HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey guys! So recently it was substrate changing day, and I had been clearing out the tank in the usual fashion. Beforehand, I had checked all of the crabs and I thought all four were above ground- but I think one crab I counted twice because two of my crabs have nearly identical shells and are the same size, one just has a purple pincer and one has a red. So it turns out that my purple pincer (Argyle) has been preparing for a molt, and I didn't know, so I hadn't set up any kind of iso tank. Luckily, he wasn't quite buried (he had just wedged himself under part of the large grapevine log and some sand) but I had no iso tank prepared. Half the substrate was gone, the toys and things were out, and there was no going to put everything back. I didn't know what else to do atm so I grabbed a large plastic bucket with a lid and stabbed some holes in the top, filled it with moist substrate, and popped Argyle in there with some water and food. He buried himself right away, and I quite sure he is molting (but 5% of me is still concerned that he might not be molting and I'm making a grave mistake in isolating him).
Now I have no idea what to do because he is in a circular bucket that is probably only 1.5-2 gallons, no hygrometer or thermometer, and no way for me to monitor the conditions. I recently threw out most of my iso stuff because a lot of it was cheap/broken/needed replacement and I had to throw out the 5gal tank too (dropped it and large crack formed) what the heck should I do? I could grab another set of stuff from the store but is it wise to move Aryle again? I don't want him to get stressed even more with moving.... Also there is the small chance that he is not molting and just felt the urge to bury himself, in which case I could just pop him back into crabby headquarters. Any advice?

If it were me, I wouldn't move him again. If you can, I'd try to buy another therm/humidity gauge asap so you can monitor the conditions in the bucket. Give a peak or two in the bucket at nighttime when crabs are usually more active (no digging for him though). If he's up, you can pop him back in the main tank so he can do his thing there. If he is trying to molt and stays buried, I think it would be more detrimental to move him again than leaving him where he's at. Good luck!

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okay, I'll do that. Thanks a ton!

I agree with CL77. Don't dig him up, see if you can get a guage so you know conditions are right.

If you have proper sub, you only need to change it out completely if there is an emergency such as a bacterial bloom or flood. Some people do a full change out every few years, but some of us don't even do that. You can just add more sub if you upgrade tanks or if you need it deeper.

Also, there is no need to routinely isolate a crab to molt. It is less stressful to leave them in the main tank. As long as the tank is not over crowded, and your sub is deep enough, the other crabs generally won't dig him up. I understand this was different, but from the way your post is written, it sounds like you might be moving crabs to an iso to molt.

I don't usually move them to an iso tank, but once or twice I needed to change the substrate completely (we get mold outbreaks pretty often due to high temps and my sister is allergic) and I noticed that a crab(s) is buried. In that case I prepared an iso so they could keep molting whilst I changed the substrate. This time I was caught off guard so I didn't have the tank ready, but I don't usually put my crabs in iso when they molt. (this time there was a bug pandemic and had to clear those guys out, and there was a bit of mold growing on the far side too so I figured it might be a good idea to evacuate).

Also, I got a gauge and an overhead porcelain heater. I added a pile of moss and water too, hopefully it keeps everything nice and humid.

avamin2005 wrote:okay, I'll do that. Thanks a ton!

You're welcome! I hope all goes well!

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Try to watch for him, if he comes back out himself, I would add him back to your main tank. If he wasn’t deep in the substrate he probably wasn’t getting ready to molt and just hanging out.