Crab keeps digging under??

[EuxirAino]

So I have a 1.5 gallon tank and I'm going to get. 10 gallon very soon. In the 1.5 tank, I have about 6 inches of sand and one of my crab (Shelly) dug under and I left her there to do her thing. She was on the very bottom, touching the bottom of the tank and just chillin. I got a new crab a couple days later(hermie) and wanted Shelly to meet the new one. I dug up Shelly and left the two crabs together and when I came back, both were buried. Shelly has dug under so many times after I dig her up. Is she trying to molt??

[elly_bananas]

So I have a 1.5 gallon tank and I'm going to get. 10 gallon very soon. In the 1.5 tank, I have about 6 inches of sand and one of my crab (Shelly) dug under and I left her there to do her thing. She was on the very bottom, touching the bottom of the tank and just chillin. I got a new crab a couple days later(hermie) and wanted Shelly to meet the new one. I dug up Shelly and left the two crabs together and when I came back, both were buried. Shelly has dug under so many times after I dig her up. Is she trying to molt??

I would assume that or its too hot on the top and theyre looking to cool off by going down. Is it just soft dry sand? Sometimes they de-stress by digging, and some just plain like to dig.

BUT, theres 1 thing i learned pretty quickly in this community and thats that it is def not recommended to dig up or poke around a burried crabby. I hate when they dig, because then i cant watch em.

[NovaBelle]

So I have a 1.5 gallon tank and I'm going to get. 10 gallon very soon. In the 1.5 tank, I have about 6 inches of sand and one of my crab (Shelly) dug under and I left her there to do her thing. She was on the very bottom, touching the bottom of the tank and just chillin. I got a new crab a couple days later(hermie) and wanted Shelly to meet the new one. I dug up Shelly and left the two crabs together and when I came back, both were buried. Shelly has dug under so many times after I dig her up. Is she trying to molt??

Hermit crabs bury themselves for many reasons; molting, distressing, and even just for fun. It's not advised to dig up your crabs because it can stress them out and even kill them. Please don't continue doing this.

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[EuxirAino]

So I have a 1.5 gallon tank and I'm going to get. 10 gallon very soon. In the 1.5 tank, I have about 6 inches of sand and one of my crab (Shelly) dug under and I left her there to do her thing. She was on the very bottom, touching the bottom of the tank and just chillin. I got a new crab a couple days later(hermie) and wanted Shelly to meet the new one. I dug up Shelly and left the two crabs together and when I came back, both were buried. Shelly has dug under so many times after I dig her up. Is she trying to molt??

I would assume that or its too hot on the top and theyre looking to cool off by going down. Is it just soft dry sand? Sometimes they de-stress by digging, and some just plain like to dig.

BUT, theres 1 thing i learned pretty quickly in this community and thats that it is def not recommended to dig up or poke around a burried crabby. I hate when they dig, because then i cant watch em.

The sand I used was sand my dad got from a filter. I don't really know what kind of sand, I just know my dad got it from a filter

[Hermiearth]

2 crabs in a 1.5 gallon tank is asking for a disaster. If one of your crabs were to go under to molt, it's not unlikely the other crab will eat part of the other crab while he is in this helpless state. Get the 10 gal ASAP.


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[elly_bananas]

the "crabitat conditions" section in the forum, specifically the substrate/moss section as well as the "Molting" sections, was so helpful to me, take a look, theres a ton of great info!! Hermiearth is right, thats a lot of crab. Lol. I think the recommendation is 1 crab per 5 gal ? I only have a 10gal myself, i wish i could have more than the 2. Lol. It is what it is.

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[Hermias_mom]

So I have a 1.5 gallon tank and I'm going to get. 10 gallon very soon. In the 1.5 tank, I have about 6 inches of sand and one of my crab (Shelly) dug under and I left her there to do her thing. She was on the very bottom, touching the bottom of the tank and just chillin. I got a new crab a couple days later(hermie) and wanted Shelly to meet the new one. I dug up Shelly and left the two crabs together and when I came back, both were buried. Shelly has dug under so many times after I dig her up. Is she trying to molt??

I would assume that or its too hot on the top and theyre looking to cool off by going down. Is it just soft dry sand? Sometimes they de-stress by digging, and some just plain like to dig.

BUT, theres 1 thing i learned pretty quickly in this community and thats that it is def not recommended to dig up or poke around a burried crabby. I hate when they dig, because then i cant watch em.

The sand I used was sand my dad got from a filter. I don't really know what kind of sand, I just know my dad got it from a filter

Sounds like you have pool filter sand for a substrate. This is often a sand with larger particle size. I tried using pool sand and it didn't wick up water well for me, but your sand may be finer or larger, I don't know. I'd recommend using play sand or all-purpose sand when you get your larger tank set up. This is a silica (aka quartz) sand, with fine (very small) particle size. For substrate, a lot of folks on here mix playsand and eco-earth (fine ground coconut husk) bedding in a 5:1 playsand:eco-earth ratio, and moisten it to sandcastle consistency with marine saltwater. If you check out the crabitat conditions part of the forum like Elly said, there's some really great info there. Please let us know when you have questions, we'll be happy to help. . Best of luck, and welcome to HCA!