What is my hermit crab doing?

[DrSlick]

I recently wanted to put my hermit crab for adoption on this site. But there were no adopters around me. So I decided to invest in these interesting creatures. I put him/her in a 33 gallon tank. Bought a pack of coco fiber and play sand and mixed them and wet it. Got a couple of dishes for food and water, a climbing stick and made a makeshift hut for it. And also got it a friend. Before I move it I had barely any sand and all it tried was digging, the sand level was too low and kept scratching the glass. So now that I moved it in the big tank. He has crawled in the hut and has dug himself in. Almost about the dept of his shell. Is he/she ok? Should I be concerned? Only reason why I'm nervous is because the new one (the little one) is active and doing laps around the tank. Please help!

[Momadopolis]

Mine dig like that all the time. My Squidward is always dug about 1 inch down and all you can see is the top of his shell. He comes out when I'm not around and eats/drinks etc then goes right back to his spot and digs in for the next 20+ hours.

[DrSlick]

It's been todays

[Momadopolis]

Are you absolutely sure he's not more active while you're sleeping? They are nocturnal and quite often don't come out during the day. I very very rarely see any between 7 am and 9 pm. Then on the weekends I sleep in the living room (no nurse) and hear shells clinking on the glass and stuff being moved and knocked over.


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[DrSlick]

I'm a 21 year old gamer haha. I'm up all hours of the night and he hasn't moved since :/

[Momadopolis]

How deep is your substrate?


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[DrSlick]

About 3 times as deep as my biggest crabie's shell

[Momadopolis]

Is it sandcastle consistency? If it is sand you could smooth it out around him and then the next day check for crab tracks. That's really shallow for molting. Maybe give it a week (as long as the other crab isn't bothering him) and see if he has moved.


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[DrSlick]

The sand around him had mounded up from his burrowing in the hut I have in the corner. And the other crab doesn't seem to like the hut very much. But I shall certainly put a wall since he's dug up in the corner

[Momadopolis]

You probably don't have to isolate him at this point. He could just be destressing. He was moved to a new tank and has a new tank mate. Mine don't like change at the beginning and after a move I won't see most of them for a while. I really wouldn't worry about it, he sounds normal.


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[DrSlick]

Alright thanks. He seemed normal when I placed him in alone. He was moving around and exploring. But now he's huddled. Thought maybe he wanted to molt or something. Was nervous since this is my first time having a hermit crab. Wanted these little guys to be happy

[Momadopolis]

They usually dig deeper to molt unless something is wrong, then you've got a surface molt. It's only been 2 days? I don't think it'd be a problem to pick him up and see for yourself if you're that worried. It might stress him out more if he's already stressed or it could just annoy him because he's been bothered. But if he's molting then you've got to deal with that.


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[soilentgringa]

The best thing for you to do is leave him alone. Don't handle him at all. Make sure your crabitat temp is at least 80°F and the humidity is no less than 75% although low 80's would be better.
He is probably destressing after changes were made to his environment. Further handling will just cause him more agitation.

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[DrSlick]

Ah in re: to above post;

he was soaking in salt water and fresh water for about a day and a half and completely emptied the salt dish, ate about 2 whole pellets of food. Didn't get a change to look at eyes or exo. Now that he's in his hole, like you said, I'd rather not touch em. He has been awake though, i hear he scratching on the glass (since he's in the corner). I've cornered him off so the other little crab doesn't get at him. Put some food and water in the corner in case he does decide to come out and i'm not home.