Is my crab Dying, or just shy?? New crab owner here

[HermieHomie56]

Hi everyone!
Can I start by saying how grateful I am that I found this forum. My children and I just purchased two hermit crabs, George and Hermione. I have never owned hermit crabs in my life and I was shocked when I found out the immense care they need, but once I did my research I was able to provide them with everything required. Currently, George seems to be acclimating to his new home fairly well. He is climbing, roaming, eating and drinking through the night. He used to be very shy but now does not shy away when I peak my head into the tank to check on them.

Hermione on the other hand has me concerned. Initially she seemed to be doing well. she was doing a lot of walking and roaming, but as soon as I transferred her into the new tank, she immediately burrowed under the substrate and only comes out for 1-2 hours at night. I never see her during the day. When she comes out at night she does not move around much. she will eat and drink and then return to her spot in the substrate. I read up on molting, but I am not sure if this is what she is doing. During the day George will sometimes make his way over to the spot where Hermione is buried and will just stay there for minutes at a time. He never digs her up. but will just kind of hover.

I would like to point out that both of these crabs were purchased from the beach. Hermione was very active in the small little metal kits that they send them home in and George was not. But now it is as if they switched. George has even changed out of his toxic painted shell and into a new natural one, while Hermione will not come out of her pink painted shell even though there are 5 extra shells provided. I read about post purchase stress, but she comes out ever night to eat and drink, then just goes right back to her little hole.

can someone please help? I am very worried. My kids keep asking me if she is going to die and I have no idea what to say. Should we begin preparing for her imminent death? Or are there other methods I can try to help her thrive and survive??

Thanks!
-HermieHomie

[KyMart]

Hi everyone!
Can I start by saying how grateful I am that I found this forum. My children and I just purchased two hermit crabs, George and Hermione. I have never owned hermit crabs in my life and I was shocked when I found out the immense care they need, but once I did my research I was able to provide them with everything required. Currently, George seems to be acclimating to his new home fairly well. He is climbing, roaming, eating and drinking through the night. He used to be very shy but now does not shy away when I peak my head into the tank to check on them.

Hermione on the other hand has me concerned. Initially she seemed to be doing well. she was doing a lot of walking and roaming, but as soon as I transferred her into the new tank, she immediately burrowed under the substrate and only comes out for 1-2 hours at night. I never see her during the day. When she comes out at night she does not move around much. she will eat and drink and then return to her spot in the substrate. I read up on molting, but I am not sure if this is what she is doing. During the day George will sometimes make his way over to the spot where Hermione is buried and will just stay there for minutes at a time. He never digs her up. but will just kind of hover.

I would like to point out that both of these crabs were purchased from the beach. Hermione was very active in the small little metal kits that they send them home in and George was not. But now it is as if they switched. George has even changed out of his toxic painted shell and into a new natural one, while Hermione will not come out of her pink painted shell even though there are 5 extra shells provided. I read about post purchase stress, but she comes out ever night to eat and drink, then just goes right back to her little hole.

can someone please help? I am very worried. My kids keep asking me if she is going to die and I have no idea what to say. Should we begin preparing for her imminent death? Or are there other methods I can try to help her thrive and survive??

Thanks!
-HermieHomie

It sounds to me like she is destressing and coming up for food and water! Some crabs are stubborn about shells, so don't stress it too much! I would recommend providing more options and ready the shell info sheet to find preferred shells for ur PPs! More shells is always better in my opinion (unless there are so many that they can't walk in the tank )! From what you said about her being active in the metal kit she came in, I would say that, that activity was due to stress from an improper habitat. Now that she has the right conditions, she is destressing, and coming up for food and water! This is a good thing for her, she is adjusting in her own way (by destressing), and she will come up eventually! Don't loose faith in her, she's got this! Rooting for her and George!

[HermieHomie56]

Wow! your optimism is giving me so much hope! should I be concerned about George hovering around her spot? I'm not sure if he is just lonely.
Also, I am buying a new 20 gallon tank tomorrow. Should I transfer her over even though she is buried or should I wait and give her more time to adjust?
Thank you so much for your reply!! I feel more optimistic. I will make sure to keep you posted on how she does!

[curlysister]

Welcome to crabbing and to the site!
It sounds like you are off to a great start! To me, it sounds like both your crabs are doing fine so far! How long have you had them? It is very normal for a crab to bury underground - if they are molting, they will disappear for weeks at a time (or even months!) and not come up to the surface at all. It is important to just leave them be, and not dig them up when they are underground. Sometimes they dig just for fun, or to de-stress.
The best thing you can do for them is to provide good tank conditions (heat and humidity around 80F and 80%), appropriate substrate (play sand and/or eco earth, moistened with dechlorinated water so it holds it's shape, and 2-3 times as deep as your largest crab), fresh and salt waters (dechlorinated tap water for the fresh, then add marine salt for the salt), and a varied diet that includes protein and calcium daily. If you haven't already had a look at our care sheets, start with the 'basics' one, it gives all the info you need.

[KyMart]

Wow! your optimism is giving me so much hope! should I be concerned about George hovering around her spot? I'm not sure if he is just lonely.
Also, I am buying a new 20 gallon tank tomorrow. Should I transfer her over even though she is buried or should I wait and give her more time to adjust?
Thank you so much for your reply!! I feel more optimistic. I will make sure to keep you posted on how she does!

Nah, when I had two crabs my medium male did the same thing with my teeny female (back when they where the only two), he never dug her up just waited for her to come back up so they could cuddle. 🥺 Since she is coming up and going back down regularly, I would recommend waiting until she comes back up for water and food before moving her, I feel that this is the safest since she will be back up soon! I recommend getting a 50 lbs bag of playsand at the hardware store, it's like $5, and works great as substrate! You're very welcome, I'm so glad I could help! And please do, with both of them, I would love to hear how they are doing! Feel free to PM me updates!

[HermieHomie56]

Thanks so much guys. I have been so worried about her. We purchased both crabs Thursday August 10th, and we actually got the tank that same day even though we were at the beach although the initial tank was one of those starter tanks that comes with sand and just little hermit crab pellets. After spending basically the entire night researching I ran back to PetSmart the next day to buy them substrate and provided them with a fresh food diet, tank heater, salt water and fresh water both dechlorinated, etc. So since Friday August 11th they have had ideal conditions. That is the same day Hermione started to burry. I also noticed that she actually fully covers herself with the substrate. Early in the evening she will come up slightly so that just her shell is showing and then around 11:00pm she will fully come out for about two hours then will completely bury herself again. Tonight she even used a plastic leaf that was in the tank as added coverage lol

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement and good vibes.

[HermieHomie56]

Hi everyone! I know it has been a while but I have been extremely busy!

I just wanted to give an update on George and Hermione. They seem to both be doing well. Everyone was right, Hermione was simply adjusting. She comes out of her littler corner even during the day sometimes! I love watching her climb around. I am happy to announce that Hermione also changed her shell! I kept rotating between a few shells but I think the initial ones were too large. I placed 4 medium shells in the tank last night and woke up this morning and she switched!!

I try to leave them alone as much as possible because sometimes even if I just peek in the tank Hermione will get skittish and go hide in the substrate for a few hours. George seems to care less lol

Thanks everyone for the help!!!

[curlysister]

Right on! Great to hear.
Even after 13 years, one of my crabs is much more shy than the other one.