HCA: Hermit Crab Association

One of my crabs, Cat (short for Catatonic), is pretty new. I got her about a month ago. I noticed when I brought her home, she didn't respond to any movement I made. When other crabs ran in response to me passing by the tank, she just sat there (hence her name).

Now, I have noticed that her eyes are very cloudy. I don't think it's the molting cloudy eyes, because I have noticed when they get cloudy eyes, they shed their exo within 24 hours. Her eyes have been cloudy since I got her (confirmed by a photo I took of her on the first day I had her).

I took her out of the tank today and did a shadow test. She did not pull into her shell when I did this. I also did movement tests, and again, she did not respond. I think she can't see!

She gets around just fine, it seems! They have minimal eyesight anyway, right? My big question is, will she be able to gain back her sight in a molt? I don't think that's possible because it's a neurological problem, right? And should I be giving her any special foods or anything? I'm not too worried about her, I just want to make sure if I am supposed to be doing something, I am.

I got an E about six months back that was noticeably blind in the store, which is why we ended up coming home with three crabs instead of two. (She did not react to shadow or movement.) She did fine running around the tank for about a month, and then went and molted. Since she's come back up her eyes have remained cloudy, but she can definitely see now! I didn't do anything special for her and just left her with the others. Her cloudy eyes are brown and rather dull, as opposed to the other six I have that have shiny onyx colored eyes.

I personally feel that Es have excellent vision. If I walk into the living room in the middle of the day (where I could cast no shadow on their tank) they will all scramble for cover. And they can tell the difference between humans ("run away!") and cats ("drive them crazy!") .

Hopefully with just good nutrition and a molt she'll be back to normal for you!

Maybe feed the blind one some carrots...

Interesting, though. I know they are fairly decent with locomotion because of their sense of smell and their antennae. Who knows how much they actually need their eyes.

i think its narnar who has a blind crab and i believe shes been that way since like 2006... (correct me if im wrong!) so i dont know if it'll ever improve

ps. very clever name i actually laughed out loud

I had a one eye blinded crab that after about 2 molts seems to be able to see out of both eyes again.. amazing. If only humans could grow limbs and such..

Sorry to bump and old thread, but Cat (my blind crab) just came up from molting like 5 minutes ago and her eyes have shrunk! They are small and cloudy, now. I got pictures, but I haven't uploaded them, yet because they aren't very good. She ate some food and went under the log hut. She still seems to be completely blind. No response to movement or light, but she is sensitive to vibrations and sound. I'll probably take her out in a few days to get a good photo of her eyes.

Other than her shrunken eyes, she looks great! I have been having a lot of molts, lately. October has barely begun and 3 have come up!

it may indeed be a neurological problem, and perhaps they're atrophying accordingly? well, at least she's in your tank and not in the wild...

those pictures would be interesting to see...

It almost looks as though she is squinting...

my first impression is more "holy crap, she has frog eyes."

i think that her optical cells may have been damaged somehow, and her body is just either reabsorbing them or covering them up with "scar tissue." it's actually a really cool case, though i'm sorry that she's blind at all.

Interesting. Do you have a before picture? I would also be very interested in seeing pics after her next molt.

Before:

Wolf, my little Zeus just came up from a molt with one eye that looks like your Cat. I finally got him to come out of his shell for post-molt pictures tonight, and his left eye is definitely shaped like that. I compared it photos taken just before his molt, and it is noticeable in those photos only because I know to look for it - I missed it completely a few months ago. He was a pity purchase in horrible shape that I never got a full look at before he molted with me the first time. (Missing three legs and a little pincher, hubby named him Hey-Zeus when he survived. :roll: ) Not sure how long his eye has been changing, or if he came that way.

You've really got me wondering what this is now!!

amazing.. ive seen other crabs that i believe may have lost a eye to a seagull or bird of attack grow a eye back that didnt seem to be a eye that could see then molts later the eye looked normal but still didnt seem to have sight.. years later i think the crab has sight in both eyes.. Im so glad you got photos.. I dont have any photos showing eye regeneration and lots of people do not believe it can be done! Be very proud of your care taking and Cat! Together you make a great pair! You have some amazing photos there! Congratulations! I think the HCA should somehow post this somewhere that all can see the remarkable recovery!

I have a blind crab. He's so sweet though. He seems just fine but doesn't really detect my movement unless I create vibrations or wind.

Cat just molted for her second time with me. Her eyes seem to be getting smaller. I think she is still mostly blind. Here are some pics.





She's still healthy and feisty, though!