Is my crab molting

HeatherC · Post by **HeatherC** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 2:31 am

Hi I'm new here. We took a trip to the beach and my daughter came home with 2 hermit crabs. They lived in the temporary started cage for about 4 days and when I got home I got a habitat set up for them. The temp & humidity is right at 80 degrees and 80% humidity. Yesterday morning both crabs were out and waking around. When I got home I found Bernards shell empty. I looked around for him and all I found was a little hill under the log shelter and another shell at next to it. No crab in the shell. I did not disturb the mound under the log. I read a bit on molting and thought I should remove the other crab from the habitat. So I moved the other crab to another aquarium last night just in case. This morning the shell that was next to the mound is gone and the mound is mound is flatter. Is he molting? How long will he be down there? Anything special I need to do to make sure he comes thru this okay? He was a very small crab and I don't want my daughters first experience to end with a dead crab. Help!

HeatherC · Post by **HeatherC** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 8:14 am

Anyone?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 8:51 am

Sorry for the delay in posting but yes it is quite normal for newly purchased hermitcrabs to go down right after you bring them home so the odds are high that your little one has indeed gone down to molt.Hermitcrabs take an arduous journey to get to us from the time they are harvested which is generally rough, through the time they are held at the harvesters warehouse where they receive little to no care and are in cramped quarters to when they get to the store(they receive little better care in-store) where you will ultimately purchase them.By the time a hermitcrab gets from point A the harvesting zone to point B your house they have had to post pone molting, been subjected to all sorts of disease in the holding facility and built up a lot of stress from this process which can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.This is why it's crucial to isolate all new purchases by themselves or in groups in the case of a group purchases for a minimum of four weeks this to give the crab/s time to tank up on nutrients, de-stress and molt if need be so it is quite common for new crabs to immediately go down.Some new hermits will act as if they are going down to molt but what they are really doing is digging down where it is nice and dark to de-stress and detox from their long trip.What you can do is offer both hermits some raw or organic honey in a bottle cap which is a power food and is loaded with anti-microbial antibacterial agents which will help them to detox and de-stress not to mention give them a much needed protein boost.I know what your thinking if the one crab is down should I still put the honey in and yes is the answer as the crab could resurface at any given time if it is de-stressing and will greatly appreciate the energy boost from the honey.Whats your substrate like is it damp ie sand castle consistency or is it more on the dry side?

HeatherC · Post by **HeatherC** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:37 am

The substrate is damp. I used eco earth and sand mixed. I have another problem. I got another aquarium and was moving some of the things to the new habitat for the other crab just now. When I lifted the coconut climing background it uncovered the molting crab. He is in his new shell now. Should I find his exo and put him back down with it. Or should I just leave him alone. I think he must have been stuck to the coconut fibers. I'm worried now that I stressed him out and or killed him. What should I do?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:49 am

First I need to know what size crab this is as the shortest molt time is one week from the time the crab sheds it's old exo to when it emerges from it's molting pocket looking for food and water.From what I gather from your previous post the crab has only been isolated for a couple of days which means it hasn't had time to molt unless I'm mistaken. I would recommend just leaving it alone for now and let it rest.Do make sure to have both fresh and salt water present as well as some food as the crab is going to need all the nutrition it can get.

HeatherC · Post by **HeatherC** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 12:24 pm

He is a very little crab. He is in the new shell. Would he change shells if he hadn't molted? I just checked on him and he has dug himself back down. Perhaps he's just preparing to molt. He's only been underground for 2 days.

HeatherC · Post by **HeatherC** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:52 pm

He is not dug all the way down but he did move from laying on top of the substrate to being partially burried under the log. I'm changed is food and water (both fresh and salt) and gave him fresh food. Also some nuts. I'll get some other protein tomorrow. What do you suggest? Shrimp? anything else I can do for the little guy?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 6:06 pm

You can offer shrimp raw with the shell still on, hard or soft boiled eggs and freeze dried krill meant for feeding fish to give him a different protein every day.Micros are dime to penny size and will molt once every three days or so and are not commonly available on the pet market.Smalls are nickel to quarter size and will molt once every two to three weeks only being down five to seven days as their size makes molting tremendously easy on them versus medium, large and jumbo hermits who can take anywhere from three weeks to two months to complete a molt cycle because the bigger they get they have a progressively harder time shedding the old exo the thicker and heavier it is.Jumbos only molt once every twelve to eighteen months, larges molt once every six to twelve months and mediums molt every three to six months.Smaller crabs may molt upwards of four times a month until they hit the medium category and the frequency and duration of molt cycles gets longer.The best thing you can do at this point is to keep the iso dim but not dark to aid in the de-stressing process and if you can get the humidity and temp to stay at eighty to give the crab the best conditions to de-stress in.It is worth noting that taking a hermitcrab from bad conditions and putting it right into an enclosure with perfect climate actually adds unnecessary stress to the crab by forcing it to quickly adapt to the new climate conditions so it's preferable to start the new home off at the same temp and humidity levels of that of the store enclosure if you can get that information and then bump the temp and humidity up by two percent every other day to gradually bring the conditions to optimum thus allowing the crab to gradually acclimate which is much easier on it.If you don't know the temp and humidity of the store enclosure you can still gradually acclimate the crab by starting off the home enclosure with a temp of seventy five and a humidity of seventy and then work it up from there every other day by two percent/degrees.If you can't gradually acclimate your hermitcrabs don't beat yourself up over it as they will get through the process your just giving that extra buffer by doing the gradual acclimation that they can survive without. From what you've told me it sounds like the poor hermit is just very stressed and is looking for a suitable hiding spot to de-stress.

HeatherC · Post by **HeatherC** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 12:21 am

Thanks Crabber85. You are so knowledgeable! I really appreciate it. He is pretty small. I'd say his original shell is no bigger than a quarter if that. Heck the new shell isn't much bigger. He's just a little guy which I'm sure is why my daughter picked him out. I'll leave him alone in ISO until he starts coming out and moving around. This morning he was not quite as buried as before. His shell is visible but he is in a shallow hole. Thanks again for the information. Our other crab seems to be doing very well. It is moving around the habitat and climbing all over the place. That one is a little larger than the other. I'm worried about it getting lonely with the other crab in ISO. I'm thinking of getting a third crab to keep it company.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 5:30 am

Actually you'd be doing the big guy/gal a disservice adding a new tank mate right now as he is going through the same de-stressing process and you were kind enough to give him his own space to do so.All adding a new tank mate will do is up the stress level on both crabs as you would be forcing them to compete for food, shells and hiding spots not to mention having to do an immediate meet and greet which can be very stressful for the crab in and of itself.Just leave them both as they are for the next four weeks to give them the necessary time to do what they need to to get back in good shape. Your very welcome for the info and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask that is what we are here for.