Hansel is not coming up ! WORRIED !

Tetra4CClyPtus · Post by **Tetra4CClyPtus** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 6:18 am

Hansel , Lexxie and Gretel went down together on the 7th of last month and Gretel and Lexxie came up October 7th. But no Hansel. I am so worried that he might be dead or stuck somewhere. Should I dig him up ?? My crabs usually take a month and a half duration being under.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 7:06 am

It's generally discouraged to dig up burrowed crabs unless you know they are in distress ie you can hear or see them and know they are stuck/trapped and need your assistance.How big are your crabs?Depending upon size and need for molt the duration can last anywhere from three weeks to two months.Personally I never dig for burrowed hermitcrabs and have never had a problem with this arrangement though I have lost a couple of hermitcrabs due to bad molts(the crab got tangled up in its own old exo) but I have never lost a hermitcrab from it being trapped underground.As long as your substrate is the right consistency and your temp and humidity are staying stable the likelihood of your hermitcrab being stuck ie: due to a tunnel or pocket collapse, is extremely low.Hermitcrabs who get tangled in their own old exo usually do so due to one of two reasons either the molt pocket wasn't big enough because the enclosure was too small or the crab had been on a bad diet which caused molt deformities which in turn caused the crab to become stuck while attempting to cast off the old exo.As long as your feeding a good organic diet and the crabs have plenty of space the odds of the hermitcrab becoming entangled in it's own old exo are extremely low, I'd even say nearly non-existent so I don't see a need to worry at the moment just wait a couple more weeks and then if the crab isn't up by then I would think it would be safe to assume that it didn't make it.Hope this helps.

Tetra4CClyPtus · Post by **Tetra4CClyPtus** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 7:43 am

How bog are all my crabs ?? Hansel is a small medium. Lexxie and Gretel the same size . Hexxus, Nemo Vigo and Rancid are a large Dalex is a jumbo

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 8:04 am

Typically smalls/mediums take between two weeks and a month and a half and this really depends on the species of the crab, diet and general need for molt.PP's have one of the longer molting times being third on the list with Violas, Ruggies and Brevies being up there in molt duration.E's, Blues and Aussies all have relatively short molts lasting from several days to two weeks but they don't grow as big as fast as the PP as a result of the shortened molt duration.I know you have a larger enclosure from the description and pics you gave in the tat's thread so I don't think a molt pocket size issue is likely as there is enough ground space available to carve out a suitable size pocket with little to no problem.Like I said earlier I think I would just wait it out and see the crab may surface in the next few days on it's own and it's better to let this happen then to go digging out of fear or worry.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:12 am

I waited a month past their normal molt time then I went looking and found my crab dead and just falling a part. If you only have a few crabs like me do what I do start writing down the date of when they go down and stay down and every yr you pretty much know about when they are going to pull a molt and about how long it will last. crabby paddy last now about 2 to 2 1/2 months the other 3 now are about right around 2. crabby paddy always goes first and after he comes up the others go down