HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Unfortunately, what I thought would happen did. Squirtle is rolling downhill. After 2 days of hiding in his shell and barely moviong he is now hanging half-outside of it and unmoving. It took ten minutes of staring and poking before I determined that he is not actually dead yet (one leg moved). Not yet.This, you'll all remember, is the boy who lived through the bleach fumes and the strange last-week molt (near-see-through body) only to reach this point. He looks quite a bit like the one bleach victim I found in the middle of dying(Indio). Unless this guy has decided to molt one week after his last this is the end.Apparently when a crabs' breathing apparatus is damaged it takes quite a long time to die. I wonder sometimes, when they get to this point and are near the end of suffocation, is it really so fair to keep them waiting? I'm not ready to stick him in the freezer, you realize- but I wonder. If I open the tank tomorrow and I find him dead I will wonder: did I really do the right thing in prolonging this heck? When I know that none of my dying ones have survived from this was it ever right to drag those last hours out? I don't feel right about letting him live like this but I'm not ready to put him down. If I kill him now I'll feel as if I ended all his chances- if he dies tonight I'll feel like I made him suffer when the outcome was obvious. That's the ultimate catch.

I'm sorry to hear about your little Squirtle! I am one who doesn't like to see animals suffer, and will help them cross the rainbow bridge to ease their pain. But, I have to agree with Padme. Freezing and drowning would probably be more frightening and horrible for the little guy than just letting him go naturally. Just make him comfy. Put him near his food dish and water, make it dark, humid and warm, and let him pass happy and safe.I'm sorry about your crabby, {{hugs}}.

Never, EVER freeze an animal as a form of euthenasia. It'd be more humane to smash it with a hammer, and as bad as that sounds it's true. At least it'd be quick.When you freeze an animal, it goes through immense pain and fear for a long period of time before it finally dies. It looks like they died peacefully, because when you freeze your body slows down, so it would look like they died in their sleep, but that is far from the case.Over at a rat care forum (as I used to have rats) there was a member who posted his experience with hypothermia, after falling through some ice, and he related the agony of the cold. It was very painful.And don't forget that water, which is what makes up a good portion of the body, expands when frozen, meaning the cells burst.Never freeze for euthenasia.

I'm really sorry! I hope your other crabs will stay with you!Regarding euthanasia for crabs: I once smashed a crab with a hammer. It had lost all legs and pinchers in the night and I decided that it would be better to kill it quickly. I wrapped the crab in some paper tissue and hit it a few times until it was, well, flat. This sounds brutal and I'm in no hurry to do this again but I really think it was the quickest way.If you want to know what the freezer method is like, place your hand in the icebox or in water with ice-cubes and leave it there for some time. The method is especially cruel for reptiles and invertebrates because they rely on their surroundings to keep their body temperature. They will fall into a rigor and will be able to feel the ice crystals building up in their body until it kills them.