Hermit crab has left shell and is roaming around nude

[JessW1609]

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?
a mix of coco fibre and sand and is about 6 inches deep

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 do but it is a cheap one from a pet store and I just haven't been able to replace it

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
not right now as its been quite hot

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 a fresh and salt water bowl, both are deep enough for all crabs to submerge themselves

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I have a mix of nuts and seeds and things like that which they have constant access to, I try to throw in fresh and dried fruits and veggies during the week and give them prawns every one or two weeks. they also have cuttle fish bones in there tank at all times and egg shells whenever we have them

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I think I've had the oldest one for about a year and then I got one about the middle of the year and I got one recently but he's had time to settle in and they are all used to each other and he doesn't seem to have anything wrong with him

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
the crab in question probably molted about a month ago for a while (my New Years resolution was actually to keep better track of their molts) and he seemed fine

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
I have a fish tank and its a reasonable size for 3 crabs with lots of climbing. I plan on upgrading as soon as I get the money

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3 and 2 are small ish medium and the other is a mediums large but hasn't had any problems with the other tank mates

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
I try to keep a large assortment of each of their sizes but its not the best and I'm planning on ordering some this week from Naples sea shells I just need to figure out the sizing and type

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
not that I'm aware of, I try my best to keep any chemicals far away from them and cover them up if any have to be used in the room that they are kept in.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I did a deep clean late last year but I try to do semi regular surface cleans since my crabs like to drag there food everywhere

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.)? I get the occasional midge in their tank but I always kill them and its not a regular thing


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
so my largest crab has decided to leave its shell and not go into a new one. he's walking around his tank all normally though and he doesn't seem to be acting differently but his back half is quite yellow and squishy. right now my house is really humid (I live in South Australia btw) and so ive been trying to air out their tank and my room without dropping the humidity to quickly and my other two don't seem to bothered by it. I tried to do a surface clean of the tank to stir up the moisture sitting on top of the sand and also make sure there was no mold anywhere that I could see (there wasn't). he started going in shells for a while and walking around in them but then always went back to being nude. its been two days. ive been trying not to stress him out two much but today ive tried bathing him gently in salt water to make sure he didn't have anything on him and to keep him from drying out. ive cleaned all the shells to make sure nothing was in them which kinda of worked but not for long. I currently have made him a make shift iso tank just in case the others hurt him. they haven't really been bothered by him but they do all like to climb on top of each other and with his squishy back I don't want them hurting him. anyway I really have no idea what I'm doing and most of my care for hermit crabbing has been learnt through trial and error. this crab is my baby and ive had such bad luck with crabs dying on me and I could really use some advice. thanks

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[myllkti]

Hi! There’s actually a pre-written HCA article for naked crabs https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 7&t=122302 Try checking out the manual re-shelling and the trouble shooting sections. I’ll go through your form with a few thoughts too, and anyone else can ofc add if I miss anything

[myllkti]

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?
a mix of coco fibre and sand and is about 6 inches deep

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 do but it is a cheap one from a pet store and I just haven't been able to replace it

Myllkti - please do ASAP. From what I gather you’ve had these crabs for a while, and monitoring temp and humidity is essential to their wellbeing, and improper conditions can lead to several issues. If you are unable to travel, you can order one online, I’ve seen digital Acurite gauges as cheap as $8 on Amazon, lmk if you need a link

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
not right now as its been quite hot

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 a fresh and salt water bowl, both are deep enough for all crabs to submerge themselves

Myllkti - you might already do this but you didn’t specify and some people do not realize so I’ll just quickly note that saltwater should be prepped with marine salt as aquarium salt does not have all nutrients needed

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I have a mix of nuts and seeds and things like that which they have constant access to, I try to throw in fresh and dried fruits and veggies during the week and give them prawns every one or two weeks. they also have cuttle fish bones in there tank at all times and egg shells whenever we have them

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I think I've had the oldest one for about a year and then I got one about the middle of the year and I got one recently but he's had time to settle in and they are all used to each other and he doesn't seem to have anything wrong with him

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
the crab in question probably molted about a month ago for a while (my New Years resolution was actually to keep better track of their molts) and he seemed fine

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
I have a fish tank and its a reasonable size for 3 crabs with lots of climbing. I plan on upgrading as soon as I get the money

Myllkti - again you didn’t specify and you very well may be totally fine but here is the HCA tank sizing guidelines just in case https://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB ... 26&t=92541

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3 and 2 are small ish medium and the other is a mediums large but hasn't had any problems with the other tank mates

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
I try to keep a large assortment of each of their sizes but its not the best and I'm planning on ordering some this week from Naples sea shells I just need to figure out the sizing and type

Myllkti - here’s some info on types and sizing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94u0YNPADGg

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
not that I'm aware of, I try my best to keep any chemicals far away from them and cover them up if any have to be used in the room that they are kept in.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I did a deep clean late last year but I try to do semi regular surface cleans since my crabs like to drag there food everywhere

Myllkti - deep cleans are only necessary in the case of floods, bacterial blooms, and infestation of unwanted critters

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.)? I get the occasional midge in their tank but I always kill them and its not a regular thing


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
so my largest crab has decided to leave its shell and not go into a new one. he's walking around his tank all normally though and he doesn't seem to be acting differently but his back half is quite yellow and squishy. right now my house is really humid (I live in South Australia btw) and so ive been trying to air out their tank and my room without dropping the humidity to quickly and my other two don't seem to bothered by it. I tried to do a surface clean of the tank to stir up the moisture sitting on top of the sand and also make sure there was no mold anywhere that I could see (there wasn't). he started going in shells for a while and walking around in them but then always went back to being nude. its been two days. ive been trying not to stress him out two much but today ive tried bathing him gently in salt water to make sure he didn't have anything on him and to keep him from drying out. ive cleaned all the shells to make sure nothing was in them which kinda of worked but not for long. I currently have made him a make shift iso tank just in case the others hurt him. they haven't really been bothered by him but they do all like to climb on top of each other and with his squishy back I don't want them hurting him. anyway I really have no idea what I'm doing and most of my care for hermit crabbing has been learnt through trial and error. this crab is my baby and ive had such bad luck with crabs dying on me and I could really use some advice. thanks

.

[JessW1609]

omg thanks I don't know how I didn't find that. so should I change the iso tank to one without substrate. I do have pictures but I don't know how to upload them. how can I tell if he's sick. I know he's missing a antenna but he's been like that for a while and it hasn't been a problem

[myllkti]

That would be best so the sub doesn’t irritate or scratch the exposed abdomen. You can put in moist paper towels instead to keep it wet, and put in a few good shells for him to choose from. After like a few hours you’d have to manually reshell, esp as it’s been so long already. Maybe even like after just one or two hours.