After Molt; Won't Come Up

[Jemnem6]

I've had this hermit crab for a year now, most of that year she's been buried. I brought her home from the shore along with 3 other crabs. They lived in a 10 gallon home with only between 3-4 inches of sand (I didn't know you could use play sand, so it was really expensive to buy 6 inches of sand, but I really wish I had!) so then I upgraded to a 20 gallon long, with 6 inches of sand and right away she buried. This was in March. (Another crab that I had got with her also buried in March but she molted and has been up since the first week of July and is very healthy. It took her 69 days). Well at the end of May, this crab moved because I found a window of hers and in the window I could see her moving, so I knew she was alive. Then she moved again, so I don't know where she is, but she's not up.

So my question is, after they molt, will some crabs put off coming up for some reason? Or is this unusual? She is a small sized crab.

[DragonsFly]

They take some time after completing their molts, still underground, to recover. She may also be doing back-to-back molts; my first two both did this, because they had been prevented from molting for so long before I ended up with them. Finally, are you sure that she isn't coming up just in the middle of the night, and just continuing to dig down every day? All of mine prefer to spend their days underground (or occasionally, in the moss pit). If they don't come up until after I go to bed, I may not see them at all, and might assume they never came up if I didn't see signs of their nightly activity.

[Bridgitmac80]

My stinker Sebastian went two weeks of digging down into the sand. Thought for sure it was a molt but he was just de-stressing, and now after two weeks of being out, he's digging down again but just for the sake of digging and making messes for me But he comes out every night and rearranges rocks, eats, throws sand and EE in the water bowls, digs 4 holes for the heck of it and back to the hut to dig down for the day hours.

George has been down since July 9, hasn't come out to eat, ended up digging him up due to a smell, he's finished molting there was no exo, he's small also, but he dug right back down and that's been 4 or 5 days ago. I know it's really hard not to worry. Maybe yours is anti social? I thought that of George, well I still think that of him actually. I need to get a couple more friends for the tank.

[DragonsFly]

Before you decide a crab is "anti-social" and that you should get more, you might consider some other factors that can affect their behavior. You may be likely to see more daytime activity if daytime temperatures are higher (into the 90's, for example, while allowing nighttime temps to still drop into the high 70's). Make sure humidity stays between 75% and 85% as much as possible (although some short-term spikes higher than that are okay). Also, do note that crabs don't "play with" each other, really--their relationships don't look like those of mammals. So, even if you got "a couple more," they might all still do their own thing. Finally, if you are certain you want to acquire more crabs, please make sure you have a large enough tank for the number you expect (at least 5 gallons per crab is a good rule of thumb, and more than that if they are large), and please consider adopting unwanted crabs, rather than buying more and thus contributing to the encouragement of the cruel and ecologically damaging "harvesting" of wild crabs for sale. If you would like some ideas regarding adoption (other than checking the adoption boards here, which is a great resource), let me know.

[Bridgitmac80]

George is for sure a loaner. Even when we had all 3 he tented to hang out alone unless they all 3 would get in the same corner close to the UTH. I have a 29g tank and only 2 crabs. Speedy passed while the other 2 were dug under. I am sure it was from PPS, we had only had them for about 3 weeks at the time. Conditions were horrible where they came from (don't want to buy from places like that ever again). I want friends for Sebastian. He prefers interaction with other crabs or people. Our humidity is always between 81% and 85% (higher if I mist) and my temp stays around 74 or higher. I'd love to get a couple E's if I can find a place close by with good conditions that carrys them course not sure how Bash would do with them. If I am working in the tank he's all over the place, when Speedy and George were out even not moving around, Bash would be out too (literally running around doing laps in the tank), but without a buddy, or one of us, he just sits in the hut looking out (Mr Lonely). I give him attention daily, but think he needs a full time friend. Been watching the boards here and craigslist even pet finder, so far nothing near us. There is a lady about 40 miles north that sells exotic pets (mostly sugar gliders), birds, and reptiles. She has a shop inside the flea market and is only there 3 days a week. Her pets are taken care of so wonderfully, I mean she lives for these animals. I am going to see if she has any.

[Jemnem6]

Well the other night I did find a pile of sand in the corner from someone who came up, but I don't know who. There are 2 other molters right now. I smoothed over the sand since then and haven't found anything else since.

[DragonsFly]

Our humidity is always between 81% and 85% (higher if I mist) and my temp stays around 74 or higher. I'd love to get a couple E's if I can find a place close by with good conditions

You'll see more activity if you can get the daytime temps up into the high 80's and even into the 90's.

E's are usually found to be more active, also, but are somewhat more difficult to care for, and are going to want higher temps than the PP's, so you might just work on getting your daytime temps up first, before acquiring any more.

[Bridgitmac80]

My temp has been a constant battle (want it at 80 at least). Even with the UTH. Been on the hunt for one that fits across the entire back of my tank and put a dimmer on it. Which is what another lady here has done for her 55g and lives about 3 hours south of me. I'm for sure not going to adopt any new ones till I feel more stable with these 2 guys. George is still molting (back to back?) and need to get temps up.