Molting crab’s shell stolen, body on top of sand

[Arthrophile]

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? Sand + coconut fiber


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? thermometer and hygrometer on the inside back wall of tank. Temp is around 70, humidity varies between 70-80


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? UTH on the outside wall of tank


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 water, treated with Zoo Med conditioners


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Fluker’s buffet blend, Zoo med hermit crab food, fresh veg, mealworms


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Two PP we got three days ago.


7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Both crabs appear to be molting.


8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
10 gallon tank

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? Two very small crabs


10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 3 extra shells


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


12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Tank has only had crabs for three days, but food is emptied daily


13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No sponges


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.)? We are brand new crab owners. Everything is new!


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. We are a brand new crab family. Two crabs (PP) came home with us three days ago. One immediately burrowed and didn’t emerge. The second crab was frisky and active until yesterday. The frisky crab is now mostly buried in the sand, but the first crab’s burrow hole is empty, his shell is hidden under the sand somewhere, and his limp black molting body is on top of one of the climbing rocks in the tank. I assume the frisky crab dug him up and dumped him out of his shell, and has now taken the shell into his own burrow for his molting. My question: what do I do about the limp crabby body on the rock? Should I try to put it in a burrow?


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[JTKermie]

You came to the right place! I'm new to doing this the right way too. Sounds like you've got a great start on a home and proper keeping strategy, but I'd read up on the tutorials here on what you need and how to do it.

In the meantime, I'd cut a piece of cardboard or wrap the top of your 10gal with press-n-seal or plastic wrap to keep the warmth and humidity in.

[Arthrophile]

You came to the right place! I'm new to doing this the right way too. Sounds like you've got a great start on a home and proper keeping strategy, but I'd read up on the tutorials here on what you need and how to do it.

In the meantime, I'd cut a piece of cardboard or wrap the top of your 10gal with press-n-seal or plastic wrap to keep the warmth and humidity in.

Thanks for the tips, JTKermie - it’s been driving me crazy trying to keep the heat up to a good temperature.

[Alexahunter10]

I know some people will like, use two liter bottles to protect their crab if it’s surface molting. I’m not sure what the HCA recommends for stuff like this. I get all of my information from here and crab central station on YouTube. They have a video about what to do when this happens. I’m just not sure if the HCA would endorse that Method. I know you’re not supposed to touch them unless you HAVE to when they are molting. If wait for one of the higher ups here to confirm.


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[Arthrophile]

Thx! I’ve seen the bottle recommendation in other places too. It turns out my crabs are both molting in burrows right next to each other - hopefully the first one done doesn’t nibble on the other one. The black blob I found on the rock wasn’t the crab, thankfully!

[myllkti]

Hi! This part is not super relevant to your emergency specifically, but I’d just like to add that in your form you mentioned using commercial food for your hermits. I just wanted to lyk that many can be pretty toxic, and unless you use different products of the same brand, I think yours might be : (. Here is a great HCA article on which commercial foods are safe to feed! https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 25&t=92555

And yes you shouldn’t disturb crabs if not necessary, but if its necessary it is necessary so if there’s a surface molt with more than one crab in the tank (esp as you think there is already a disturbance), you should def protect them!

[Arthrophile]

Hi! This part is not super relevant to your emergency specifically, but I’d just like to add that in your form you mentioned using commercial food for your hermits. I just wanted to lyk that many can be pretty toxic, and unless you use different products of the same brand, I think yours might be : (. Here is a great HCA article on which commercial foods are safe to feed! https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 25&t=92555

And yes you shouldn’t disturb crabs if not necessary, but if its necessary it is necessary so if there’s a surface molt with more than one crab in the tank (esp as you think there is already a disturbance), you should def protect them!

Thank you so much for responding! I checked the food link you sent, and have now thrown away the Zoo Med food jar.

[JTKermie]

Or give the ZooMed food to a fishkeeper? If the first 3 ingredients are whole protein and plant matter and not grains, fillers, etc, its generally good for fish, shrimp, snails, etc.

Our crabbies can eat so much of what we eat, you don't have to buy prepared hermit crab food for them for their main staple foods.

[Arthrophile]

Our family’s new role as Keepers of the Crabs has a long learning curve, it seems. Thanks for the good ideas. My husband was going to be in charge of setting everything up, and his plan was to buy a tank and aquarium gravel, toss some hermies in there and feed them whatever, which is what he did when he had hermits as a kid. I’m glad I took over, but dang I’ve got a lot to learn! JTKermie - I’ve put aluminum foil over the UTH on one side of the tank, and have lined the other 2 sides of the tank with inch-thick pink insulation foam, in addition to adding cardboard over the screen on top of the tank. There’s still room for airflow, and the temps are slowly coming up. Thank you all for being so helpful!

[JTKermie]

For my 29gal, I eventually settled on a UltraTherm 11"x23" heater that I have taped to the top/back of the tank.

I have a full plastic aquarium lighted hood intended for a 30"x12" tank on the tank that I had on hand since I also keep fish tanks. I have all gaps on the back of the hood sealed with packaging tape aside for a small gap for the temperature probe wiring and then I throw a large beach towel over the top of the hood and it covers most of the back of the tank, insulating over the ultratherm heater.

I keep a basket of extra shells on the towel over the lid portion to weight it down to help prevent my hermies from lifting the lid.

I'm only a few weeks into it and I wish I saw more activity. One little guy comes out during the day a few times to eat honey and swipe condensation of the glass, but the others I never see. They hide under a moss pile, in the coco hut or behind the maple branch or fake plant in there. I have another little guy, then a bigger one. I do see where they are all over the tank at night. Food looks mostly uneaten, but it does get shoved around and gets sand on it. As do the pools

My pools are 1 quart rectangular containers I bought from the dollar store. Each is doubled up so you leave the bottom one in the sand. I used pieces of gutter guard for ramps and zip tied them to the edge of the containers.

Sorry for the long-windedness. It is kind of a lot. I'm new at it and still getting frustrated in that I'm not into a routine I like yet.

[curlysister]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Sand + coconut fiber
Curly - Is it moistened so that it holds it's shape (ie- sand castle consistency)? It should be at least three times as deep as your largest crab.

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? thermometer and hygrometer on the inside back wall of tank. Temp is around 70, humidity varies between 70-80
Curly - 70 is the cooler limits for both temp and humidity.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? UTH on the outside wall of tank
Curly - Not all types of UTH's can be insulated over top - it can be a fire hazard. What brand of UTH do you have?

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 water, treated with Zoo Med conditioners
Curly - As has already been stated, you will need a dechlorinator such as Seachem Prime, and a marine salt like Instant Ocean. This is so that the crabs get all the minerals they need.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Fluker’s buffet blend, Zoo med hermit crab food, fresh veg, mealworms
Curly - Be sure to check out the Nutrition care sheet - crabs need a varied diet that includes protein and calcium daily, and they can eat many of the same foods as we can.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Two PP we got three days ago.


7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Both crabs appear to be molting.


8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
10 gallon tank

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? Two very small crabs


10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 3 extra shells
Curly - HCA recommends 3 to 5 extra shells per crab. Be sure to check the Shells care sheet to see the appropriate types of shells to buy.

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


12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Tank has only had crabs for three days, but food is emptied daily


13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No sponges


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.)? We are brand new crab owners. Everything is new!


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. We are a brand new crab family. Two crabs (PP) came home with us three days ago. One immediately burrowed and didn’t emerge. The second crab was frisky and active until yesterday. The frisky crab is now mostly buried in the sand, but the first crab’s burrow hole is empty, his shell is hidden under the sand somewhere, and his limp black molting body is on top of one of the climbing rocks in the tank. I assume the frisky crab dug him up and dumped him out of his shell, and has now taken the shell into his own burrow for his molting. My question: what do I do about the limp crabby body on the rock? Should I try to put it in a burrow?
Curly - Is the limp crab alive? Does it react at all when you touch it's antennae? If there is a chance it is alive, it will need to be re-shelled or it will die. Are you able to post a photo? How deep is your substrate? If it is too shallow, that could be why crab2 dug up crab1. Once a crab has been dug up, it should not be re-buried. If it is alive, it will need to be isolated from the other crab.

[Arthrophile]

Thank you for your questions, Curly. As I said, we’ve only had hermit crabs for 7 days now. The conditions in the tank have improved (avg temp is now 75, humidity levels are around 80%), the sand is “castle” consistency, and the crabs each have 4 shells to choose from. They’ve already been coming out at night and trying on different shells. We now have 2 crabs coming up out of the sand at night. So, in my newbie ignorance, I didn’t have any molting crabs, and the weird black lump I thought was a half-dead molting crab was actually a lump of sand in a poorly lit part of the tank. Lessons learned - now I’ll investigate the tank with a flashlight instead of relying on my terrible eyesight. Now that I know no one is molting, we’re going to add another inch of sand to the tank so it will be 3x deeper than our biggest crab.

[curlysister]

Yay! That's a fabulous update!! So glad it wasn't a dead crab!!