HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Fred is a pp he is the first that i have bought. He normally does what i want to call a surface bury in the coconut husks i have in there. He covers himself but not his whole shell. This morning he went as deep as the sand will go which i want to say is about six or seven inches deep. There is some sand that is on top of him almost like he tried to bury himself alive and i dont know what is going on or how concerned i should be and i am starting to worry. He is tucked in a corner of the tank so i can see him just in case but i am nervous about even going in there to surface clean

Burying is completely normal, in fact, crabs need to do it to survive
They will dig deep tunnels so they can molt safely without being disturbed. It's very dangerous to dig up a molting crab because of how delicate they are while molting. The best thing to do is to provide yummy food, and a warm/humid tank and just let him do his crabby thing. It's instinct, after all, and he's done it many many times in the wild successfully
They can also dig down to destress, they often will do this after they are introduced to their new home. When they destress, they just need some alone time to get over any issues they had during the shipping & handling process.
Sometimes they can be down a long time, don't worry if this happens just trust your crabby, he knows what hes doing!

He's molting!

Ive had him for a little while now but i have no means to protect him from george, his "brother". I was never able to replace my iso that broke. I mean if he is indeed molting. I read that shrimp tails, the part we dont eat is good for when they are molting is that true

If he can dig deep enough, he'll be perfectly safe isolation tanks are more for injured crabs, surface molters, mites or sick crabs. Just let Fred dig, and he'll do the rest
Yes! Any sort of protien and calcium is very good for molters, and they eat their exoskeleton to get an extra boost. Things like uncooked (unseasoned) meats, (unsalted) nuts, freeze dried bugs and krill, eggs, and organic peanut butter are all good protien sources. Things like eggshells, oyster shells, cuttlebones or orange and green veggies are good for calcium. Crabbies need protien and calcium in their diet to grow a new exoskeleton properly You could also give him some honey or sweet fruit (like mango or strawberry) to give him an energy boost!
Feel free to ask questions, we all hope Fred has a successful molt and we'll do all we can to help

What about cooked unseasoned meat and is one type better than others(meat)

You can cook it if you want to avoid bacteria, of you want to cook it you can cook it in the microwave for a few seconds, or boil it in dechlor water. I would recommend boiled eggs and shrimp, just for content and because of how popular they are with crabs. And chicken is usually well liked as well I just set aside a little bit of whatever I'm having before I prepare it.

More information on molting: http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/Hermit-C ... -a/138.htm

"Hermit crabs are wild creatures and I believe they should be kept in conditions that honor and simulate their natural environment. In nature, land hermit crabs bury to protect themselves during the stressful time of molting. By digging a "cave" below ground they are able to obtain extended darkness which triggers the release of the molting hormone (MH) which in turn causes the shedding process to begin. Burying also provides the crab with an isolated and stable environment that is protected from temperature fluctuations, the elements and predators. I believe one of the keys to survival in captivity is to set up your tank so that your crabs can bury whenever they need to molt. I feel a sand or sand/soil substrate that is moist enough AND deep enough so that your largest crab can completely bury is critical to long-term survival and keeping your crabs stress level in regards to molting minimal."