Accidentally disturbed molt

[Sherbert & Sprite's Grandma]

So I should have joined here when I first brought my hermie home - mistake number 1. Both of mine have kept themselves pretty much buried since I got them - end of June and middle of July. I've been fluffing the substrate, cleaning out old (mostly uneaten) food and freshening both waters, and basically thinking that they were just unhappy. This morning I went to tidy up the tank: I took everything out, looked at both crabs, noticed that Sherbert was very tightly drawn into her shell (tighter than I'd ever seen her) and went about tidying up. As I was fluffing the substrate, I found her exoskeleton. I looked at her again and noticed the color change and put her back down. I finished tidying the tank and put them back in. I did not remove the exo.Now I'm wondering, should I bury her with her exo? She hasn't moved from where I tucked her under her log.

[Crabber85]

First welcome to the forum and community here at LHC and late is better than never. Secondly I have to urge you not to recover the crab as hermitcrabs have to burrow and carve out special pockets underground that allow for air space so that they can breath so just simply covering them up can lead to suffocation.We need you to copy and answer the questions found here so that we can better help you as the answers you provide will give us a clearer picture as to whats going on as is sounds like a surface molt which is dangerous for the crab since it is exposed to fellow tank mates(hermitcrabs are cannibalistic and will turn on soft newly molted tank mates)and less than desirable conditions as a hermitcrab typically burrows and creates a molt pocket for protection and for a stable temp, humidity and air pressure which all help the crab to cast of the old exo with as little difficulty as possible.If you can find a 2 liter pop bottle cut the bottom and top off and place it in the enclosure pushing it down all the way to the bottom of the tank so it touches the glass place the hermit and the old exo in the makeshift iso, dim the lighting over the tank and make sure the temp and humidity are kept between 77 and 85 this will help lower any possible stress on the crab and to ensure that the crab properly re-hardens and has time to recover from the molt.The old exo is essential to the re-hardening process as it contains the chitin(hardening agent)and calcium need for the process not to mention a ton of other vitamins and minerals the crab needs to stay alive so it is important that the exo be as close to the crab as possible and yes the tank mate will eat the shed exo if given an adequate chance which is another reason for the makeshift iso.If you have any other questions please feel free to ask that is what we are here for.

[Sherbert & Sprite's Grandma]

Thank you! quote:1) How long have you had your crabs and how long have you been caring for this particular crab in distress?I have had my crabs for a couple of months - end of June for Sherbert and mid-July for Sprite. Sherbert is the one who has molted.2) What size is your tank and what kind of lid do you have? What kind of substrate do you use in your tank and at what depth? Is it dry or damp and sand castle consistency? 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? What do you normally feed your crabs?We have the Zoo Med Starter kit, which came with a 10 gal tank, screen lid, hermit crab sand and coconut fiber substrate, food pellets, fresh and salt water treatment, and two resin bowls, plus a package of three "vacation blocks" of food and minerals. I tried putting one of the blocks in there, but it grew fuzzy mold on it so I took it out and haven't tried again. We keep the substrate damp (both of them) but not mixed. It's probably two inches thick (deep enough for them both to bury themselves in completely, which is how they stay unless we dig them out, which is why I thought they were unhappy. I have periodically offered them fresh fruit, and one time it looked like Sherbert had eaten a little bit of sweet red pepper, but it mostly just gets gross so I take it out and throw it away.We also have a reptile log in there for them.3) What are you using for heat? Please be specific and include fixture type, watt or mat size and where the heat source is mounted.We are not using any auxiliary heat for our tank. We have used a reading lamp with a 60W bulb in the past, but it was dehumidifying the tank too much, so we stopped. 7) Do you bathe, mist or handle your crabs at all?This varies: at first I was not misting at all, then I read that you should mist, so I started misting a couple of times a day. I was worried that wasn't enough, so I got a humidity/temperature gauge and I realized it wasn't close to enough and started keeping the substrate moist. I have never bathed either of them. We were handling them daily, but we always had to dig them out to do so, so I thought maybe we shouldn't be doing that. when we take them out, they are friendly for the most part, but just crawl off to find a place to hide. Also the first day we had Sprite he pinched my son quite badly and was given a panicked rinse from the faucet (big no-no, I know) so the handling has gone down since then. What are the temperature and humidity readings? Please be specific and include high low fluctuations if you're aware of them.Temp looks like 72, humidity looks like 62 or 64 maybe. I understood that a temp above 70 was sufficient, but I guess I'm wrong about that, too? We just moved in the past 2 weeks - in our old house, the temp stayed closer to 75-78 and humidity stayed closer to 70.

[Sherbert & Sprite's Grandma]

oh, and she was buried when she molted, I uncovered her when I was fluffing the substrate.

[jenok]

Depending on how far along in the process it may be a few days before your crab will start moving again. Try not to disturb it during this time. As for the humidity try your best to get it back above 70%. When I feed my crabs I give them several things at once, but in teeny tiny pieces. They don't eat much at a time so the smaller the portion the easier to tell if its getting eaten. There is a food list and archived food and water info which is very helpful.Hopefully crabber85 will get back with you and give you some more info on your crab as he is wayyy more experienced then I.

[Crabber85]

I know the kit you bought I just looked at the same thing myself today and it has some useful stuff but its not a complete kit unfortunately.To get your humidity to the right range you can cover the mesh lid of the enclosure with Glads Press and Seal or some Saran wrap to about eighty percent and this should help to trap enough humidity in the enclosure that it should level out in a couple of days.Your substrate depth needs to be increased to a minimum of six inches this is to give the crabs the overhead space to creat adequately sized molt pockets and to prevent accidental discovery.You can add some hydrated or moistend regular play sand from the local hard ware or home improvement store for about three dollars for a fifty pound bag just check the bag and make sure there are no weird smells like motor oil or chemicals comming from it and your good.One bag should get you to the depth you need for a ten gallon tank.You can wait to add the extra substrate till the molted crab is done and ready to be released from the iso this will make it much easier on you and the crabs.Make sure to offer a protein at least three times a week something like whole raw shrimp with the shell still one will do just fine and as an added bonus the shrimps shell will also provide calcium, chitin and other essential minerals to the crabs.You might want to add a cuttle bone found in the bird isle of most pet stores as its a great source of calcium which the crabs need to have access to at all times.For your salt water wait until you run out of the salt water conditioner you already have then buy a box of Instant Ocean salt mix at the pet store a box big enough to make ten gallons should only run you ten to twleve dollars and will last you a few months which makes it the cheaper alternative.Mix 8tbl spoons to one gallon of dechlorinated water to get full strength sea water.Keep the water refrigerated as it will spoil otherwise and it should last you for a long while.Hermitcrabs actually need a temp between 75 and 85 degrees to function normally meaning eating, drinking, digging and being active which is likely one of the reasons they have been burried for so long as temps below 75 are considered sub-par and continual or long term exposure to them can lead to premature death.Hermitcrabs are ectotherms(cold blooded) and as such require and external heat source to help with digestion, nutrient absorption and to maintain a highl level of activity otherwise they will just slow down and stop all activity including eating and drinking which is detrimental to their health.I highly reccomend getting a uth pad rated for a thirty gallon enclosure side or back mount the uth and you should see the temp stabilize and stay at around 80 degrees give or take a couple of degrees.It's reccomended that you have a uth pad rated for an enclosure at least 3x's the size of the enclosure you want to use it on as these pads are meant to boost the internal temp seven to ten degrees from room temp, side or back mounting is a much safer though less efficient method of using the pad so having it oversized it necessary to achieve the temp boost.Bottom mounting the pad per the manufacturers instructions is actually not recommended as its an unsafe and ineffective way of using the pad.