New crabs die molting...

[Tinyparrot]

I currently have only 1 hermit crab who I bought 2 or 3 years ago. I am aware that she would be much happier if she was in a group, but the 3 hermit crabs that I bought to keep her company all died while molting. What can I do to keep this from happening?

[soilentgringa]

Land hermit crabs are harvested from tropical beaches in other countries and shipped around the world in horrible conditions before they get to our homes.

They are placed under a tremendous amount of stress and usually fed pellets that are toxic or are watered with untreated waters that can also cause injury to their gills.

Because of everything they have been through, sometimes they just cannot survive in captivity.

We refer to this as Post Purchase Stress.

Molting takes a large amount of energy and resources, and the crabs produce a hormone called ecdysone (molting hormone). If they put off molting for too long because of poor conditions, this hormone can build up in their bodies and kill them.

If they haven't stored enough nutrients to sustain the molt, they could pass because they didn't have the energy to survive the process.

Filling out this template can also help us address areas of concern.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=46102


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[Tinyparrot]

The substrate is a mix of sand and coconut fiber about 3 inches deep. The humidity in the crabitat is usually about 60-65%, the humidity gauge is located in an area far from the water. The thermometer stopped working and I have yet to buy a new one, but since I live in Florida the temperature in the summer is rarely below 80% outside. There is a heating pad below the crabitat it is next to a window so the sunlight can heat up the tank. In the winter I usually wrap a blanket around the sides to keep the heat in. There are 2 clam shells filled with water, one fresh and one salt. I use zoo med hermit crab drinking water and salt water conditioner in the water. I normally feed my crab freeze dried krill and a mix of vitamins from The Hermit Crab Patch, but I will occasionally feed her fresh fruits and vegetables. I remove the fruits and vegetables the day after, I leave the krill in for about 3 days. My hermit crab is a purple pincher, the crabs that died molting were probably also PP's. My hermit crab molts about once every 1-2 months, the last time she molted was about 3 weeks ago. She is kept in a 10 gallon tank with a screen lid that I cover with Plexiglas to keep the humidity in. My crab is about the size of a fist. I had about 15 shells in the tank for the new crabs. I bought the new crabs around the time my room was being painted but I moved the tank to a small table outside the door to my room. Every few months I clean the tank by completely replacing the substrate and washing out the shells. I have a small sponge in my tank that isn't in the water dish but I occasionally dip it in dechlorinated water. The most recent addition to my tank is a large plastic rock.

I bought two hermit crabs 3 years ago, I named one Smiley and the other Fawkes. I put them both into my tank and they both immediately buried themselves to molt. Smiley came up from the molt, and after a month had passed I uncovered Fawkes to find nothing but an empty shell and bits of exoskeleton. Last year over Winter Break I decided to get some friends for Smiley. I brought two hermit crabs home from the pet store and named them Peanut Butter and Jelly. They were both in natural shells that seemed too small for them, and Jelly was missing half a leg and had already grown a gel leg. When I put them in the cage Jelly went under to molt immediately, Peanut Butter stayed above ground and after about a week I saw Peanut Butter motionless in the corner of the cage. I assumed she was surface molting so I panicked and covered her with dirt. Again, after a few months I found her decomposed exoskeleton. Later when my room was being painted Jelly went down to molt and never came up. I still can't bring myself to dig up her dead body which has probably also decomposed by now.