ecuadorian molting

[Tonys Hermits]

Im thinking of getting two I heard they are shelless when they emerge after molting is this true need tips and help

[Crabber85]

The Iso section of the forum is for those who have hermitcrabs going through molt ie: pre-molt, molt and post molt issues not really for future reference.This topic is also somewhat of a double post as I've already addressed this issue in one of your other posts however I will address it here again so no worries.E's do in fact have a harder time with molts as they typically molt outside of their shells instead of in them like the PP, the after the E has burrowed down and carved out its molt pocket it will slip out of its shell and begin to build up hydrostatic pressure in the joints of the outer layer of exo after the joints have swollen up to the point of splitting the crab will then begin to wiggle ideally slipping the old exo off in one piece like pulling off a sweater.Most E's if not fed a proper diet wont be able to slip the old exo off as easily as they should which often times ends up with crab getting stuck in the old exo at some point or other along the body so they then have to just shed the outer layer in segments instead.This leads to all kinds of issues like limb twisting, scarring and in some rare instances the crab actually gets so tangled up in its old exo that it can not fully cast it off before the new layer begins to harden which leaves the poor crab bonded to the old layer rendering it incapable of moving.Any hermitcrab who is unfortunate enough for this to happen to either has to drop most or all of its limbs or it struggles to try to free itself until it has spent of all its energy and passes away.Being underground you'll never smell the crab if it has passed as the substrate acts like a filter trapping the odor preventing it from escaping so the only possible way to smell a deceased molter from the surface would be it the crabs molting pocket were accidentally discovered by another crab or you which would open the pocket up to surface air exchange.When E's begin their ascent back to the surface world their shells often times fill up with so much substrate that they become to heavy to carry and the crab ends up having to ditch the shell and then re-surfaces shelless where it can become an easy meal for its tank mates.To stop this keep about ten or fifteen shells of similar weight and size with the D shaped opening laying all around the surface of the substrate which will give the E a chance to re-shell before it gets eaten.I've got so many E appropriate shells laying around in my tank that my PP's have started wondering where their extra shells have went.lol