hermit crab had a bad molt, missing all limbs on one side of the body

[lkujawa]

hi me and my roommate really need some advice,

our hermit crab came out of a bad molt naked and missing three legs. we isolated him in his own small tank and put him in my dark closet because we figured it’s the most quiet place for him. we are keeping it humid by spraying water over his cage periodically and have a heater going in there to keep him warm. he’s been eating dried mealworms and honey and we’ve added calcium to the mealworms. he finally picked a shell after we did that but today we went to check on him and he lost another leg and is out of his shell again. he is just laying on his side, still alive but looking terrible. what do i do to help him??? he has no legs on one side of the body

[curlysister]

A crab dropping legs and out of the shell is not a good sign, I am sorry to say.
Be sure to use a hygrometer/ thermometer to ensure the temp and humidity are in a good range. You can also isolate him in a small container with holes cut in the lid, in the main tank so he has the same temp and humidity.
All you can do is to keep the conditions good, try to get him in a shell, and feed some high energy food like honey.
If you would like some help trouble shooting what may have gone wrong, you can copy and paste the 'emergency template' into this discussion and answer the questions.

[lkujawa]

okay thank you, we’re trying our best we put him in a shell he’s not totally in it but at least he can get into it easier if he decides to, should we help feed him with a q-tip?

[curlysister]

You can try, but if he has been eating food left near him, trying with a q tip might stress him out more.

What are your temp and humidity?
How long have you had him?

[lkujawa]

we have a ceramic heat lamp above his cage and are using a spray bottle of water to keep it humid, i don’t have a temp gauge or anything, we’ve had him for only a year, we found him wandering the streets so we are unsure of his age

[curlysister]

What are you using for substrate?
Did he molt underground, or on the surface?

You really need to have a thermometer/ hygrometer. They are not expensive - like less than ten dollars for a digital one.