Hi Jennifer,
Am really sorry to hear of the bad news, I'd been following this thread(my jumbo Straw just molted too and he is pale) and only just found out that he(your Straw) didn't make it.
Strawzilla is usually iso'd for around 2 weeks after he molts. More if he needs it. You can tell when hermies are ready to be placed back in the main tank because they are running/walking around on the surface, otherwise it's best to leave them be.
Just looking at the last photo, it looks like your Straw had 3 leg tips that were very dark(almost black). Were the legs actually dark or was it a trick of the light in photo?
If the Straws legs were actually like that and the rest of him was very pale pink/orange, then I'd suspect some type of bacterial infection.
I wonder if it could be something due to the substrate?
actually had this happen to one of my Aussie crabs more than a year ago, where one of its legs turned black-going about half-way up the leg.
After a week or so, the crab dropped the leg and not long after he died.
Odd thing was that with the dropped leg, I crushed the black exo and instead of the inside being gooey and white, it was black and crumbly.
This can happen due to injury or a molting mishap or possibly a bacterial infection.
I have a straw molter...
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Topic author
Thanks for the info. I just dont understand it I have a lot of hermies and have been using the same substrate. I had 5 molts around this same time and they are all fine and well. I was just so excited that I thought I had a really good straw molt, he would come out, drink the saltwater, eat, climb around and everything. Now I'm also worried because I have another straw down (not sure if he is molting or not) but am still worried and he is the only straw left, they used to hang out together... I guess even after they molt and are up and about they are still not out of the clear. Goodluck with yours tho, let me know how it goes. It looks like I am also not going to be able to get my remaining straw a species buddy either because my usual petco who always had them hasnt had any in months.
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Topic author
Maybe it could have been due to your Straw being partly stuck in the exo as well. I'm not 100% sure on this though, so can't really say that this was the cause of all the trouble.
I've witnessed once my Straw struggling to try and get out of his exo, only to have a thin strand of goop wrapped around one leg. He wouldn't have been able to shed it completely because of this.
The strand of goop had started to dry and was squeezing the affected leg, which could have resulted in injury to his soft exo and perhaps led to infection.
Maybe this could have happened to your Straw? Or something similar?
I've witnessed once my Straw struggling to try and get out of his exo, only to have a thin strand of goop wrapped around one leg. He wouldn't have been able to shed it completely because of this.
The strand of goop had started to dry and was squeezing the affected leg, which could have resulted in injury to his soft exo and perhaps led to infection.
Maybe this could have happened to your Straw? Or something similar?