Lost a leg!

[SylysJ]

So one of my PP came up from a molt a few weeks ago and now I found a leg in their water dish. Should I separate him from the main tank?

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[GotButterflies]

No, it is not necessary to separate him, but please fill out the emergency template for us. Something is wrong for him to have dropped a leg.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=46102

[SylysJ]

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions by coping and pasting this list into a New Topic. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. Thanks!

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Play sand and eco earth 4/2 and about 11in.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? I have 2 digital acurite one on each side one is up on the glass above the water pools and the other I move around to check the heat. One says 83 humidity and 82 temp the other says 92 humidity and 79 temp

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Yes I have 2 zoo med uth on the back covered with foil them hard foam to insulate.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? I have 2 pools with bubblers. Fresh and salt. Instant ocean and the zoo med dechlorinator. I read that the zoo med was okay to use so I was using it up since I already had it then getting prime

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Fresh and dried I go off of the safe list. And I replace as needed about every other day always have out honey and PB in an eggshell too

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I've had him since January and he is a PP

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Yes he went down in may and came up about 2 weeks ago

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? A 60 gal with a hood and lights on the top cling wrap sealing up any holes. I didn't wrap the hole thing cause the moisture stays in.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? There are 6 total. 4 PP and 2 E's 3 are small and 3 medium

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? Probably like 30 in the shell shop all different kinds for the E's and PP

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No not at all it's in my living room and I have 2 little kids so no fumes in my house.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Spot clean the glass change out the water once a week and I have I large flat rock that u put food on top of so I vacuum it out and the pop on top once it gets really bad.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No
14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
No but the E's are new I got them in July
15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? They like to climb the top of the lid and I hear them fall down all the time. Could one of his legs come off during that time?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. Stuart came up from his molt about 2 weeks ago seemed healthy active at night and today I found a leg in the water dish.

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[GotButterflies]

GB for GotButterflies

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions by coping and pasting this list into a New Topic. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. Thanks!

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Play sand and eco earth 4/2 and about 11in.

GB: Okay - Great! I do recommend 10-12" for E's It should also be mixed with dechlorinated marine saltwater or dechlorinated freshwater to make the substrate sandcastle consistency.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? I have 2 digital acurite one on each side one is up on the glass above the water pools and the other I move around to check the heat. One says 83 humidity and 82 temp the other says 92 humidity and 79 temp

GB: You can buy an Acurite guage from Walmart if you are interested They are $8, digital, run on batteries, and tell you temp and humidity currently as well as low and high for last 24 hours. You can find them in the home improvement section by the air filters. Minimum heat and humidity should be 80/80. Hermit crabs have modified gills and need the humidity to breathe. E's can have the heat up to 86. Humidity can be higher - doesn't hurt them. I don't recommend the vacuum at all. Can you quit doing that? That would dirty the air quality.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Yes I have 2 zoo med uth on the back covered with foil them hard foam to insulate.

GB: This is dangerous. You cannot insulate over Zoo Meds. They are already insulated. Unfortunately you need to cut the insulation out from around them that you have covered them with. This will probably cause your temperature to drop. If it does, you might want to consider getting an ultratherm. They are great heaters. They can be insulated. www.reptilebasics.com or www.beanfarm.com sells them.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? I have 2 pools with bubblers. Fresh and salt. Instant ocean and the zoo med dechlorinator. I read that the zoo med was okay to use so I was using it up since I already had it then getting prime

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Fresh and dried I go off of the safe list. And I replace as needed about every other day always have out honey and PB in an eggshell too

GB: Make sure you cover all aspects of food pyramid Crabs need calcium at all times. Examples of calcium are cuttlebone, coral, oyster shell, eggshell. Foods should be organic when possible. Hermit crabs are sensitive to pesticides and fertilizers.
Safe food list: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92557
Unsafe food list: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92556
Food pyramid: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92554


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I've had him since January and he is a PP

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Yes he went down in may and came up about 2 weeks ago

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? A 60 gal with a hood and lights on the top cling wrap sealing up any holes. I didn't wrap the hole thing cause the moisture stays in.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? There are 6 total. 4 PP and 2 E's 3 are small and 3 medium

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? Probably like 30 in the shell shop all different kinds for the E's and PP

GB: There are incorrect shells to buy. Here is the shell guide: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=92552 You also want to have bigger shells than what they are currently in.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No not at all it's in my living room and I have 2 little kids so no fumes in my house.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Spot clean the glass change out the water once a week and I have I large flat rock that u put food on top of so I vacuum it out and the pop on top once it gets really bad.

GB: I would stop using the vacuum.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No
14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
No but the E's are new I got them in July
15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? They like to climb the top of the lid and I hear them fall down all the time. Could one of his legs come off during that time?

GB: Highly unlikely. Hermit crabs are also known as tree crabs. They climb trees in the wild.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. Stuart came up from his molt about 2 weeks ago seemed healthy active at night and today I found a leg in the water dish.

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[SylysJ]

Okay so everything you said I'm already doing. I still have no idea why his leg fell off and how to help him.

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[GotButterflies]

Okay so everything you said I'm already doing. I still have no idea why his leg fell off and how to help him.

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There is nothing you can do other than to keep an eye on him. He is obviously stressed out about something. Crabs drop legs due to stress.

Could the other crabs be messing with him?
With Es, I recommend the following: 10-12 " of substrate (which you have), At least 2 proteins daily, several calcium choices available at all times

Also, in the meantime, don't handle him - this will just add to the stress.

[SylysJ]

Okay so I have a cuttle bone, egg shells, coral kelp, crushed oyster shells, some mixes from HCP(when I'm out I go to healty hermit)raw honey and fresh PB, shrimp, different grains and veggies and fruit, organic when possible but always pre washed. So I'll keep an eye on him make sure no one is messing with him. Thank you!

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[GotButterflies]

Okay so I have a cuttle bone, egg shells, coral kelp, crushed oyster shells, some mixes from HCP(when I'm out I go to healty hermit)raw honey and fresh PB, shrimp, different grains and veggies and fruit, organic when possible but always pre washed. So I'll keep an eye on him make sure no one is messing with him. Thank you!

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Perfect on the calcium. Perfect on the others. You don't have to purchase items from me! Those are just my recommendations. Just follow the food pyramid, and make sure items are from the safe food list - refer to my post regarding the help template to see the links for the food pyramid, safe list and unsafe food list. These items are easy to obtain. You don't have to buy from hermit crab food stores. Since he is missing a leg, I would make sure there is a dab of honey every day. Just a drop is necessary.

I forget how big your crabitat is, but I personally keep a calcium dish in each of my crabitats. This way the calcium items don't get wasted.

[SylysJ]

It's a 60 gal and I'm a little confused by what you said on the heaters. The tank is pushed up against a wall the heaters are covered with foil shiny side facing them and then the foam piece is in between the foil and wall. My swamp cooler blowsbo. That wall so the foam helps keep the temp up.

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[curlysister]

What GB meant is that we can't put anything (including tinfoil) over top of a zoo med heater. We need to use an Ultratherm if we need to put anything over top to insulate or keep the heat in. We can put insulating materials around the zoomed heater, but not over top.

[GotButterflies]

Curlysister got it right Well said!

Pretty tank!