Crab without shell and weak
Crab without shell and weak
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? EcoEarth coconut fibers and play sand mixture. I had a sand portion and coconut fiber portion separate but they never used the sandy area so I mixed them and they seem to like that. Depth is approx 4 inches
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?Yes, dead center of tank, on substrate. 80 degrees and about 80%-90%humidity. I’ve had the crabs 3 months and the tank was never humid enough, I moved water dishes by the heating pad and the humidity has stayed consistent since.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? mounted heating pad on back wall on always and heat lamp on top of tank kept on during the day. I keep my apartment cold, so I have two heating sources. My tank is very tall so the heating lamp is about 2 feet above them.
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)?Salt and fresh. ZooMed conditioner for both mixed exactly according to label.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Dry food pellets, plain turkey roasted, dry oatmeal, almonds (they LOVE), carrots, green beans, walnuts and dried cranberries. I’ve tried peanut butter in the past but they don’t like it.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I have 2. I’ve had them 3 months. First time crab owner. Species are unknown. Healthy one has a big purple claw and other is very average looking, reddish brown, nothing distinctive. .
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? The lady at the pet store told me that both crabs had recently molted. When I got them, they made that squeaky noise and I was so worried that they were unhappy, I bought a tank twice as big, purchased larger swimming pools, made better food options available, deepened their substrate. I made those changes within a week of having them. They seemed happy, stopped making the sad noises and were fairly active. Within days of getting them, they both changed shells. I removed the painted pet store shells because I read the paint is bad for them. The purple claw buried himself a week later and molted. I was confused because the lady at the pet store told me that he had just molted. The sickly one was buried last week. I assumed he was molting. He surfaced 2 days ago and has been near the water a lot. My boyfriend swore that his shell was upside down and empty 2 days ago. But when I looked he was back in it. Today, his shell was left in the water tank and he was buried without a shell in the corner. I could see his whole body. His “tail” end was very white but the rest was reddish brown. I panicked and came on this site because I’ve gotten the BEST advice on this site ever since buying them (thank you!!) I very very gently scooped him into a bowl with some dechlorinated water and a bunch of shells. He was so weak. He went back into the shell he had abandoned. While he was out, I scooped through the tank substrate and found very few tiny pieces of leg exoskeleton. Very very little. This could have been from the last crabs molting though. About a month ago. So I don’t know if this guy has molted.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 20 gallon glass tank with mesh top.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2. When I first bought the lady told me they were about the same size. I didn’t want them to fight so this was important to me. And the shells they came in were the same. When they finally came out though and moved to proper shells, I realized my purple claw is very much bigger. But they don’t fight.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? cleaned with hot water, about 10 in various sizes
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Never
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Weekly. Scooping through substrate.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? no. I tried sponges in the beginning but they never used them
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.)?
Nothing new/different since getting them
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Crab buried for a week. Left her alone assuming molting. Left shell when she resurfaced for a few hours. Stayed near water. Was back in shell very quickly. Today her shell was in the water dish. She was buried with no shell in the corner. Her tail end was very white. The rest of her was normal. I read on one website that some crabs do this to molt, but I saw on this site that she needs a shell and to get her in a shell ASAP. So I put her in a dish with a little water. Cleaned all of the shells about her size with hot hot water and she went back into her original shell. While moving her she seemed so so so weak. I gently put her back in the tank and she hasn’t moved. She’s alive. I inspected her very closely. No injuries. No mites. Her eyes look normal. No dry skin. A lot of the signs for molting and depression or sickness are the same, so I just don’t know. I just ordered a bunch of new shells her size, they’ll be in tomorrow. Like I said, I’m a first time crab owner so I feel awful that she doesn’t feel well. Please help!!!
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curlysister
- Administrator
- Posts: 4422
- Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:54 pm
- Location: Manitoba, Canada
Re: Crab without shell and weak
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? EcoEarth coconut fibers and play sand mixture. I had a sand portion and coconut fiber portion separate but they never used the sandy area so I mixed them and they seem to like that. Depth is approx 4 inches
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?Yes, dead center of tank, on substrate. 80 degrees and about 80%-90%humidity. I’ve had the crabs 3 months and the tank was never humid enough, I moved water dishes by the heating pad and the humidity has stayed consistent since.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? mounted heating pad on back wall on always and heat lamp on top of tank kept on during the day. I keep my apartment cold, so I have two heating sources. My tank is very tall so the heating lamp is about 2 feet above them.
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)?Salt and fresh. ZooMed conditioner for both mixed exactly according to label.
Curly - This will not be the cause of the current problem, but long term you will want to get a dechlorinator like SeaChem Prime, and use marine salt like Instant Ocean
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Dry food pellets, plain turkey roasted, dry oatmeal, almonds (they LOVE), carrots, green beans, walnuts and dried cranberries. I’ve tried peanut butter in the past but they don’t like it.
Curly - Sometimes you need to give a food a few times before they will eat it. So you could always offer peanut butter again. A variety is key to ensuring they get all the necessary nutrients. Check out the nutrition care sheet for more info, but you can give them various meats, grains, leaves, seafood, veggies, fruits, etc. Be sure to also provide a source of calcium for them.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I have 2. I’ve had them 3 months. First time crab owner. Species are unknown. Healthy one has a big purple claw and other is very average looking, reddish brown, nothing distinctive. .
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? The lady at the pet store told me that both crabs had recently molted. When I got them, they made that squeaky noise and I was so worried that they were unhappy, I bought a tank twice as big, purchased larger swimming pools, made better food options available, deepened their substrate. I made those changes within a week of having them. They seemed happy, stopped making the sad noises and were fairly active. Within days of getting them, they both changed shells. I removed the painted pet store shells because I read the paint is bad for them. The purple claw buried himself a week later and molted. I was confused because the lady at the pet store told me that he had just molted. The sickly one was buried last week. I assumed he was molting. He surfaced 2 days ago and has been near the water a lot. My boyfriend swore that his shell was upside down and empty 2 days ago. But when I looked he was back in it. Today, his shell was left in the water tank and he was buried without a shell in the corner. I could see his whole body. His “tail” end was very white but the rest was reddish brown. I panicked and came on this site because I’ve gotten the BEST advice on this site ever since buying them (thank you!!) I very very gently scooped him into a bowl with some dechlorinated water and a bunch of shells. He was so weak. He went back into the shell he had abandoned. While he was out, I scooped through the tank substrate and found very few tiny pieces of leg exoskeleton. Very very little. This could have been from the last crabs molting though. About a month ago. So I don’t know if this guy has molted.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 20 gallon glass tank with mesh top.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2. When I first bought the lady told me they were about the same size. I didn’t want them to fight so this was important to me. And the shells they came in were the same. When they finally came out though and moved to proper shells, I realized my purple claw is very much bigger. But they don’t fight.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? cleaned with hot water, about 10 in various sizes
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Never
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Weekly. Scooping through substrate.
Curly - You just need to scoop out things like bits of food the crabs have dragged around, and poop that you can see on the surface. If any crabs are underground, be careful not to dig around very deep at all.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? no. I tried sponges in the beginning but they never used them
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.)?
Nothing new/different since getting them
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Crab buried for a week. Left her alone assuming molting. Left shell when she resurfaced for a few hours. Stayed near water. Was back in shell very quickly. Today her shell was in the water dish. She was buried with no shell in the corner. Her tail end was very white. The rest of her was normal. I read on one website that some crabs do this to molt, but I saw on this site that she needs a shell and to get her in a shell ASAP. So I put her in a dish with a little water. Cleaned all of the shells about her size with hot hot water and she went back into her original shell. While moving her she seemed so so so weak. I gently put her back in the tank and she hasn’t moved. She’s alive. I inspected her very closely. No injuries. No mites. Her eyes look normal. No dry skin. A lot of the signs for molting and depression or sickness are the same, so I just don’t know. I just ordered a bunch of new shells her size, they’ll be in tomorrow. Like I said, I’m a first time crab owner so I feel awful that she doesn’t feel well. Please help!!!
Curly - This may not be from anything you are doing or not doing - it is very likely still Post Purchase Syndrome. Most pet stores don't have great conditions, and they almost never have deep enough substrate to molt it - so unless the crab surface molted at the store, I'm not sure I would trust the worker who said they just molted. You did the right thing getting her back into a shell quickly. I would tend to keep her isolated from the other crab while she is weak - you don't need a separate tank, you can put her in something like a margarine container with holes cut in in, inside the main tank - that way they have the same tank conditions. Give some high energy food, like honey and peanut butter - you can just put it in something small like a bottle cap.
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?Yes, dead center of tank, on substrate. 80 degrees and about 80%-90%humidity. I’ve had the crabs 3 months and the tank was never humid enough, I moved water dishes by the heating pad and the humidity has stayed consistent since.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? mounted heating pad on back wall on always and heat lamp on top of tank kept on during the day. I keep my apartment cold, so I have two heating sources. My tank is very tall so the heating lamp is about 2 feet above them.
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)?Salt and fresh. ZooMed conditioner for both mixed exactly according to label.
Curly - This will not be the cause of the current problem, but long term you will want to get a dechlorinator like SeaChem Prime, and use marine salt like Instant Ocean
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Dry food pellets, plain turkey roasted, dry oatmeal, almonds (they LOVE), carrots, green beans, walnuts and dried cranberries. I’ve tried peanut butter in the past but they don’t like it.
Curly - Sometimes you need to give a food a few times before they will eat it. So you could always offer peanut butter again. A variety is key to ensuring they get all the necessary nutrients. Check out the nutrition care sheet for more info, but you can give them various meats, grains, leaves, seafood, veggies, fruits, etc. Be sure to also provide a source of calcium for them.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? I have 2. I’ve had them 3 months. First time crab owner. Species are unknown. Healthy one has a big purple claw and other is very average looking, reddish brown, nothing distinctive. .
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? The lady at the pet store told me that both crabs had recently molted. When I got them, they made that squeaky noise and I was so worried that they were unhappy, I bought a tank twice as big, purchased larger swimming pools, made better food options available, deepened their substrate. I made those changes within a week of having them. They seemed happy, stopped making the sad noises and were fairly active. Within days of getting them, they both changed shells. I removed the painted pet store shells because I read the paint is bad for them. The purple claw buried himself a week later and molted. I was confused because the lady at the pet store told me that he had just molted. The sickly one was buried last week. I assumed he was molting. He surfaced 2 days ago and has been near the water a lot. My boyfriend swore that his shell was upside down and empty 2 days ago. But when I looked he was back in it. Today, his shell was left in the water tank and he was buried without a shell in the corner. I could see his whole body. His “tail” end was very white but the rest was reddish brown. I panicked and came on this site because I’ve gotten the BEST advice on this site ever since buying them (thank you!!) I very very gently scooped him into a bowl with some dechlorinated water and a bunch of shells. He was so weak. He went back into the shell he had abandoned. While he was out, I scooped through the tank substrate and found very few tiny pieces of leg exoskeleton. Very very little. This could have been from the last crabs molting though. About a month ago. So I don’t know if this guy has molted.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 20 gallon glass tank with mesh top.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2. When I first bought the lady told me they were about the same size. I didn’t want them to fight so this was important to me. And the shells they came in were the same. When they finally came out though and moved to proper shells, I realized my purple claw is very much bigger. But they don’t fight.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? cleaned with hot water, about 10 in various sizes
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Never
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Weekly. Scooping through substrate.
Curly - You just need to scoop out things like bits of food the crabs have dragged around, and poop that you can see on the surface. If any crabs are underground, be careful not to dig around very deep at all.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? no. I tried sponges in the beginning but they never used them
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.)?
Nothing new/different since getting them
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Crab buried for a week. Left her alone assuming molting. Left shell when she resurfaced for a few hours. Stayed near water. Was back in shell very quickly. Today her shell was in the water dish. She was buried with no shell in the corner. Her tail end was very white. The rest of her was normal. I read on one website that some crabs do this to molt, but I saw on this site that she needs a shell and to get her in a shell ASAP. So I put her in a dish with a little water. Cleaned all of the shells about her size with hot hot water and she went back into her original shell. While moving her she seemed so so so weak. I gently put her back in the tank and she hasn’t moved. She’s alive. I inspected her very closely. No injuries. No mites. Her eyes look normal. No dry skin. A lot of the signs for molting and depression or sickness are the same, so I just don’t know. I just ordered a bunch of new shells her size, they’ll be in tomorrow. Like I said, I’m a first time crab owner so I feel awful that she doesn’t feel well. Please help!!!
Curly - This may not be from anything you are doing or not doing - it is very likely still Post Purchase Syndrome. Most pet stores don't have great conditions, and they almost never have deep enough substrate to molt it - so unless the crab surface molted at the store, I'm not sure I would trust the worker who said they just molted. You did the right thing getting her back into a shell quickly. I would tend to keep her isolated from the other crab while she is weak - you don't need a separate tank, you can put her in something like a margarine container with holes cut in in, inside the main tank - that way they have the same tank conditions. Give some high energy food, like honey and peanut butter - you can just put it in something small like a bottle cap.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers
Re: Crab without shell and weak
Woke up this morning to find she has left her shell again. I don’t want to try to force her back in. She was so weak last time and I don’t want to traumatize her again…. I’ll try separating her with food. 
Thank you
Thank you-
curlysister
- Administrator
- Posts: 4422
- Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:54 pm
- Location: Manitoba, Canada
Re: Crab without shell and weak
A crab without a shell will not survive. Be sure to read thru the Naked Crab care sheet, which outlines what to do to help get a crab back into a shell.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers
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TheHermitSquads
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2024 8:54 pm
Re: Crab without shell and weak
You should probably keep the hermit crab isolated in a separate container with food and a thin layer of water. Like curlysister said try and look through that sheet! Although, sometimes new hermit crabs pass away regardless of what you do, I had this happen to me not long ago! But keep trying, there’s always hope!