crab molting? newbie crab owner looking for advice!

[charlotta07]

hi there! this is my first time ever using this forum so i hope i’m posting this in the right place. i’m a new hermit crab owner, i just got my first one a couple months ago. i fell into that whole tourist trap thing where they advertise crabs to be super low maintenance when in reality it’s a super ****** industry, and here i am now trying to give this crab the best life i can haha. i only have one crab, but i’ve heard many times that crabs are codependent so i plan to get a second one at some point, but i’m not really sure where. so if anyone has any pointers to that i would appreciate it! but onto my main question:

around 2-3 weeks ago, i updated my crab’s substrate so there’s a lot more, which means it’s even deeper than it was before (i wanna say around 5 inches???). i have a 10 gallon tank, and my crab is pretty small, i wanna say about the size of a golf ball. anyways, once i updated the substrate and his tank, i saw him once and then he disappeared and i have not seen him since. he’s a pretty active crab because i can hear him running around at night, and i can see the results of said activity the next day (little trail marks, knocking stuff over, sometimes but not often i see a tunnel system). he isn’t touching his food either, it actually grew a little bit of fuzzy mold so i had to clean that out. my mom keeps asking me if he’s dead and i try to reassure her (and myself) that he’s not and he’s probably just getting ready to or has already started molting. i’ve read up that molting can take months, and i do not want to bother it if that’s the case. i don’t really smell anything foul that would indicate he is dead, and i just got a heater for the tank which i needed (especially now that the colder months are creeping up). i guess what i’m asking is are there any before hand signs that a crab is going to molt that i could possibly retrace? are there any behaviors i should look out for in the future? i’ve only had this one for a couple months and i plan to get a little friend for him at some point, i don’t want it to have already passed away. (i’m a high schooler and i use my work money to buy things for him)

also, if you have any suggestions or just beginners tips for me, anything is greatly appreciated!


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[Altaccforhermitsssss]

If your crabbie is molting, he may be under there for a week, or two months it varies from crab to crab, if you hear the clanging and noises at night he is not actively molting, remember to have a heater( preferably a mat heater)or UTH and put on side to keep heat up, fresh and salt water, and a variety of foods( the preemade pellets are usually toxic with preservatives) carrots, apple, banana,chicken, lots of options. Also, im assuming you got some expensive sand from a pet store, but for next time, go to a home depot or hardware store, and most likely they will have playsand, for five Dollars. As long as its not treated with chemicals its a cheaper option, Hermes are very social, so get a new one about the same size this one, and extra shells( not painted or glazed). Good luck!

[curlysister]

Welcome to crabbing and to the site!
If you haven't already, check out our 'care sheets' section. Start with the 'basics' one - it has all the info you need, including a photo of a 10 gallon tank.
If your crab disappears and stays underground without coming up, don't try to dig him up, just leave him be and he will come up when ready. Keep putting a variety of food out, and he will take what he needs. He will need a source of calcium and protein daily. You can feed fresh foods from your kitchen, or buy dried foods.
It's okay if you don't get another crab - they aren't as social as was once believed. What used to be thought of as 'social' behavior is actually more 'resource sharing'. Crabs are fine alone, but if you do want to get another one, watch our adoption forum or local buy and sell pages. I have got all my crabs from local swap and shop sites.
What type of substrate are you using? Do you have a thermometer/ hygrometer yet, and if so how is your temp and humidity?