New crabs already molting?

[themunsters]

I'm curious if it's common for new crabs to molt within 24 hours of being placed in their new habitat or maybe one is just digging?

We bought our two new crabs, Herman and Lily, yesterday from PetsMart after doing a couple weeks of research and having my almost 5 year old save up his money to buy the crabs. I set the 10g crabitat up with play sand (the kind with the red and green fence on the package) and the EcoEarth coconut fiber in what is approximately 5:1 ratio. Rinsed everything and set them up the two water bowls, a dish bowl, some climbing branches, frog moss, a hut, and a few new shells. I don't have a thermometer/hygrometer yet, but just ordered one from amazon and it's very humid here (80-90%) and raining for the next several days so I think the humidity should be good and I'll know for sure tomorrow. Plus, the substrate is damp and so the humidity is likely even higher.

They didn't really eat much and mostly stayed in one spot until night, which I expected. The smaller one, Lily, has been digging a lot and looks like she's gotten herself pretty deep under the moss and hunkered down. I'm wondering if maybe she's already molting or do they just dig spots to sleep in? I can tell they at least crawled in the water because there was some sand in there this morning. I don't think they ate much, half a leaf of spinach, a few bites of raspberries, and can't really tell if they ate the pellet food. I know most pellet food is bad, but this one is mostly protein (dried shrimps and mealworms were the first two ingredients). I'm sure it could also just be that they are a little scared with being re-homed yesterday and having people stare at them all day.

Also, totally random and unrelated questions (1) I've found mixed information on how often to change their substrate. Answers range from monthly to never. I figure it has to be at least every 1-2 months. (2) Where do you get shells? We bought them at PetsMart, but I wasn't happy with the variety of shell opening shapes and sizes. I'm hoping they will do for now.

[nerdycrabs]

I'm curious if it's common for new crabs to molt within 24 hours of being placed in their new habitat or maybe one is just digging?

We bought our two new crabs, Herman and Lily, yesterday from PetsMart after doing a couple weeks of research and having my almost 5 year old save up his money to buy the crabs. I set the 10g crabitat up with play sand (the kind with the red and green fence on the package) and the EcoEarth coconut fiber in what is approximately 5:1 ratio. Rinsed everything and set them up the two water bowls, a dish bowl, some climbing branches, frog moss, a hut, and a few new shells. I don't have a thermometer/hygrometer yet, but just ordered one from amazon and it's very humid here (80-90%) and raining for the next several days so I think the humidity should be good and I'll know for sure tomorrow. Plus, the substrate is damp and so the humidity is likely even higher.

They didn't really eat much and mostly stayed in one spot until night, which I expected. The smaller one, Lily, has been digging a lot and looks like she's gotten herself pretty deep under the moss and hunkered down. I'm wondering if maybe she's already molting or do they just dig spots to sleep in? I can tell they at least crawled in the water because there was some sand in there this morning. I don't think they ate much, half a leaf of spinach, a few bites of raspberries, and can't really tell if they ate the pellet food. I know most pellet food is bad, but this one is mostly protein (dried shrimps and mealworms were the first two ingredients). I'm sure it could also just be that they are a little scared with being re-homed yesterday and having people stare at them all day.

Also, totally random and unrelated questions (1) I've found mixed information on how often to change their substrate. Answers range from monthly to never. I figure it has to be at least every 1-2 months. (2) Where do you get shells? We bought them at PetsMart, but I wasn't happy with the variety of shell opening shapes and sizes. I'm hoping they will do for now.

It is totally normal for them to dog when you first get them. They probably weren't kept in a good environment to molt before you got them so they might be checking out the substrate and preparing for a molt! It's also very common to have them dig and hide because the move can be stressful. They might pop out and be more active in a week or they might go down for about a month for their first molt with you. Don't worry, continue caring for them and eventually they will come out.

I use the same ratio of play sand and Eco earth and I've never had to change the substrate. As long as you keep the humidity in the right range and not too high, you probably won't get any mold. I always take things out once in a while to clean/sanitize them when I rearrange the tank and I'll spot clean any bathroom spots, but it sort of runs itself. You can look into incorporating Isopods into your tank as little helpers too. Just be sure to check in crabby hiding spots for runaway food. One crab always steals the krill in my tank!

As for shells, check under the store recommendations on the forum. There are several great etsy shops that sell polished or unpolished shells, way nicer than any pet store I've been to. Plus, sometimes people sell shells on here so keep an eye out and you might get a good deal.

I hope this helps!

[themunsters]

Thanks! I'm also wondering if it's ok to leave the moss laying on the substrate or do I need to get a basket or something for it?

[MamaKelly]

My best local place for shells by far was JoAnn fabric. I got a bag of mixed green and white shells with a bunch of Green turbos up to about 3/4" opening, plus one larger one. With a coupon I think I spent less than $3. Definitely check out the recommended shells post. My first few purchases were for shells that my crabs probably won't use

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

[wodesorel]

Thanks! I'm also wondering if it's ok to leave the moss laying on the substrate or do I need to get a basket or something for it?

Keep an eye out for mold growth and go from there. Some tanks are fine with moss on the substrate, but in others it becomes mold city in between.

[themunsters]

Update:

Lily was just digging the first night, but the second night she did some serious digging. I heard it going on for a couple of hours so I think she got pretty deep and hasn't been seen for two days so I'm thinking a molt. She was maybe dime sized or slightly smaller, so that's good. I'm going to hit up Joann's or Michaels tomorrow to look for some more shells so she has a better selection when she comes back up. I struggled to find shells that looked small enough for her at the pet store.

I did get a bit of mold on the grapewood logs we had in there. I'm reading that it's pretty common, but I also think it may have been too humid in there. Got the thermometer/hygrometer and the humidity was 85% at first. I replaced the moss even though that wasn't moldy and made sure not to mist it at all today. I also took out all the grapewood logs, even the ones that weren't moldy, cleaned them off, sterlized them, and let them dry before putting them back in the substrate. I have the humidity down to 78 now.

Herman has still been pretty shy. He hides all day, but he was pretty hungry last night when I put out some egg shell, peanut butter, and coconut along with his pellet food. He pulled a lot of the little shrimps out of the pellet food and was hiding that under the moss with him today. I could see a line going from the food bowl and a lot of the egg shell was gone too. Anytime we come by to check on him at night, he hides in his shell. I'm sure he's happy when we go to bed and he can wander all night without interruption.

[themunsters]

I'm also feeling so bad for Herman all alone. Now I can understand why 3 would be better than 2.

[Adastra1018]

Glad to hear she dug down! My newest one dug around and explored for about a week before molting. He's super shy though, probably only comes out at night. I got him a year ago and have only seen him a few times. I believe they're both molting again so that's another 4 months with a quiet tank. :roll:

As far as mold, I had the same issue with my new driftwood I got from Petsmart. It also had a copper green fuzz all over it after a week. Another poster told me fungus wouldn't hurt the crabs and if you're ok with springtail bugs in your tank, they'll eat it. Ifyou have mold or fungus, you probably need more air circulation and I was also told that it's possible that you can keep scrubbing it off and eventually it'll resolve on it's own. If not, you can always boil it. I scrub my wood with a distilled white vinegar and water solution and rinse it real well before boiling.

[Crabinski]

I did get a bit of mold on the grapewood logs we had in there. I'm reading that it's pretty common, but I also think it may have been too humid in there. Got the thermometer/hygrometer and the humidity was 85% at first. I replaced the moss even though that wasn't moldy and made sure not to mist it at all today. I also took out all the grapewood logs, even the ones that weren't moldy, cleaned them off, sterlized them, and let them dry before putting them back in the substrate. I have the humidity down to 78 now.

If you get a bit of mold again, soak the grapewood in dechlorinated salt water and either air-dry outside (if you're in a warm and sunny locale) or pop in a 275 degree oven for about 2 hours. That should really help! My tank's humidity is always 90%+ but the SW soak has reduced the mold dramatically.