperware so it’s dark and he still gets the humidity and temperature. He is super limp, can’t walk or stand up straight. His body has harden, (I think he was done his molt completely) and super bright colors. He was naked out of his shell for almost 3 hours with no movement. I lightly washed him off with a qtip and gently let him fall into his shell. If I moved him around he falls out of it. He moved his legs a little bit but even his pinchers aren’t pinching. There’s no smell and his antennas aren’t moving at all. He’s a biter so That scares me. Im afraid he’s going to die. His butt area has a mark with red liquid oozing out. It stop after I coated it with salt water. He’s alive for now I think, but idk what else to do. Any suggestions? How do I know if he dies? Thanks again!

I have had them both for almost 2 years.
Both first time molting.
Pattys normally the good girl.
Humidity is always at 75%
Temperature is always at 80.
They get plenty of variety of food!
Sand and coconut fiber are perfect.

[curlysister]

If you have had your crabs for two years and this is the first time they have molted, that is very concerning. It is also very concerning that one crab dug up the other one - generally if the tank is large enough and the substrate is deep enough, that will not happen.
Unfortunately, this does not sound good for your crab. All you can do is keep him comfortable in the appropriate heat and humidity. If he will eat a high energy food like honey or peanut butter, that might help. But to be honest, I am sorry to say that it does not sound like he is going to make it.

[Tina.b07]

We’ve had them since July 2021. Patty started her first molt this year (15 months after we got them) and Krabby started his 7 weeks after her. I think they were both freshly molted when we got them. We have a 50 gallon tank with 10 inches of sand and coconut fiber on the other side! They live like royalty lol. Well unfortunately my little guy didn’t make it. We had him isolated and did everything we could. The wound was on his butt and he bled out within a day. (Well their bloody goo consistently). I made sure to wait until the smell took over. We found her on top of his shell and his body next to it molting. I figured she went digging to get his shell and must of stabbed him with her claw. I’m so sad this happened but I think I should wait to get a new friend for her until she settles. What’s your take on getting another? Those two lived really well together and never had issues.

[curlysister]

Totally up to you whether you get another - crabs do fine on their own, and also do fine with friends. What used to be thought of as 'social' behavior is now known to be more 'resource sharing' behavior.
How many extra shells did you have, and what type are they? Is the sub that deep in the whole tank? What did you mean that you 'covered up the area really well so she couldn't get down'? How large are they? The whole situation sounds really odd to me, sorry for so many questions. Crabs often move after they are underground, all but really huge jumbo crabs should have molted sooner than a year and a half, crabs don't generally go looking for another crab if the sub is deep enough that they can't smell them, etc.

[Tina.b07]

Their prob about 3-5 years old. Medium size-large shell size. She’s a little smaller then he was. All non painted shells. The sand/fiber is about 7 inches deep (we were going to redo it and make it deeper until they started molting). She kept trying to go down and visit him (she’s always been super clingy and loves to snuggle and be around him). So we put sea shells over top of the sand (we knew exactly where he went and he didn’t leave any big openings). And put a log over top of the seashell so she couldn’t move as we were wrong. We should of moved her to another tank but I didn’t want to scare her by changing habitats for 7 weeks. There’s prob about 11 shells diff sizes. She changed shells right before she dug down to him. I’m fine with the questions, only helps me learn more! I’ve been doing research on them since we got them. Their habitat is a 50 gallon tank so there’s plenty of room and hiding spots everywhere. Idk why she did it either. I wonder if she smelled his molt? She either bit or clawed him right on his butt area and damaged him. He bled completely out within a day. Also I don’t want her to get lonely, I’ve read both ways that they can get lonely or be fine by themselves. I’m afraid if we get another one that they’ll fight or not like eachother. I don’t want to loose her too. Their my little babies!