first molt and advice needed

[Hermione]

hi everyone! my rescue crab, Hermione, came up last night from her molt! She is my first hermit crab and I found her in the garbage (literally) back in August. So she has been under the substrate presumably molting and de-stressing for a good 6+ weeks and this morning I noticed the tank is a mess and she is wearing the biggest spare shell! It seems that she ditched her prior shell in the cave since I don't see it. Is it a bad sign if she came up naked and took a new one? Is it possible that she has grown 2 shell sizes since I found her? She was in a painted ping pong size when i found her and immediately ditched it for a natural golf ball size turbo. Now she is in an even bigger turbo! I haven't seen her new body yet but I feel like she must have grown significantly. My next question is: is it safe to drop the cash to upgrade her habitat this week? I found her in a 5 gal critter keeper and thats where she has molted. I know she needs a big tank and some friends, but I didn't purchase that stuff yet because I was afraid she wouldn't survive since I found her in such atrocious conditions. Any advice on tank size and building a small colony is greatly appreciated. I'm hooked!!!

[soilentgringa]

She needs at least a 10 gallon tank and a buddy. Hermit crabs are social creatures, despite the name. Petco is still having it's dollar per gallon sale so a 20 gallon would be $20 and a great investment.
Yes, they can grow significantly during a molt and always need at least 3-5 shells per crab in incrementally larger sizes and shapes that they prefer. PP's like turbo, magpie, murex...
Here is a link to our care guide so check it out if you have a chance and welcome to HCA!

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92457

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