First Successful Molt! (Kind-of)

[GabyRaven]

So I came home today from NC, and as soon as I went to my room I noticed something different. There were tunnels EVERYWHERE and the tank was an absolute wreck. I looked to see if maybe a crab had come up and went nuts while my sister watched, but when I asked her if she saw the tunnels and scattered food, she said it wasn't there last night. Then, following some other's advice about checking for ant colonies, I checked all the decor and dishes. No colonies! Then, I decided to dig gently to see if I could find my MIA crab Tuna, who's been down for a couple months now. I found BFG inside Tuna's shell, so I assumed BFG found him and ate him (obviously wasn't happy at this point). Then, I found Clawford underground, and discovered that the crab next to Janet (one of two that were up when I left) was actually Tuna, freshly molted and lookin' fine!! Long hair and sharp black nails and bright eyes and dark, vibrant color

I've attached some pics for y'all, but when taking them I noticed he doesn't have a big pincher... Is this a big deal? Will he grow it back in the next molt? What do I do? He seems fine and it's VERY active and pooped all over the place and ate all the food and is climbing on everything and he's super outgoing now, as opposed to his previously shy nature (doesn't even go in his shell if you pick him up, just like Clawford)

Anyway, this is my first successful (ish) molt!! Had these crabs since August, and Tuna took around 2-2 1/2 months here he is, more pics coming later




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[GotButterflies]

Congratulations! In the future, I would refrain from digging anyone up. Your baby should be fine. Will grow back after molting again ~ may take a few times to get to normal size. Just make sure the crabbie doesn't get bullied ~ they do use their big pinchers a lot to establish who's who. Anyway- lots of calcium~ eggshells, cuttlebone, oyster shell, calcium carbonate. Raw organic honey, lots of protein-shrimp,grasshoppers,mealworms,crickets. Then do the rest of the food pyramid. Those things are the most important for molting though and for good healthy crabs!


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[GabyRaven]

Thank you! And I only dug because I feared ants could've gotten to them, and a few other crabbers suggested I do it. Yay! I'm glad he's alright Getting new cans of crickets and hoppers for my bearded dragons tomorrow, so I'll give some to the crabs too! I've got eggshell in there almost constantly.

On a side note, the ones I dug up weren't actually molting yet, so I just built them a new tunnel and lightly filled it with sub. Is that alright?


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[daws409]

On a side note, the ones I dug up weren't actually molting yet, so I just built them a new tunnel and lightly filled it with sub. Is that alright?

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You never want to re-bury them. We can't create the air bubble or air pockets like they can.


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[GabyRaven]

Should I dig them up again and put them on the surface then?


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[daws409]

I would... In the future never dig or re-bury them. Doing this does more harm than good. Also know that they can bury for 3+ months. You just have to wait it out and hope for the best.

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[GabyRaven]

I know, I didn't dig to check on them I just needed to make sure there wasn't a ant colony, I'll dig them up right now thank you!


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[daws409]

YW

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[GabyRaven]

I just went to dig them out and one was already out I opened up the hole for the other one


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[GotButterflies]

Glad everyone is okay! Now you know!


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[GabyRaven]

Thank you so much you guys, I really couldn't have done it without all the help from this forum So many crabs have been saved by this group of wonderful people!


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