Hermit Crabs not eating

duke · Post by **duke** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 1:00 pm

My hermit crab, Sprinkles, hasn't eaten in about a week. He didn't eat much the week before either. My other hermit crab, Fudge, just molted on the surface, which I posted about in another thread. I don't believe Sprinkles is molting, but since he isn't touching his food at all (and not coming up at night either to eat, the food hasn't been touched), but I am a little worried about him. How long should I wait before I dig to see if he is molting/dead? How long without food is okay for hermit crabs?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 6:20 pm

@duke, hermitcrabs can go without food for days on end and depending on the size of your hermitcrabs your missing guy could be down for at least another two weeks maybe a little longer and this is completely normal behavior and really what you'd want and expect in a newly purchased hermitcrab.New hermits will go down like this and stay down for upwards of two weeks to molt and de-stress from the trip getting to you.The thing you have to remember about hermitcrabs is they eat very little very slowly well most of the time so its completely normal not to notice any food missing from the bowl/dish for several days.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:06 am

if your crabs are a little bigger they take longer. My crabs counting the shell are about the size of a golf ball and stay down for almost 2 months at a time, although this last molt was quicker it was more like 1 month and a week.

duke · Post by **duke** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 3:58 am

Thanks Crabber85 and jenok. It's been 2 weeks since he's eaten, and while the food hasn't been ripped or disturbed (and these guys are messy eaters), I started hearing him scratching along last night. Hopefully he will surface soon. Fudge is still still on the surface and hasn't touched his exoskeleton yet, but it's only been two weeks. Thank you for you help!

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:01 am

Try some baby food in a separate dish. They leave evidence when they eat it.