Crabs had shell fight and now one crab is losing limbs.

[Doom223]

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 as best you can. 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. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of playsand and Eco Earth. The mix I used was 1 brick of EE to 50lbs of playsand. The dept of the substrate is slopped and is about 11'' on the left side and goes down to 6'' on the right.

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 5 gauges in the tank. They are placed in the front left, back left, back middle, back right, and front right of the tank. The left side usually reads around 80 degrees fahrenheit with the humidity between 85-89%. The middle and right side read at the same temperature but the humidity is normally arou8nd 89-93% on that side as I have two 1 gallon frameless tanks that I use for the freshwater and saltwater pools. The pools also have bubblers in them.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Yes. I have an under tank heater across the back wall.

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)?
Fresh and Salt. I do .25ml of prime dechlorinator to 1 gallon of filtered water and 1/2 cup of oceanic salt to 1 gallon of water.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I feed them an assortment of fruits and veggies that I have dehydrated(Grapefruit, zucchini, bananas, apples, blueberries, grapes, pears, peaches) as well as dried mealworms, dried shrimps and flax seeds, worm castings. I replace the food every two days.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
1 month. PP

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
No

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
They are kept in a 55 gallon tank. It has a glass lid that is split in the middle so half can be lifted.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
There are 4 crabs that are medium sized.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Between 15-20.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I change the water once a week. The food is changed every two days and is kept in a food dish.

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

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.)?
No

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I currently have 4 crabs in my tank(Hugo, Miku, Kimi, and Pedro). Recently Pedro and Miku dug down and have been down for a few days but pop up periodically. Kimi had dug herself into a small hole and had just been staying there and periodically switching from having her shell block the hole opening to turning around and peaking out. Hugo had semi dug himself into a small divot near a dino skull fixture and just kind of stayed there. This went on for a few days. After a bit Kimi moved into the mouth of the skull and kind of dug down a little bit and stayed in the same position there. At the time neither Hugo nor Kimi had moved for their spots for a few days again. Yesterday I noticed that the humidity was a little low on the left side of the tank, the gauges were reading about 77% humidity, so I misted the side of the tank that was low. Kimi and Hugo were both near this side. This seemed to have stirred Hugo as shortly later he was up and about exploring the tank and licking the moisture of the side was and eating food from the food dish. After a bit I noticed that there was a naked crab sitting outside of the skull and when I looked inside Hugo was trying to get inside Kimi's shell and it was Kimi that was out of her shell. I moved Hugo away and put the shell back next to Kimi. Kimi climbed right back into it but she had sand all inside of it and seemed to be trying to get it out so I put her partially in the fresh water pool on the ramp to help wash some of the sand out and let her clean off. She seemed to be doing well and was moving around in the water but after a while I noticed she was on the edge of the ramp hanging on some plants next to it and had dropped one of her legs and her shell. I got her out of the water and put her and her shell on the other side of the tank to let her go back in but instead she went inside a larger shell that seems like it might be a bit too big for her. She spent all night and all day today in the same spot inside of the shell and I had left her alone. Hugo went back to his spot next to the skull and has been there since. This afternoon I noticed that her claw looked a bit weird by the shell and when I went to inspect I found that she had dropped her large claw also. She was hiding in her shell under a log at this point. I went to the store this afternoon and got her a new hide that is more closed off because the current hides have holes in them that she could see through and I wanted to give her a place that she could better destress in. I'm not sure what to do further at this point though. Is she going to be ok? Is there anything else I can do? Also I have a good number of shells in the tank for them to pick from(15-20) and Hugo seems to like switching to a new shell then switching back to his old one. Why would he attack Kimi for her shell like that?

[curlysister]

Your conditions look good to me, I don't see anything that you need to improve. Be sure you have a source of calcium in their diet too.
I'm not an expert in this kind of behavior, but this does seem to be shell related. What type of shell are they each in, and what types do you have as extras?

[Doom223]

For calcium we have a cuttlebone in the tank and we also put egg shells and oyster shells in their food dish. For the shells I have an assortment of turbos that I got from Naples Sea Shell Company. Pedro and Miku have not switched shells yet. Kimi picked out a banded tapestry turbo shell the first day we got her and had been in that. Hugo swapped to a tapestry turbo shell and has been trying out the others as well. Before he started hiding in his spot he would switch shells about twice a day then go back to the original tapestry turbo he picked out. Kimi is now in a calico turbo shell.

[Doom223]

Hey everyone just providing an update. I left Kimi alone in the hide over the weekend to hopefully destress but unfortunately when I checked on her this morning it seems that she has passed.

[curlysister]

So sorry to hear that. Maybe it had nothing to do with shells at all, it could have been that she was just too weak from everything she went through prior to coming into your care.