Havent seen crabs in months

[Ilovehermies74]

My crabs are dug down and they never come up its very worrying and they have been down for like 3 months.

[Ilovehermies74]

What should i do?

[CallaLily]

Can you give us some more information on your crabitat conditions and the crabs? It'll help give us a better idea on what may be going on.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

[Ilovehermies74]

It is sand and a little bit of the jungle bedding in the corner.

i have a temp gauge and its usually 80ish and it is very humid in there

i have one day heat lamp one night heat lamp and a heat pad on the back

there is fresh and salt and i use the all living things salt and an aqueon declorinator

i give them freeze dried blood worms shrimp and crill and various fruits and vegies frozen egg shells ocasionall honey and occasional home made hermit crab cookies cooconut and nuts as well.

My most recent adition was 3 months ago and the rest are all older from there the oldest at 7-8 months they are pp

i have had a few molts and the most recent that i saw was 3ish months ago

I have a 45 gallon regular fish tank with a homemade screen lid that i put duct tape over all of it except where the heat lamps are

a lot. probibly like 30

no, unless my deoderent counts

i take out all the stuff and rearange/clean anything that needs it about every 1-2 weeks and i last rinsed/replaced substrate about 4-5 months ago.

no

just sticks, but i always have had sticks in the tat

I have a moss pit and alot of stuff in there and it always is humid i dont take them out much. and i never dig them up or anything



Thanks:) hope you can help

[theornerycheese]

3 months doesn't seem like a long time unless they're little babies. Had a medium PP come up after almost 7 months so I wouldn't start worrying yet. Your setup seems fine.

edit: wait, do you mean 30 crabs in a 45? If so that is waaaaaaaaaaaaay overcrowded. Unless you meant shells.

[pandaincognito]

I have two that stay buried but they're fairly new. Shelldon is my only crab that surfaces on a daily basis.

[Ilovehermies74]

no i have 30 shels that would be waayyyyyy too many i have like 13\

[IMS]

My sister has a crab that only comes up once every couple months for 1-2 days and goes back down again. The crab is a large crab so she is most likely molting. Also, your crab(s) might just like being underground digging! Don't be worried unless the tank starts to smell.


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[Ilovehermies74]

ok thanks

[CallaLily]

I agree with the others but I do have a few questions and concerns. I'll number them by question.

1. How deep? Is it moistened?

2. No hygrometer? You'll really want to pick one up as soon as possible. It's best to know exactly how the humidity is than trying to guess. Too low humidity could explain inactive crabs.

4. The All Living Things hermit crab salt, while not necessarily harmful, doesn't contain all the elements found in sea water. You'll want a brand of salt mix that is sold for marine aquariums, like instant ocean. There's more info here: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92553.

But yeah, larger crabs stay under longer and some crabs just really like to dig.

[Ilovehermies74]

Its like 5-6 inches and moist

Ok thanks i had one it just broke

ok thanks