My crabs have been lethargic, are they getting ready to molt?

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:22 am

My crabs used to be more active, especially right after they changed their shells but lately the past few days it doesn't seem like they've been doing much. Miz Biz especially would come put every night and crawl around after I was finished changing their food and water and had left them alone in the dark for a bit, but now even she doesn't seem really active. I think they're still coming out to eat and drink while I'm asleep but it's hard to tell for sure if any of the food's gone. Also the past couple days in the morning I have found sand piled up completely covering the entrance to the hermie hit with Renegade inside. I moved it because I was worried about her suffocating and then let her be in the hermie hut. They still moved and crawled all over my hands when I picked them up though. Temps in her stay in the 70s andI keep a damp washcloth on top for humidity. Also, recently I started feeding them a new food.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:50 am

Please copy and answer the questions found here having these questions answered will help us to help you.Consistently low temps will cause hermitcrabs to slow down and if the temps stay below 75 degrees which is the minimum for them for too long it can kill them because it stops them from feeding and watering properly which often time results in the crab either becoming extremely dehydrated or it starves to death.Without seeing your answers to the questionnaire linked above I really can't help you any further.

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:09 am

Okay, here it is:1) How long have you had your crabs and how long have you been caring for this particular crab in distress? I have had them for about three weeks, maybe a few days more.2) What size is your tank and what kind of lid do you have? 10 gallon tank with a plastic lid and large slit openings3) What are you using for heat? Please be specific and include fixture type, watt or mat size and where the heat source is mounted. I do not have a heat source at the moment as the temperatures in my apartment stay in the upper 70s which I know is good for them. For winter though I want to get a light fixture from Petsmart to fix on the side I their tank in case the temperature inside drops too low. They have been fine without it in the past, at least for summer while it's been staying hot.4) What kind of substrate do you use in your tank and at what depth? Is it dry or damp and sand castle consistency? Right now I have RepTerra sand but planning on switching to play sand ASAP after I found out how bad calcium sand can be. It is moist on top but probably not deeper down. I know it also isn't quite deep enough but I didn't have enough of it. There is no bad smell to the tank, just the smell of salt water.5) Do you dechlorinate your fresh water and if so, with what product? Do you offer aquarium salt water in addition to fresh water? Again, what product? I do not dechlorinate their fresh water as I do not use tap water or purified water. I give them Deer Park spring water for their fresh water. I do offer salt water as well, filtered water mixed with All Living Things soaking salt.6) What do you normally feed your crabs? I recently switched their food, I now have been feeding them freeze dried omnivore mix from Petsmart, just a mix of freeze dried crickets, mealworms, fruits and veggies, nothing else.7) Do you bathe, mist or handle your crabs at all? I do not bathe or mist them. I handle them sometimes, but normally hasn't been every day and never for very long.

What are the temperature and humidity readings? Please be specific and include high low fluctuations if you're aware of them. Temps are in the upper 70s. Not sure about the exact humidity but I do try to keep it up a much as possible in ways such as putting a damp washcloth over the top of the tank.So there you go. Though maybe I'n worrying for nothing, because like I said when I pick them up they come right out and crawl around on my hands and they seem just as strong as ever. Today I held Miz Biz for a little bit and she was crawling all over my hands and arm and when I put her back, she went and bothered Renegade in the hermie hut. Then Renegade woke up and she crawled around for a little while before settling down again.

crazycrabber · Post by **crazycrabber** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:06 pm

so first of all i would like to say not to worry that your crabs are molting right now. If they had enough energy to run up to you. Next i would like to say that you need a second substrate, good job learning playsand over calcium sand, but you still need a second substrate, i reccomend eco earth, it is coconut substrate! You can get it at your pet store in blocks, so bring it home and put a block in your filtered water for 20 minutes and loosen it into dirt with your fingers. It holds moisture very well. It is very good for molting! Next i would reccomend that you get a heating pad not a heating light, just a light is more risky, and you don't know if it would be too hot or not hot enough. But with a heating pad you would get a 30 gallon. You always get a heating pad that is for 3 times more gallons than your crabitat. Lastly i reccomend not using store bought junk from a pet store. Hermit crabs really like fresh food better and have needs. They need protein, carotene, and calcium, which can be found in carrots, corn, cuttlebone, eggs, and eggshells, also meat. And a lot of that pet store food contains hermit crab poisons like copper sulfate, and exyoquin. But good job taking the suggestion on the washcloth, and your hermit crabs sound so cute, coming up to you. I found about 120 hermit crabs today!

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:45 pm

Okay, I will look for a heating pad. Do they sell them in pet stores? The food does not contain any ethoxyquin or copper sulfate, I checked the ingredients and it is only crickets, mealworms, and fruits and veggies. It is the same food that user kharasmatic mentioned in the LHC section. I will try fresh fruits and veggies too though, and meats. What are their favorite kind of meats? I heard they do like boiled eggs too.

crazycrabber · Post by **crazycrabber** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 5:34 am

yes petco and petsmart should have them. And hermit crabs love all meat pretty equally, but they do love shrimp the most i think, because they find that and maybe even catch that in their wild habitat sometimes if it is close to shore when they mate at the beach. They don't catch pig or cow! Although they love all meat!

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:09 am

A lot of us use one substrate across the entire tank as its easier and you don't have to worry about the cosmetics of it as the crabs will mix the substrates together anyway trying to a do a half and half is just a waste of time for me personally.You really need to get temp and humidity gauge so that you can keep accurate track of these levels especially when we need to know them so we can help you.Your diet plan for them sounds good and your doing well with your water so I don't think thats an issue honestly.What it sounds like to me is that they have not gotten the kind of rest that they've needed to have thus far as you've only had them three weeks your still in the four month iso period where the crabs should have been left alone to de-stress and do what they needed to do to fully recover from the bad pet store conditions.What I recommend is that you go completely hands off for the next four weeks to give them a chance at de-stressing properly.During this time you shouldn't be disturbing them past changing out food and waters on a regular basis.Lethargy can be caused by several environmental factors but PPS or Post Purchase Stress is typically the number one cause which is why we recommend the four week iso period to help combat this issue.Basically the crabs were mistreated and likely abused from the time they were harvested, to being held at the harvesters warehouse which can take several months or more, to being shipped out the store that has just acquired them and the time they have spent in store, during this whole process they have had to postpone molting because they have been in cramped conditions with little to no nutrition and even worse climate conditions.This all leads to a lowered or compromised immune system which allows the crabs to transmit fungal, bacterial and viral infections to one another that they would have normally been able to fight off when they were healthy so when we get them home about 60% of them don't make it past the point of final purchase they come home with us and either die on the car ride back or they die a couple of days later from the stress.Handling a newly purchased hermitcrab in any way for the first four weeks of it being with us adds so much extra stress to the crab that it induces a stress response called Autonomy which is an automatic stress response typically only seen when the crab is in the presence of a predator the crab will drop the limb the limb with continue to wiggle around for a few seconds giving the crab time enough to scurry away, then the limb dropping stops because the stress hormones are being flushed the further it gets away from the predator.Since a captive hermitcrab is going to react to any kind of stress in the same way it typically ends with the crab loosing all of its limbs and then because it has exhausted its resources it passes away.PPS is a mental issue and the crab only knows how to deal with it as a physical threat so it will being the action of Autonomy which because it can't get away from the stress will continue to happen unless we step in and reduce the crabs stress for it by dimming the lighting, going hands off and being as quiet as possible around its enclosure, this typically works to stop the Autonomy mechanism.Another interesting point to note is that the ambient room temp wont directly effect the temperature of the tank because the heat in the air of the room is going to have a very very difficult time passing through the glass walls of the tank because the glass in and of itself acts as an insulating barrier to a point so you may think its warm enough in the enclosure but without a temp gauge you really can't be sure and its not likely that it is unfortunately..

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:41 am

Okay I won't handle them for the next four weeks. I'll also keep things quiet as possible, I'm thinking maybe some loud noise from my brother and his friend may have upset them, he was over Saturday evening while I was at work. I saw Miz Biz out yesterday when I got home from work though which is good. Btw where can I get a temperature and humidity gauge?

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 8:06 am

Also, I was planning on getting a bag of play sand tomorrow since I'm not working so I could replace the calcium sand that's in there now, but I can't do that without disturbing them. I want them to have the play sand rather than the calcium sand but I also don't want to do it right now if it's going to cause them more stress. What should I do?

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:02 am

Changing out the calcium sand for playsand is important enough in my opinion to disturb them. Then dont disturb them except for the food & water changes after that. The sand needs to be hydrated to sand castle consistency so they can form tunnels and molting pockets. I use their salt water to hydrate the sand to prevent some of the possible mold issues.You can get a dual temperature and hygrometer guage at the pet store, sometimes even places like Walmart. The UTH (under tank heater or heat mat) can also be purchased at the pet store in the reptile section. You dont want to place it under the tank though which is why you need one 3xs the rated size of your tank (30 gallon UTH for a 10 gallon tank) and mount it on the side or back. A heat lamp for a smaller enclosure is not a good idea, it will kill your humidity which means your crabs wont be able to breathe.Later when you either purchase back ups or replacements for these items assuming you have time to wait, online sources often have much better prices even accounting for the shipping costs.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:23 am

It sounds like you really don't have the sand deep enough for them to molt in anyway so I would take everything out put the moist sand in and then put everything else back in just don't mess with the crabs too much during the process.Definitely get the temp gauge and humidity gauge. I have my house at a constant 77 degrees and the inside of the tank would be 73 degrees however several factors effect that so your tank may be different but you won't know without the gauges. The pet stores have several different kinds to choose from. If you have the money usually the more expensive ones are better quality and always remember that its a gadget and gadgets can fail.

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:42 am

Okay, thanks! Going to Petsmart and Home Depot tomorrow

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:03 pm

Yes I agree with Geranium and Jenok its better to go on and change out the substrate now then let them be afterwards because they need the option of burrowing to molt which they don't really have now as the calci sand wont hold shape so it easily collapses tunnels and molt pockets as a result.

renegade29 · Post by **renegade29** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:57 am

A quick update: Miz Biz has perked up lately and I've seen her out more often. I think not handling her for a while has really helped. Last night, about 45 minutes after I was done putting fresh food and water out, I saw her climb up on one of the logs in the tank, then down the other side and straight to the food dish to eat her scrambled eggs! Renegade is still underground, has been for about 2 and a half weeks.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:22 am

Good I'm glad. just remember it could be another month before it decides to come up from molting.