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?

Eco earth and one 50lbs bag of play sand
6-8 inches

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?

79°F
85%

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

It's and under the tank heater attached to the side


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 water pools with bubbles
I use api for Salt and prime for both

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

A lot of different things from hermit grub and fresh fruits and veggies
Sometimes peanut butter if energy seems low

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

Almost 1 year (got him off of Facebook market place)
I'm pretty sure he's a purple pincher

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

Yes he came up almost two months ago I believe

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

He is kept in a 10 gallon by himself and I use a glass aquarium lid

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

Onky peanut

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

Right now I have so many
I have about 5 that are his size, 4 that are a little bigger, and one that was his shell he came in

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

If anything a room freshener but I keep a blanket over the lid

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

I spot clean when needed and I'll clean out the pools when I see they aren't clean anymore . I don't really have a set cleaning date

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?

New shells from my 40 gallon but they were cleaned

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 came up from his molt looking pale and not moving a lot and so I made a post and people suggested to put him in an iso and that's what I did. He became a lot more active and was eating and moving a lot more then he had been.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

We went on vacation for April break and i had a friend come in and feed my crabos a couple times during the week and when we came back I noticed he was hanging out in his shell shop naked. I misted him a little bit to make sure he was alive and to keep his abdomen moist. When I came back up to see if he'd pick a shell (cause I thought maybe he was just trying to clean one) he was naked on top of his coconut hut. So then I went down to my other tank to grab more shells to have more options and he had moved to another area of the tank hiding. So I took the 5 new cleaned shells and put them around him.

I do know about the re shelling process but every time I've done it it's been unsuccessful and because he's in an iso I wasn't stressing about other crabs getting him

I also made it so the lights are darker cause im trying to not stress him too much


So then later that night his was in a shell!! But it was the one that was small and he was kinda hanging out of it (I didn't realize how small it was for him) but he didn't stay in it long. This morning he had switched shells again to a bigger one and he was just sitting there. So after school I went to check on him again and he's now hanging more then half way out of this shell too. I sprayed his tank again and went back down and I just went to check on him again and he ditched his shell and is now naked on his coconut again. So I sprayed peanut again and now I'm here and I have no idea what to do.

Please lmk if I can do anything else tysm


.

Put a coffee cup with him and some shells under it to encourage him to pick a shell, as well as some honey in a bottle cap for energy
There's a chance that he maybe didn't fully molt and or the friend maybe didn't fully care for peanut (not an accusation, just an observation!!!)
Hermit crabs drop their shells when they're too weak to carry them. Give him lots or protein and look up recipes for "energy mixes" which is usually shrimp, or small animals like blood worms wkth peanut butter honey and sometimes cooked egg to help them

Ok thank you

He's now just sitting in his coconut shell shop and I can't move him out do I just put some peanut butter near him?

Include honey and some blood worms if you have them, mine love them. If possible spray the food with some safe water near him, if possible in the coconut hut

Your crab will die without a shell, the priority should be to get him in a shell. Use the method described, just him and a few shells (including the one he was wearing when he went naked) in a small container, cover so it's dark and wait an hour. He should not have anything to distract him, just the shells so he gets into one. Then you can give him some high energy foods.
What kind of shell was he in? What kinds of shells are you offering?