calcium sand and three of four crabs underground

[Just Jay]

hi! im a newer crab mommy of four rescue PPs. three are female and one is a male. when i first took them home on the second day my smallest crab Tina went underground with a new shell. then a few days after RoxSand went underground (she had spent those few days eating a ton). finally Uu (my only male) spent all last night investigating a shell and digging both himself and it down into the sub. i really want to change out the calcium sand i have in there and also add/change somethings in my hermies home (sometimes lovingly called bikini bottom). im just worried about causing more harm than good. i guess to simplify my question is should i leave the tank alone until everyone is topside again or would changing out the calcium sand be best done sooner than waiting?


and all the while im stressing, Hermione is just up and about alone hahahaha


thanks for your feed back guys!

[Rawrgeous]

There really is no right answer, both are going to be a risk. It's up to you whether to wait or not. I don't have a lot of time right now so I'm going to explain this the best I can quickly. I would replace the sub, but I'm also comfortable with dealing with molting crabs. I would probably prepare 3 tupperware containers with a tiny bit of sand in the bottom of each of them for iso's just in case. They usually can fit into a tank so they make good temp. iso's. Start in one corner and make a hole to the bottom, and then gently remove layer by layer ( about 1/4 inch at a time) until you have removed all the sub. If you uncover a crab that is molting or soft, I suggest using a large plastic spoon to scoop some sand and the crab up to avoid moving them as much as possible, and hurting them in their soft state. If the crabs are active and climbing around the iso when you change the sub they can go back into general population after a quick dip in the fw dish. Good luck- I hope this helps! If there is an exo when you find a crab include that in their iso with them.

[Just Jay]

No that does help! Thanks so much! I agree im in a bit of a darned of i do or don't. Just trying to weight all my options.