HCA: Hermit Crab Association

my hermit crab just fell out of its shell when i held him by its shell. that was 2 days ago. i thought it died and just left it its container with its shell to be sure but it already started to stink today so i know he died. I got him about 4 days ago and he was active when we got him. and i think it was due to stress to a new enviornment that killed him. Im still planning on building their tank and i think their too many in their container thats what also stressed them. and before he fell out of his shell, my mom held him and thought that he pinched her so she accidentally threw him to our table. after that i realized that he kind of became inactive, scared to go out of his shell, he looked like he lost his leg and he started to release a little water around him. and when i checked on him that day, he just fell off his shell and i feel so sad cuz i didn't know how to take care of them until 3 days ago n i feel like i didn't get to take care of him properly. but i was also wondering what if he was molting and i disturbed him? thats why he became weak and fell of his shell? or maybe it was shell evacuation? and i just left him in his container thinking he was dead when he would have still lived if i buried him in his substrate with his shell

also my other hermit crab that was small showed symptoms of molting so i left a shell at the surface and a few hours later he was already in his new shell and the other small shell was emty. Did the hermit crab finish molting or is it just the begining of his molt? since i saw a vid where it said that hermit crabs when they start their molt transfer to a smaller shell? thats how i understood it but idk if its correct

(i dont know what to do if their molting, do i bury the shell or keep it in surface)

another thing is im scared to now pick up my other hermits since i dont want to stress them and im scared they will just fall out of their shell too

the substrate i use is sand with some coconut husk i keep their container moist and warm and feed them daily

I just got them and am still researching and idk how to start with taking care of them. im going to make them a new tank soon and i dont want to over stress them by moving them around too much. what type of salt and fresh water should i put with them too. i really am just starting to learn about hermit crabs and i dont want to cause any of them more harm

Hermit crab death after purchase is common, and isn’t always easy to pinpoint. I do worry about how it was thrown on the table though, because hermit crabs are tough but can only take so much force to their bodies. Was it dropped from the hand or shaken or chucked?

As for molting, that is an underground process that can take a couple weeks. To accommodate, see our care sheet on substrate: viewtopic.php?t=92542

What you witnessed with the shells was only a shell exchange, similar to us changing clothes. You’ll see it occasionally if a crab sees a shell it wants to try on. Crabs do sometimes change shells before a molt but not with enough frequency to make it diagnostic, it varies by individual


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To add to what JoeHermits said, crabs do not leave their shell when they molt. So if you have deep enough substrate, they will bury themselves completely, shell and all. You don't need to do anything. Leave them alone underground, don't dig them up. They make a little cave underground, and stay there while they shed their exoskeleton and the new one hardens up - this can be weeks to months. They don't need any other food or water while they are underground. They are vulnerable to being harmed by other crabs while they are in the molting process, which is why it is important that a tank is not over crowded, and that the substrate is deep enough.
Also, your crab would not have lived if you had re-buried it under the substrate - and if it was molting, it would not have started to smell.
If you haven't had a look at the care sheets, be sure to do that. Start with the 'basics' one. It shows everything you need for a basic tank set up. There is also a care sheet that talks specifically about water. And one that tells how many crabs you can safely have in what size of tank.

Thank you very much for your replies. It seems like the other hermit crabs have somewhat distressed since they have been moving around the tank more and eating their food.