Is She Dead Is She Molting? by KyMart

[KyMart]

Is my crab dead, or is she molting, or is she surfacing molting? Now new, weird, or fishy smells. She hasn't moved in about two days.

(I don't know how to add a photo so my friend Clover is going to try to do it for me lol)

[Pumpkincrab]

https://imgur.com/a/y19L5oY

[curlysister]

Does she respond at all? Like her antennae move? How many crabs do you have in your tank? If she has not moved at all, you may consider isolating her from other crabs (you can even use a margarine container with holes punched in the lid, so she has the same tank conditions) until you are sure of what is going on - in case she is weak and vulnerable to other crabs messing with her.

[KyMart]

Does she respond at all? Like her antennae move? How many crabs do you have in your tank? If she has not moved at all, you may consider isolating her from other crabs (you can even use a margarine container with holes punched in the lid, so she has the same tank conditions) until you are sure of what is going on - in case she is weak and vulnerable to other crabs messing with her.

I have two crabs in a 10g tank, I am not worried about the other crab bothering her because he has dug under a hide, leaving sand behind him. He has been there for 3 days now, and so I believe he is molting to. I can't cover her bc she is against the glass and a hide, she is in a very small area, what do I do?

[KyMart]

Update! Apparently she just decided to take a two day nap behind her favorite hide (also right next to the heating pad, even though the tank is 80° F all around lol)

[KyMart]

She is now indulging her in brand new food mixture (the flax seed comes in on Monday, but I wanted them to have as much nutrients as they can for now)!

[KyMart]

She is now digging down in a different spot under some shells (which are wayyy to big for her)

[Pumpkincrab]

Glad to hear she's moving around. If she is digging, that's a good sign that she might want to molt. Just don't disturb her and let her do her own thing.

[KyMart]

Glad to hear she's moving around. If she is digging, that's a good sign that she might want to molt. Just don't disturb her and let her do her own thing.

I'm glad that she has eaten and drank some water tho, she didn't before she starting digging last time, and I was like umm! So now I'm less worried, I just hope she is safe, happy, and healthy, that's all that I can ask more! I know she wasn't in the best care before I got her (I got my crabs where I work, story for another day), but we definitely try our best with what we have. I try to educate people the best I can about hermit crabs when they are buying them from my work, and recommend doing research and upgrading them to a 10g fishtank (for people who have two smaller crabs). I wish I could do more to help that ones at my work, but by adopting these two, and giving them a better life, it has definitely helped ease my mind. I am gentle with them at my work, but I have to do my job, and do the very improper care we have to do. Our store is only a temporary home, they are only there for about 2-3 weeks MAX, we sell at least 4 crabs a day, and I have seen 20 crabs go out the door in one day. We give them a decent place to stay, until they get adopted, and hopefully given better living conditions. Crabs can be expensive to take care of, now 100 crabs can be even more. We don't have 2 hermit crabs, or 4 at my work, we have over 100.

[Pumpkincrab]

Thank you for giving yours a better home. I'm sorry that your store has over 100 crabs, that's quite sad for me to hear. I guess in a "perfect" situation crabs wouldn't be sold at pet stores at all, but that's never going to happen. Good job for trying to help them at your work.

[curlysister]

It is very sad that you store has that many, and that so many are sold and therefore more crabs continue to be removed from the wild. And also sad how many more than those 100 die on the way.

[KyMart]

Thank you for giving yours a better home. I'm sorry that your store has over 100 crabs, that's quite sad for me to hear. I guess in a "perfect" situation crabs wouldn't be sold at pet stores at all, but that's never going to happen. Good job for trying to help them at your work.

It's hard because my coworkers always say that their stay with us is temporary, and they are right, but we could still give them better housing. I guess the worry might be that people won't want to buy them if they have a really nice big tank and they are putting them in a stupid plastic thing until they maybe get their own tank.

[KyMart]

It is very sad that you store has that many, and that so many are sold and therefore more crabs continue to be removed from the wild. And also sad how many more than those 100 die on the way.

I have never heard of them dying on the way to our store, but it could have happened. We have very few crab deaths, maybe one or two a month? I feel like other places have more. I try my best to educate people who go home with them on how they can live long if you treat them right, I always encourage tanks, and research to give the little guys the best chance! We also sell painted shells. They are claimed to be treated blah blah blah lies, I tell people to upgrade them to natural shells, but they buy another painted one to give each crab another option until they maybe do so. I know that many people just have them in there painted shells forever, and it's so sad! I love my babies so much, and I know so many people just buy hermit crabs for their 3 year old, and it only lives a few months in a wire cage.

[KyMart]

I would also like to add that I do not work at a pet store, I work at a souvenir shop at a lake, which I feel makes this worse. We do not put them in the back with the toys, we have them out front in the middle by the checkout, this way we can help people, and make sure they are not sticking their hands in the cage provoking the crabs.

[KyMart]

Update! She dug pretty far, got up and moved, and now she is digging somewhere else. At this point, I'm convinced she's just digging for fun, or to taunt me!