Not eating and not very active as far as I can see...

[Menders]

I have two PP crabs. One is under and one just came up from a molt. As far as I can tell, the newly molted crab (about 3 weeks) has not eaten or really moved from his spot in the coconut hut. There was a situation a few weeks ago where he came up and started digging all around. He apparently ran into two molters ( or that is what I think may have happened) and consumed them. I posted a emergency sheet when it happened, but there is nothing going on with my tank that would suggest that there is a reason for the issues at hand. All of the tank specs are on piint. I feed them Hermie's kitchen, fresh fruit and veg, cuttle bone is always available, the temp is between 80-84, the humidity is always 85-99, my humidity gage has been calculated and is accurate. I just put a new battery in it to be sure. the water treatment is instant ocean for salt. And Prime for fresh. I have sand that is sand castle consistency, food is changed regularly if it is fresh, and every couple of days for the dried Hermie's kitchen varieties of protein (duck, squid, pig, coconut, etc.) , Fluker's insect varieties, and I use honey . All foods are safe and according to guide lines. He has never really been one to be very active. But I know he loves dried shrimp and the other things I am offering. But he just wont move. The food looks untouched completely. What am I doing wrong? His tank mate is under. Even though he molted a couple of months ago, I guess he has decoded to go again. At first he was just digging non stop.but finally went down for good last month. Has anyone else had all of their stats on point but their crab never seemed to come out of his spot? I am starting to worry.


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[aussieJJDude]

Have you stayed up all night and seen if he just sits there, Remember, they are nocturnal animals so often they appear 'lifeless' during the day, but at night they do tend to move around a bit....

Each crab have their own personalities too, i have some thats like they on a constant sugar high, others who are sweet angels but as soon as lights go out, they morph in to tank terrors and then others who just dig 24/7 and i assume come up for food and water and then get back at it....

[elly_bananas]

Im having a similar issue tbh. Everyday he would be sleeping at the top of the driftwood in the morning and now he just sits on top of the spot i saw my other guy go down to molt over 3 weeks ago. Been 3 days, he just halted most activity. Im assuming/hoping its normal but it sure looks depressing lol.

Good luck i wish you all well and hope someone gives u comfort.

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[GotButterflies]

Just to clarify...Prime needs to be used for both freshwater and marine saltwater. You have to dechlorinate both of them. You stated that you only used Prime for your fresh water.

I know it is easier said than done, but try not to worry. I cannot remember how long you have had your hermit crabs, but I know this just comes with time. CRABS ARE WEIRD Don't obsess over them. You will drive yourself bonkers. Just being honest.

I have two crabs that started sleeping topside several weeks ago on the cork bark. (Separately). They watch me change the food daily. Sometimes they move, and sometimes they don't. However, when I go in at night they are all over the tank.

Try to relax and just enjoy the crabs, and that they are letting you see them during the day If your tank specs are on point and you aren't overcrowding...everything is more than likely fine

[CrabMater]

Hi. GB pretty much said what I was thinking. I would add: If all conditions are optimal, they're just having a cave party. No people allowed.

I do a daily food/crab/sniff check. And a nightly peek w/o entering the tank. Im sure your guys are fine.

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[Menders]

Just to clarify...Prime needs to be used for both freshwater and marine saltwater. You have to dechlorinate both of them. You stated that you only used Prime for your fresh water.

I know it is easier said than done, but try not to worry. I cannot remember how long you have had your hermit crabs, but I know this just comes with time. CRABS ARE WEIRD Don't obsess over them. You will drive yourself bonkers. Just being honest.

I have two crabs that started sleeping topside several weeks ago on the cork bark. (Separately). They watch me change the food daily. Sometimes they move, and sometimes they don't. However, when I go in at night they are all over the tank.

Try to relax and just enjoy the crabs, and that they are letting you see them during the day If your tank specs are on point and you aren't overcrowding...everything is more than likely fine

Thank you! Yes, I use prime in both salt and fresh. I didn't think to mention it because it has become second nature to just to treat everything with prime first. He is 1 of two smalls in a 30gal. The other one is down and molting again! My main concern is that he really hasn't touched food since his return topside 2 weeks ago. He is the only one up and I can tell the food is untouched. I have tried everything I could from the safe list and he just wont eat. unfortunately I am up almost all night every night and I check on him. But he just stayed in the coconut tree house.


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[GotButterflies]

Just to clarify...Prime needs to be used for both freshwater and marine saltwater. You have to dechlorinate both of them. You stated that you only used Prime for your fresh water.

I know it is easier said than done, but try not to worry. I cannot remember how long you have had your hermit crabs, but I know this just comes with time. CRABS ARE WEIRD Don't obsess over them. You will drive yourself bonkers. Just being honest.

I have two crabs that started sleeping topside several weeks ago on the cork bark. (Separately). They watch me change the food daily. Sometimes they move, and sometimes they don't. However, when I go in at night they are all over the tank.

Try to relax and just enjoy the crabs, and that they are letting you see them during the day If your tank specs are on point and you aren't overcrowding...everything is more than likely fine

Thank you! Yes, I use prime in both salt and fresh. I didn't think to mention it because it has become second nature to just to treat everything with prime first. He is 1 of two smalls in a 30gal. The other one is down and molting again! My main concern is that he really hasn't touched food since his return topside 2 weeks ago. He is the only one up and I can tell the food is untouched. I have tried everything I could from the safe list and he just wont eat. unfortunately I am up almost all night every night and I check on him. But he just stayed in the coconut tree house.


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Don't forget these little guys are foragers. They don't always eat just what we provide in their dishes They find other things to munch on throughout the tank Substrate, bark, coconut hut...you name it, they have probably tried it. Try not to worry.

[Menders]

Just to clarify...Prime needs to be used for both freshwater and marine saltwater. You have to dechlorinate both of them. You stated that you only used Prime for your fresh water.

I know it is easier said than done, but try not to worry. I cannot remember how long you have had your hermit crabs, but I know this just comes with time. CRABS ARE WEIRD Don't obsess over them. You will drive yourself bonkers. Just being honest.

I have two crabs that started sleeping topside several weeks ago on the cork bark. (Separately). They watch me change the food daily. Sometimes they move, and sometimes they don't. However, when I go in at night they are all over the tank.

Try to relax and just enjoy the crabs, and that they are letting you see them during the day If your tank specs are on point and you aren't overcrowding...everything is more than likely fine

Thank you! Yes, I use prime in both salt and fresh. I didn't think to mention it because it has become second nature to just to treat everything with prime first. He is 1 of two smalls in a 30gal. The other one is down and molting again! My main concern is that he really hasn't touched food since his return topside 2 weeks ago. He is the only one up and I can tell the food is untouched. I have tried everything I could from the safe list and he just wont eat. unfortunately I am up almost all night every night and I check on him. But he just stayed in the coconut tree house.


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Don't forget these little guys are foragers. They don't always eat just what we provide in their dishes They find other things to munch on throughout the tank Substrate, bark, coconut hut...you name it, they have probably tried it. Try not to worry.

Unfortunately, I have sad news to
report.:
Despite having all of my tank specs in order, providing a fresh and nutrient rich foods, and everything else needed to properly thrive, I noticed him in the shell shop, upside down with his legs up. He passed away some time this afternoon. I just don't understand what I am doing wrong. They all had come from the same shop at different times. We got him about 6 months ago. He had molted twice with us . The first time he molted, he came up with a deformity on his big claw. But it was fully functional. Around 3 months later, he molted again. He came up around two sizes larger than before. But he mostly stayed in the tree house (as explained above in OG post) after that. He was the one that we suspected killed the other two and ate them when he was coming up from a molt. We think that he happened upon them while they were molting.
I have alway provided my crabs with plenty of fresh food and Hermie's Kitchen varieties of food and protein. They have salt and fresh water pools that I use the recommended treatments to treat them with. The humidity and heat are on point. The tat is stable and has been for a year, with the help from all of the wonderful people on this app and the HCA site. At this point, regardless of having a fully functional tat with proper specs, the right food and water, proper sub, and more than enough room, I have lost all but one of our crabs. They came from Petsmart, with the exception of our first two that came from TN about a year ago. But those two passed within a couple of months of having them in proper conditions (fromPPS)We kept getting sick crabs that would die a day or two after getting them home from the store. They were all saves from the store. I know it sounds bad and like I must be missing something. But Ive filled out multiple emergency sheets over the last year and other than the fact that the crabs were rescued from dire pet store conditions, everything I am doing is supposedly exactly how I am supposed to do it according to the care instructions on this site and recommendations from the wonderful people here. The longest our crabs have lived were these two and we have had them for 6 months. I just don't understand. I thought that after the first molt they should be fine. But I have had my guys molt up to 3 times in 4 months and then pass. I wondered of Biggie may have fallen. He was upside down with his legs up on the air when I fount him. He fell out of his shell when I picked him up and he smelled of death. He looked normal with the exception of one strange thing. At the end of his abdomen. It was plump and healthy looking but he had a growth at the end of it with two tiny legs on each side of it. They looked like the legs that are on the inside of the shell at the beginning of the abdomen. But they were on the end. I have never seen anything like that. has anyone else ever seen that kind of growth? Im shocked that he passed. It doesn't seem to matter how good my tat is or how careful I am about what I feed. Every one of the crabs we purchase only lives a few months (even molts right away and more than once) dies after a couple of days, weeks, or in this case 6 months later. Biggie had a deformed claw after the first molt,but like I mentioned abouve; it was functional and he molted again and this time his claw was perfect. I thought the molt went well until he wouldn't eat and then when I noticed the tiny growth with legs at the end of his abdomen when he passed. Im really discouraged at this point.

[elly_bananas]

Oh man. Im so sorry for your losses. That must be tough. Im quite new to the HCA world of crabbin myself, nfortunately i have no advice, but i am truly sorry to hear of your struggles.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Oh Menders, I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time with your crabs dying!

I honestly think it's just that you've had bad luck with the crabs from that store.... possibly the crabs had been a long time in transport, or in bad conditions with the distributor? Perhaps they picked up a contageous disease that just slowly chipped away at their immune functions...
It's impossible to know. That's one of the things that can be so hard about keeping hermits.... most vets arent equipped to figure out what went wrong, and there are so many factors that can contribute to mortality! We mostly just guess at why our pets die in this hobby.

If you try adopting crabs you might have more success - crabs that have adapted to captivity somewhat are likely to be hardier... all of my crabs are buy/sell page finds (that I got for free) and I've had better luck than you, though I'm sure it isn't because I'm doing anything radically different.

As for the 'growth' at the end of the tail:



Sorry for the rough drawing, but it's the fastest way for me to describe the uropod & telson... they are anatomical features & quite normal. (The telson is even associated with a chirping sound made by... was it indos? Anyway, the crabs rasp the hard bits at the end of their abdomens against the inner pillar of their shells & it makes noises. It was discovered in a study by a Japanese biologist named Imafuku.)

If the crab looked like that, it's normal. If the 'growth' was mishapen, bumpy, discolored, or just asymmetrical (but not a pleopod), it may have been a harmful growth.
But I'd bet not, from your description.

[CrabMater]

Menders so sorry for your loss. i dont think its anything you're doing. sounds like the crabs are coming from a bad source. pet stores dont care about crabs physical let alone mental health. it's impossible to know the hard life they go thru before we get them. maybe try adoption as some one suggested. or at least change pet shops. Again, very sorry for all you've been through.

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[GotButterflies]

I'm really sorry to hear of your loss Menders! It sounds to me like you have just had a lot of crabs suffering from PPS. Being that tank specs are good, and it is within a year, it is safe to call it that. I'm sorry.


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