HELP with molting crabs

kmyers · Post by **kmyers** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 5:01 am

Hi there this is my first post and I have some questions about our crabs we have. To begin my daughter received two hermit crabs from her aunt in South Carolina. It was sold to her as an "easy pet." Well I immediately did as much research as I could and soon learned how fascinating and in depth hermit crabs are and what their care entails. Nevertheless, we do love these little crabs and we have had them for about two years. Their sizes currently are about 1 inch and an inch and a half claw to claw when standing. They are both PP. Now to my question. They both have molted twice before and the larger one has taken upwards of two months. the smaller about a month each time. At the end of this summer ( I am beating myself up not noting the actual date) they both went underground and we haven't seen them since. I make sure my daughter still monitors the temp and keeps water in the dish to ensure humidity. Well I was convinced they must be dead and we decided to dig. I found the large crab and it was definitely still very much alive! we quickly covered it back up and did not search for the other to prevent any stress. The only thing I should add is that they have never changed shells. I have done research and see that they can be picky, so I have bought many: light, O shaped, D shaped, small, large, but to no avail!1. Is it normal for them to be buried for so long? Upward of 4 months for small crabs?2. The smaller crab, should he be searched for?3. Is there anything I should be doing?Thank you in advance!

kmyers · Post by **kmyers** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 5:46 am

UPDATE: The larger crab we disturbed resurfaced a couple hours later. Should I search for the smaller crab?

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 5:19 pm

You never want cover up a crab that you have uncovered with sand or eco earth, you have caved in their air pocket. Use a bowl or something to cover them. We strongly recommend not digging up crabs unless you hear chipping, this can be a crab saying help! . Each time a crab goes through a molt it gets a little longer..if yours are ping pong ball size like mine were they were done in like a month - month and half. My big boy now he takes 2months +. I start marking on the calendar when they go down and panic mode starts goes in when the time gets near..1, 2 , 3, 4, days past due & just when I'm about to pull my hair out and dig I pass the tank and there they are sitting. I would wait..if 3 months go by and no crab then go digging. Digging up a crab is risky. Sometimes they dig and tunnel for days and weeks before they find the spot they want to molt in and if you dig them up during molting or before they are ready you can stress them then they drop limbs, get weak and most of the time die.