HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello guys i have been having problems with one of my crabs. I found him last week in a corner with no shell and he seems very pale colored white. I put him in a container alone with 3 shells and he did end up getting in one. I let him eat and thought he was fine. However I found him again out his shell 2 days ago. I coached him into one after a while. He was finally walking about today and I was getting happy. However about ten minutes ago I see him going across the habitat without a shell again.....what is going on?!
I feel like he is really weak so he can't carry the shell? Idk....I offered him light shells but he didn't seem to like them. I have like 30 choices so I'm not sure what else to do.....

I've had my crabs over two years so is he just possibly getting old and dying?

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. Thanks!

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.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Taken from the http://www.hermit-crabs.com website.

Though it's your first instinct, don't panic. Run your hands under water to remove any perfume and/or hand lotion. Try the GLASS CUP METHOD. This is something that I made up that works wonderfully.

Take the naked crab and dip him in water to wash the substrate off him. Then rinse out his old shell. Put him and his shell into a glass cup together, and put into the isolation tank and leave him alone. It keeps him from running around frantically (as naked crabbies do) and conserves his energy. Besides he is in close quarters with his shell and can't walk away from it. I've been using this method for two years now, successfully.
A second method is to calmly pick up the naked crab and dip him (and his shell of choice) into dechlorinated water and, using your finger, try to gently curl his abdomen into the shell. If he doesn't like the idea and pops out of the shell, set him down and take a good look at the shell. Put your fingertip down inside it to make sure there are no protrusions or anything which would irritate or poke his abdomen. Then, try again to place him into the shell. If you still don't have success, try a new shell the same size as his previous shell. If that doesn't work, get him into a shell that is larger. Do not under any circumstances force him into a shell that it too small or uncomfortable for him. He is already under tremendous stress, and forcing him into a shell he does not want to enter may put him into shock and eventually death.
But WHY? It is my experience that crabs streak (go naked) because of the following things:

Shell Fights "Shell fights occasionally occur among wild and pet hermit crabs and can often be detected because of chirping sounds. From a position slightly above the defending crab's shell, an attacking crab seizes the defending crab with its walking legs and rapidly rotates it back and forth. While doing this, the attacker's claws are usually inside the opening of the defending crab's shell. This shaking often drives the defending crab from the shell that the attacker wants. Practically leaping out of its shell, the loser waits and enters the victor's shell. Typically, neither crab is harmed and both might get a better-fitting shell."Taken from Hermit Crabs: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual, by Sue Fox

Environment Too Hot I've seen crabs react to hot temperatures by having sequential shell fights down the 'intra-tank-pecking-order' until the weakest crab was left naked. This was because the crabs required a thinner shell to aide in cooling their abdomens. Keep a close watch on the temperature and make sure it does not get too hot. In the wild, a hermit crab can go under a bush or something to cool off. In your crabitat, they are hostage to the conditions you provide.

The Unexplained Sometimes a crab you have had for a long time will go naked for no immediately obvious reason. In that case, you must examine your entire method of crab-keeping. The crab would not be naked if something weren't amiss. Go back and look for any possible stressors, in particular the temperature and humidity.

Thanks sorry I forgot about that survey to do. I did it before when I had another question. I was on my phone so didn't think about it. The crab is currently in his shell. He has been sitting in a corner for days however. I am going to do a full clean thus week. I bought 3 new bricks of EE and some bags of sand.

It is best to leave him be in the dark to relax. He needs to dig down to destress. Upsetting the tank with a deep clean will be stressful on him so if you can avoid it, it would benefit him to put it off. Or if you have a real iso set up move him in there until he is well.

If the tank is still the same from your photo in another thread: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 89#p948989

Then the substrate change would be good and is probably what he needs. It looks to be very shallow now. I know it sounds crazy, but they really do need at the very least 6 inches of substrate to be able to dig and molt safely - and more then that if the crabs are bigger. Filling the tank half full with moist substrate is pretty much what they need.

Hermits can live for at least 40 years in captivity. Yours are not even close to old yet! They get to the size of baseballs when fully grown.

Yes that is my tank but that picture shows the shallow part. It's much deeper at edges. I will hold off the clean for a while longer I suppose. I don't however have another tank to set him up in. When I moved I had to leave them behind. I guess I'll turn the tank light off for a while so he can just relax.