Shell jacking?

[Snail]

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?
5 to 1 play sand eco earth
6in


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?
2, one in the middle of the tank and onee near the heat mat

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Heat mat (on the side)


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 declorinated
Instant ocean mixed as suggested


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Every day, I use the food pyramid
-> everyday: calcium, animal protein, plant protein, veggies, fruit, worm castings, green sand, oils, seeds and nuts...


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
Only a couple of weeks
Indonesian


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?
Tank, closed lid, 29 gallon


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
1 samll and one medium


10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
More than 20 preferred shells and about 6 not preferred shells
Right sizes of course

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

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

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?
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.)?


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I have a live camera in my tank so I decided to watch them tonight. At first everything was fine but then I thing I witnessed shell jacking . My medium crab crawled to my small crab. They communicated and then the little one hid in his shell. The medium one sat next to it and started rocking it with one or two legs. There weren't any fast or really harsh movements but he rocked him I think . I wasn't sure if that was shell jacking so I wanted to wait some more time and watch. I accidentally fell asleep for 2 hours and when I woke up they were still doing the exact same thing.

I took the medium sized crab out and put it in it's own tank. It's in crab jail.
I don't know why it did that... the shell would be too small for it anyway and there are enough extra shells.

Should I just keep them separated ?

.

[HermitGuy3]

Try to get more shells like the other crab has for the shell jacker of various sizes. I'm not sure what else to do in this situation. If he is still aggressive, try more animal protein( I think). If he is still aggressive you might just keep him in a separate tank. Take the last 2 parts with a grain if salt until somebody more experienced comes along though.

[JoeHermits]

Was it rocking only from the behind, or was it from varying angles as if to check out the size? The former could be guarding or attempting to mate

Otherwise I would keep them separate until you can find the time to supervise them closely. The big one may soon realize the shell is too small (assuming it is too small). How many shells are there that are similar or identical to the one the small crab is wearing?

It could also be a dominance thing, which can be alleviated with more hiding spots so they can avoid each other


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[Snail]

Try to get more shells like the other crab has for the shell jacker of various sizes. I'm not sure what else to do in this situation. If he is still aggressive, try more animal protein( I think). If he is still aggressive you might just keep him in a separate tank. Take the last 2 parts with a grain if salt until somebody more experienced comes along though.

Thanks I'll buy more of these!

[Snail]

Was it rocking only from the behind, or was it from varying angles as if to check out the size? The former could be guarding or attempting to mate

Otherwise I would keep them separate until you can find the time to supervise them closely. The big one may soon realize the shell is too small (assuming it is too small). How many shells are there that are similar or identical to the one the small crab is wearing?

It could also be a dominance thing, which can be alleviated with more hiding spots so they can avoid each other


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Oh that would be good
Unfortunately I'm not experienced enough to tell if it's mating behavior or shell rocking myself, I need your help.

Ill provide some more information :
It was only from one side, but it went on for hours ( the exact same movement) The crab was pushed by mainly two legs. I was not able to see the pincher from my angle.
The smaller crab was scared of the other one, it hid in its shell.
The small crab was Not upside down

Also I forgot to mention that a couple of days ago the medium sized crab protected an empty shell for one night, it pushed the smaller crab away from that shell several times (but it didn't pinch the other one)

Im so glad that this forum exists, it's really helpful

[JoeHermits]

That sounds like dominance at the very least, would definitely try to supervise them when they are reintroduced. I think the big one doesn’t know how to play nice


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[Snail]

That sounds like dominance at the very least, would definitely try to supervise them when they are reintroduced. I think the big one doesn’t know how to play nice


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Thank you for helping me!
I thought so too...very unfortunate...

Oh sorry I forgot to answer your question above.
I don't have any shell that is exactly like the little crabs shell (it's a turbo, natural grey and yellow) but I do have other kinds of turbos available. I mostly bought the "preferred shells" for indonesian crabs so I have 8 of these recommended turbos, and 4 other turbos (and 10 of the other kind of preferred shell which are not turbos) and two completely different shells.

I haven't found out what kind the little crabs shell is yet so I can't buy these at the moment

My little hermit crab is eating at the moment (so cute) and its walking around happily so I think it didn't get hurt too badly. I'm glad they were separated in time!

[HermitGuy3]

Can you take a picture of the shell with Google and try to find a match? That is what I would do lol.

[curlysister]

Or post photos of the shells and crabs here and we can tell you the types of shells!

[Snail]

That's smart. I think its a neriditae shell, it isn't a turbo then but it looked like one my bad I don't really like taking my crabs out of the enclosure so I just assumed it looked like a turbo
I actually do have shells with similar openings at home. I'll cook them and hope that my bigger crab likes them.