molt or dying?

[hermitsssss]

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?
playsand- 4-8 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?
middle of tank- 94% humididty


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
no- house kept at 72 degrees(idk if u need to know that but)


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)?
both fresh and salt water- both zoo med brand


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
fresh and sone frozen fruits/veggies- replaced every day-peas, mango, carots,spinach leaves, raisins, orange

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
3 years- purple pincer

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
im not sure- if he has last year( he was under the ground for a month)

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
30 gallon with a plexiglass lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 crabs- two medium- two tiny-one small

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
10-15 shells( i switch them with others somethimes)

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
no, just burning food

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
once or twice a year( unless flood or bacterial bloom) switch out all sand and clean their toys in saltwater

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?
new sand( same brand) because of bacterial bloom

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.)?
bacterial bloom about a month ago- I did not lose any crabs but quickly changed all the sand, I turn the sand daily for oxegenation(if no hermit crabs under the surface. August got his shell stolen after and was trapped underground without a shell for a good 4-5 days.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I picked up one of my medium hermit crabs, august, and she half came out of her shell- and she does not stink but what came out was kind of fleshy and not like an exoskeleton. Please help!

p.s. I may be slow to respond- I will try to check back regularly tho

.

[curlysister]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
playsand- 4-8 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?
middle of tank- 94% humididty
Curly - What is the temp?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
no- house kept at 72 degrees(idk if u need to know that but)
Curly - If your tank is the same temp, that is at the very lowest safe temp for crabs.

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)?
both fresh and salt water- both zoo med brand
Curly - Unfortunately, the ZooMed salt won't have the necessary minerals for long term health. And the water conditioner may not remove everything you need it to. Be sure to read the 'water' care sheet for full info.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
fresh and sone frozen fruits/veggies- replaced every day-peas, mango, carots,spinach leaves, raisins, orange
Curly - Crabs need a varied diet, which includes animal protein and calcium daily. Variety is key - as well as veggies and fruits, you need meats, seafood, eggs, eggshells, nuts, seeds, greens, etc. Check the 'nutrition' care sheet for full info.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
3 years- purple pincer

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
im not sure- if he has last year( he was under the ground for a month)

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
30 gallon with a plexiglass lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 crabs- two medium- two tiny-one small

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
10-15 shells( i switch them with others somethimes)
Curly - HCA recommends 3-5 extra shells per crab, so you should have 15-25. Be sure to check the 'shells' care sheet to ensure you are offering appropriate types of shells.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
no, just burning food

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
once or twice a year( unless flood or bacterial bloom) switch out all sand and clean their toys in saltwater

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?
new sand( same brand) because of bacterial bloom

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.)?
bacterial bloom about a month ago- I did not lose any crabs but quickly changed all the sand, I turn the sand daily for oxegenation(if no hermit crabs under the surface. August got his shell stolen after and was trapped underground without a shell for a good 4-5 days.

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I picked up one of my medium hermit crabs, august, and she half came out of her shell- and she does not stink but what came out was kind of fleshy and not like an exoskeleton. Please help!

p.s. I may be slow to respond- I will try to check back regularly tho
Curly - If your crabs seems to be weak, you will need to isolate her from the other crabs. Feed high energy foods, including peanut butter, honey, animal protein, and calcium. When was she underground without a shell? Did you dig her up? Was there exo underground with her?
There are a few improvements that you can make for long term health, as I suggested above - a lack of protein and calcium may be catching up if they have not had any for 3 years.

[hermitsssss]

when she was underground without a shell she did not have an exoskeleton with her, but nala(medium) had her shell on so i took the other crabs to a second tank and put lots of shells next to august. also, what should i feed to them for protein and calcium? I may not be able to put meat in there on a regular basis, but i have some dried mealworms to give and sometimes eggs when we make them

Is there any meat that I should avoid? I think nothing with preservatives or artificial flavours but anything else? when you said peanut butter, i read somewhere it could stick to the crab and cause problems if it gets stuck to like the gills or antenna. same with honey. will that be a problem?

I will add a heater to the tank, and they are near a warm spot in the house( near windows) so It would probably be a bit warmer over there.
thanks for your help
also, what brand do you suggest for the salt and fresh water? will it mater if I convert to it immeadiatly or should I offer both brands for awhile.

EDIT- It was a molt! I am glad she is ok but I found out about what I am doing wrong thanks to this though, and I will try to change it ASAP

[curlysister]

You can immediately switch the water. SeaChem Prime is a commonly used brand of dechlorinator, and Instant Ocean is a commonly used marine salt. There are other brands that are appropriate, the 'water' care sheet lists them all.

All meat is safe in it's basic form. But you are correct that you will want to avoid processed meats with lots of additives and preservatives. I feed mostly dried meat products. You can get dog or cat treats that are freeze dried, and contain only the meat (brands such as Pure Bites, Nutri Bites, etc). You can also get dried insects, bugs, and shrimp in the lizard or turtle section of the pet store. The meal worms you have are good too! Eggs are great - you can feed the shells too!

Crabs are not really in danger from peanut butter or honey, unless you are feeding in a quantity such that they can fall in and 'drown' in it. The risks have been wildly exaggerated over the years. You are going to put in a small amount, it will not be dangerous.

Be sure to keep your crab isolated from the other crabs until she has eaten all her exoskeleton, and is moving around normally.

[hermitsssss]

thank you so much for your info! i isolated her and now am tryna change those

[hermitsssss]

uhm- i think she lost a leg, is that normal!? it has never happened before during molts... i'm worried about her! will she be able to grow a whole leg back?!

For the instant ocean salt water, a reveiw said that they had ammonia spikes in water because of the salt... have youhad problems with that o does it not matter to the crabbies, or is there other types that are better. I checked the salt water page, and could not find other brands of salt water to use, ut it is alot of topics under "water" and i am kinda lazy reader

also, it has just crossed my mind abot her surface molting... I checked for bacterial bloom and flooding, and The tank is clear of those. the substrate is also deep enough ( 4-8 inches for a two inch crab), So is there any other potential problems i could fix?

sorry to be so ignorant in this topic-I hope this is my last problem for awhile( prob not though lol)

[curlysister]

You are correct that ammonia spikes do not apply to crabs, only fish who are swimming in the water 24/7.

Losing a leg is usually a sign of stress. They can grow back a limb during their next molt.

Is she eating her exoskeleton?

[hermitsssss]

the new salt will be here tommorow, so I am hoping for some positive changes in the tank.

I figure that due to me moving her before while she had just started molting was a cause of a lost leg. I am glad it will be able to grow back. I also noticed some bugs in the normal tank- like small gnats? but not... I mean mabye, mostly by the food but idk if it bothers the hermit crabs

She ate most of her exoskeleton (all but claw half a leg and some other small peices), then left the rest laying around before moving onto the other food i kinda crushed the claw and put it in a small shallow lid if she changed her mind to eat it... should I leave her lost leg in the tank for extra meat or will it rott.

thanks for all your help with this!

[curlysister]

I would take the leg out.

The small insects are probably springtails or food mites, neither of which are harmful to crabs - they are good in that they clean up the bits of food etc that crabs drag around.

[hermitsssss]

ok, thank you for your info!