HCA: Hermit Crab Association

It's the oddest thing. I didn't notice that was what was wrong at first. George has always been a little eccentric so the behavior wasn't a big sign for me. He just came up from a molt, slightly hairy and dark, sharp nail tips confirm. But he is missing his big pincher and only has one leg on the big pincher side. What the heck?? He's been under for a little over a month, didn't notice anything before he went down. I now have two more down and the E still hasn't come up. She gave me a window a couple weeks ago so I assume she's still fine. Back to George, he came up three days ago, he would hide during the day and come out when I fed them. He was the biggest in that tank. I noticed him teetering on things and doing weird stuff with his shell (turning backward in it and such). Then I cleaned last night, took everything out of both tanks, cleaned the sub of waste, washed the decor and rearranged. I decided for the sake of shell selection that George should switch to the other tank with the big guys and the little one that was in there (Annabeth) should go in with the little guys. After I put them in I was watching to make sure everyone was getting along. That's when I noticed his condition. He's moving around and eating. He's a little more cautious about climbing on others but more or less his usual self. Even decided to climb upside down under the shower caddy...why? Anyway, there is a definite gel bud. Any thoughts on what might have happened? Could the little ones have hurt him? Should I ISO him or just leave him with the big guys? I did not find the missing legs anywhere.Tank conditions are good, temp & humidity have been stable for quite a while. They get a mix of quality food including a variety of proteins, calcium mix, worm castings, mineral supplement, moss. 5 in the 30 gallon (they are the big guys - the largest guy is almost a medium, slightly bigger than a golf ball). 7 in the 40 gallon (they are all tiny and small - George is just a small and he's the largest of the small group, Luna may still be a micro but she's growing!). Sand castle consistency sub in the 30 is mixed EE & sand (70/30). Sub in the 40 is EE & sand (50/50), they've mixed a little in the middle but otherwise it is separate, thought the E might prefer the sand which she did for her window anyway. Both salt (Instant Ocean) and fresh declorinated (Topfin) water available all the time, deep enough to get into which they do regularly. Overhead lights and side mounted UTHs. Plenty of places to climb and hide and more shells than anyone would ever need.Peg

Your tank conditions sound good, diet too, could use some fats and oils if you're not presently offering it (nuts, coconut, fish, actual oils, etc). Three days post molt and having enough energy to get around and climb upside down is reason to leave him where he is. To do otherwise would stress him. The important thing is that he's getting around. Do keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't get harassed because he now lacks the BP for defense but I don't think he will be. If you have lighter weight shells he'll fit in I'd add those also in case he finds his present one cumbersome to manage with missing limbs.As diet and conditions sound good I don't believe he dropped limbs from stress, but it is possible that he struggled to shed them for too long and dropped them then, especially since he's already sporting a gel bud and has just come up. Crabs shed the exo right to left so this appears to support the theory.Other possibilities are iff he was fairly new and had yet to really benefit from good diet to give him the strength to molt he might've tired. If your salt mix is weaker than 2tbsp per quart, insufficient salt intake would make cracking and splitting exo to shed another possibility. (IO in the past has had controvery regarding claims of high metal concentrations. I don't know if it actually does or not but if you can make a switch before or after you finish that I might do it for peace of mind.) or if his molt location lacked sufficient humidity for the exo to slide off.As I mentioned though, he seems like he's doing well and his need for regeneration will trigger a molt sooner than otherwise so just feed well for post molt recovery as well as prep for the next one.

Thanks CA! I'll see if I can find something other than IO. I've had him for quite a few years now. I'll pay closer attention to oils, they do get a mix with nuts but I'll be more aware. He's been spending a lot of time in the calcium dish. It's just weird and worrisome. Thanks for giving me something to do.Peg