Please help hermit crabs Dying

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:56 am

I had 7 hermit crabs in a 15 gallon tank and recently two have died within 2 days they have no loss of limbs or anything indicating stress.The tanks has a 75-80 percent humidity and is 80 degrees. Friday I picked one of my crabs up (to explore the house) and it fell out of its shell limp and today another died within 2 days i have fresh and saltwater available.Is there a disease that could possibly kill a crab's like this?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:24 am

First let me say that I am sorry your having such issues with your hermitcrabs, it never feels good to loose them let alone loose them and not know why so I will do what I can to help answer your questions.Secondly, how long have you had your hermitcrabs?Fifteen gallons is a pretty decent size enclosure seven is definitely way too many for that number of crabs you really need something along the lines of a thirty gallon to provide the space they need for molting and for general exercise.What are you feeding your hermitcrabs on a regular basis: store bought commercial hermitcrab foods, fresh fruits and veggies or a mix?Commercial foods often contain harmful ingredients like Ethoxyquin, Copper Sulfate, BHA and BHT which are used as preservatives but are actually more typically used in industrial pesticides and as such can not discriminate between the insects they are meant to kill and the hermitcrabs they are being fed to so please check and food bottles for the above mentioned ingredients if any are present then the food needs to be tossed out.Is your substrate hydrated or dampened to sandcastle consistency if not the crabs won't be able to tunnel and form molt pockets this can actually cause a lot of stress because it induces the molt inhibiting hormone that becomes toxic in the crabs body after a certain period of time and will kill the crab.There are a lot of things that can reduce the lifespan of a captive hermitcrab but the worst one is stress and hermitcrabs are some of the easiest to stress pets on the market since they have pretty strict care requirements.While there are no known diseases that effect hermitcrabs that can be successfully transmitted to humans they do have a few illnesses that can be spread from crab to crab and can be picked up from other crustaceans.Shrimp are notorious for spreading black spot disease which is essentially an exoskeletal fungal infection to hermitcrabs when the hermitcrabs feed on the infected shrimp.There are a few bacterial and fungal infections that hermitcrabs are prone to like gill fungus but none of them are this quick acting they typically take a long time to do their damage and kill the crab.Stress from poor diet, over exposure to poor climate conditions ie taking the crab out of its enclosure and allowing it to roam the house actually does damage to the crabs gills because most homes in US only have a 50% humidity level due to the usage of air conditioning systems which means the air your home is likely way too dry for the hermitcrab to be able to breath properly which often results in irrevocable gill scarring, being in cramped living quarters also adds stress as well as being handled too often.Most of us here generally refrain from handling our crabs because of the risks associated and we have noticed a marked improvement in their overall health and life spans.If you've never noticed that your hermitcrabs have molted with you then this is a key indicator that something is amiss in their enclosure that needs to adjusted.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 8:32 am

Thanks though they have molted before and i have seen them.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 8:33 am

I have also had them for a couple of years now to.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:46 pm

Could you please copy and post the questionnaire found here it will help us to get a better idea as to what maybe going on with your crabs.I need to see your answers to these questions they will give me more insight as to what could possibly be causing your hermitcrabs to die.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 12:40 am

how long have you had your hermitcrabs? 3 yearsWhat are you feeding your hermitcrabs on a regular basis:Fresh fruitIs your substrate hydrated or dampened to sandcastle consistency:yeshe crab out of its enclosure and allowing it to roam the house actually does damage to the crabs gills because most homes in US only have a 50% humidity level due to the usage of air conditioning systems which means the air your home is likely way too dry for the hermitcrab to be able to breath properly which often results in irrevocable gill scarring, being in cramped living quarters also adds stress as well as being handled too often.My first crab who ive had since 2012 I handle every day he is not stressed and has recently molted however he is the only one i hold.Have my hermit crabs molted?yes every one of them has.It takes them about 1 month at a time.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:57 am

1) How long have you had your crabs and how long have you been caring for this particular crab in distress?3 years2) What size is your tank and what kind of lid do you have? 15 galon tank,I dont know what the lid is called but it has tiny holes and a lock3) What are you using for heat? Please be specific and include fixture type, watt or mat size and where the heat source is mounted. A 50 watt bulb4) What kind of substrate do you use in your tank and at what depth? Is it dry or damp and sand castle consistency? cconut substrate,The depth is 6 inches and it is damp5) 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?No I dont heed to becuase i have well water.I use aquarium saltwater and yes I do also offer fresh water.6) What do you normally feed your crabs?Fresh fruit such as coconut and any other fresh fruit.7) Do you bathe, mist or handle your crabs at all?I mist mmy crabs every day and they bathe themselves the only one i handle is sheldon and he is my first crab and is stiil alive.

What are the temperature and humidity readings? Please be specific and include high low fluctuations if you're aware of them.Temprature is 80 degrees The humidity goes between 70 and 80

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 8:00 am

@Evan Bruno, thank you for the copy and post everything looks good as far as your setup goes the only thing I could see is you say your using overhead heat on your enclosure and unfortunately overhead heat should never be used on enclosures smaller than thirty gallons because of the way this type of heat works it doesn't just gently heat the air in the enclosure in one spot it actually uniformly heats the air across the entire enclosure on smaller enclosures which often leads to dehydrated hermitcrabs and overly dry air turning the tank into a crab bake.Just because your thermometer is not registering extremely high temps doesn't mean that the type of heat your using isn't drying out the shell water that the crabs have to carry around with them which in turn causes the crabs body to become dehydrated because the heat bulb is literally stealing the water right from the crabs body.For enclosures smaller than thirty gallons the only safe means or method of heating them is to use an indirect heat from a UTH or under tank heater that needs to be rated for a tank three times the size of the one you intend to use it on so for a ten gallon tank you would need a pad rated for a thirty gallon to get the appropriate seven to ten degree temp boost.You should only ever side or back mount these pads never bottom mount because of the way they work they have to heat the glass first then the air as it makes contact with the glass this is called passive heat transfer and can only work if the glass where the pad is mounted is contacting open air.These pads were designed to be used under reptile tanks where there is either no substrate or very shallow and dry substrate, the depth and dampness of the substrate required by hermitcrabs actually acts as an insulating barrier effectively trapping the heat on the bottom of the tank where it can build up to one hundred degrees or higher which has been known to kill burrowed or molting hermitcrabs.The only other thing I think is happening is something that is fairly common due to the way hermitcrabs are mishandled during the harvesting period and then held at the harvesters warehouse where they receive no proper care not to mention the awful conditions they have to try to live in at the store that is attempting to sell them.All this abuse and neglect does long term damage to the crabs gills and body which reduces their captive life spans from thirty plus years to a mere six months to two years.Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about the damage incurred prior to us buying these little animals we can only care for them the best we can and try to make whats left of their time here with us as comfortable as possible.The only way to stop all of this is for honest folks like us to just boy-cot the sales of hermitcrabs in the US and around the world and try to get it completely stopped but that is not likely to happen because the big chain pet stores and suppliers will just keep selling them to unsuspecting impulse buyers its a vicious circle.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:26 am

Thanks for your help.I will try a heating mat again(last time it almost sat the house on fire).But If that's the reason my pp pincher tom and my Indo pinky died I will do Thanks again for the help.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:04 am

Your welcome its what I'm here for.Sounds like you got a defective mat the last time, I had one that melted on me due to a broken lead in the wiring for the heating element in the pad, I wound up replacing the pad after I noticed how warped it was starting to look one day that is how I found it was melted talk about a scare. Did you have the pad bottom mounted that would cause a severe failure of the pad once it has overheated.Most UTH manufacturers don't list the proper way to mount the pad, I've only seen two so far that actually state that side or back mounting is safer and therefor recommended.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:11 am

No it was backmounted but I think it may be the company everything ive gotten from them is defective in some way.Ive heard from other people though the company is supposed to be really good.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:13 am

About crab illness though are there any cures for illneses just in case something happens in the future.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:39 am

Sometimes companies will produce entire batches that are defective because they are not using a quality tester like they are supposed to be which is an issue to say the least.Its an unfortunate reality that most companies have bad batches slip through the cracks and make out to the public more often than they would like to admit but that is the price they pay for automation in the production of these items.As far as hermitcrab illnesses there are no known treatments that can be used because the majority of them are actually toxic or just plain ineffective on hermitcrabs.Salt baths are the number one treatment for sick hermitcrabs and as long as your providing a good quality salt water in the enclosure they will take care of this on their own.The exotic species of hermitcrabs need to have their salt water made from a high quality marine grade aquarium salt like Instant Ocean or Oceanic's aquarium salt as these salt mixes contain all of the key elements found in real sea water which are required by the exotics.Fresh water aquarium salts like Jungle or API don't have these missing elements and so don't really work too well for exotics.The exotics are Ecuadorian, Straw, Blue Berry, Indonesian, Viola, Ruggie, Pseudo-Ruggie, Cavie, Aussie and Pink Viola.The Indo is one of the largest growing species and requires a good marine grade aquarium salt mix for its salt water.The domestic PP is the only species that doesn't absolutely require marine grade aquarium salt because it has an internal mechanism that allows it to store a large volume of salt from the food it eats which gives it the ability to live up to ten miles inland so its not completely dependent upon constant access to the ocean.

I really need help · Post by **I really need help** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 12:32 am

I use to have an indo named pinky it was very big and I had It for 3 months but then it was the 2nd one that died.But i used instant ocean salt water. so thats not why.

jenok · Post by **jenok** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:52 am

On your foods I only seen fruit listed. Do you give them any thing else like shrimp, boiled egg, nuts, veggies ect...? In the zoea forum there are 2 food lists that are very helpful in making sure the crabs have a good variety in their diet.