Hermit crab not in shell and losing limbs

[CT-1788]

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?

Play sand and coconut fiber around six 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?

Center of the tank 77 Fahrenheit 87% humidity
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
No

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)?
Fresh and salt repisafe for fresh and thrive hermit crab salt water conditioner but will be instant ocean soon

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

Fresh fruit and greensand mealworms and worm castings
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

3 weeks and unknown
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

No
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 tank
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
2 one small and one a little bigger

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

7
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

Not yet
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?

A climbing branch
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.)?

No
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.


So I just got hermits crabs from my dad three week’s ago from ocean city, and last night my small one got out of his shell and didn’t put one on, so we watch a video from crab central station and they said to put his in a jar and give him some water and she’ll around his size. He did get into a shell but when we woke up today he was out of his shell and missing his small pincher and a leg, so we put him in a new jar and did the same thing after around three hours we looked in and he was missing another leg. It looks as though he ate a small mealworm but he is not moving very much although we did see him move. Is he going to survive this, and if so what do we do?

.

[CT-1788]

Never mind he is dead

[curlysister]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

Play sand and coconut fiber around six inches
Curly - Is it moistened with dechlorinated water so that it holds it's shape?

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?

Center of the tank 77 Fahrenheit 87% humidity
Curly - Is your room really warm?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
No

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)?
Fresh and salt repisafe for fresh and thrive hermit crab salt water conditioner but will be instant ocean soon
Curly - You will want to use a dechlorinator that removes heavy metals. Check the 'water' care sheet for full info on dechlorinators.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

Fresh fruit and greensand mealworms and worm castings
Curly - Crabs need a varied diet, including animal protein and calcium daily. Fruits, veggies, greens, grains, nuts, seeds. Check the 'nutrition' care sheet for full info.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

3 weeks and unknown
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

No
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 tank
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
2 one small and one a little bigger

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

7
Curly - HCA recommends 3-5 extra shells per crab - so ideally you should have 9-15 extra shells for 3 crabs. Be sure to read the 'shells' care sheet so that you are offering the appropriate types of shells for the species of crabs that you have.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

Not yet
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?

A climbing branch
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.)?

No
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.


So I just got hermits crabs from my dad three week’s ago from ocean city, and last night my small one got out of his shell and didn’t put one on, so we watch a video from crab central station and they said to put his in a jar and give him some water and she’ll around his size. He did get into a shell but when we woke up today he was out of his shell and missing his small pincher and a leg, so we put him in a new jar and did the same thing after around three hours we looked in and he was missing another leg. It looks as though he ate a small mealworm but he is not moving very much although we did see him move. Is he going to survive this, and if so what do we do?
Curly - I am sorry to hear that he passed away. Crabs go through so much before we get them, and are not kept in proper conditions, and sometimes they just cannot survive it. Dropping the shell and dropping limbs is a last-ditch effort to conserve energy, but they cannot live without a shell. Crabs are susceptible to what we call 'post purchase syndrome' until after at least their first molt - it is when they simply don't have the energy to survive, with all that they have been through prior to coming to us, no matter how ideal our tank conditions are.

[CT-1788]

Curly, our water cleaners say in the description that they do that but we do plan to get better ones because when we learned that my dad had bought them he was coming home so we had like six hours to set up the tank and are still getting better supplies as we learn how to take care of them. Our sand and coconut fiber is not moistened because as I said we are still learning as we go. We have the tank in our living room and the sun comes in and warms the room, and we do give them eggs, chicken and stuff like that. Also when we got the extra shells there were supposed to be more but we got them on Amazon and some of them were ether too big or too small. Now I want to know what to do with the other one because he is now going to all the places that the little one (the one that died) would hang out and is sitting there for like hours. When we found the little one dead and buried him the other one was asleep and woke up and his friend was gone. If we don’t get another one soon will he died too?

[curlysister]

No, crabs can live alone without any problems. While they have long been believed to be 'social', that behavior is now known to be more resource sharing than socializing.
If you haven't had a look at the care sheets yet, start with the 'basics' one, and go from there. The Basics has a photo of a good basic 10 gallon tank set up.