Hermie legs fell off???

[MollyAlise]

Hello! My friend and I have found ourselves to be new mom to some Hermit crabs. We've had them for about a week now. Someone dropped off a Hermit Crabs at our work and we couldn't just let him die but we've been struggling to make the perfect home...

The smallest one Gingus hasn't moved to much, he likes to hide in the sand but we don't see him move very often or go into the water dishes. We can see him move in his shell so we know he's alive but just a little worried.

Mosey is our medium size. She's been hiding in the substrate and just moved into a new shell. We think she's okay.

Arthur.. We are very worried about this crabby. He seemed to be adjusting good at first, ,moving around, eating, bathing in both bowls, Climbing and exploring. Since about last night he tucked himself under a log we have in the tank. Today when we checked on him, HIs big claw and two legs came off! It doesn't seem like there's any new growth nub. He's still alive we can see him move but its was all on the left side.. He's not ashy in appearance, and his eyes are still clear, he looks right at us from inside his shell...
We are very new to this and unsure how to go about this situation. Any advice or help would be so greatly appreciated!
PLEASE HELP US HELP HIM!!!!!

[curlysister]

Welcome to crabbing! Since you don't know what kind of conditions they were in prior to coming to you, they may be weak already. If you haven't had a chance to look at our care sheets yet, start with the 'basics' one - it will give you all the info you need to set up a proper tank. How are your current temp and humidity?

The one whose legs have fallen off will need to be isolated from the other crabs. You can put him in an empty margarine or tupperware type container with holes in the lid so that he has the same proper temp and humidity as in the tank. Feed him some high energy foods like honey and peanut butter.

[MollyAlise]

Thank you for the reply!! We got the temp up to 75 and as for humidity I'm embarrassed to say we don't know... were working on getting the correct supplies for the crabs and making conditions better. We just got the hermit crab care kit (the zoomed) as we rushed into this with no knowledge and thought it came with everything but are learning that's it's not good for them at all... We feel terrible. He's now sperated and we had some honey in hand. He's curled up more into his shell than earlier.

Also sorry if this is silly but do we remove the legs that fell off from the tank?? We have so much to learn and we want to do right by these sweet guys

[curlysister]

Many of us got our crabs before we knew anything about crab care. It can be a steep learning curve, but you'll get there.
Yes, I'd remove the legs.

[wodesorel]

If the substrate has been moistened to where it holds shape without dripping water (playsand and/or cocofiber, not sand sold for hermit crabs) and the lid has been covered over with plastic of some sort, then humidity should be high enough to be safe. It's not a guarantee, but it will generally hold in enough moisture to raise humidity levels like a little greenhouse.