pre molt or just swapping out shell water??

sdevine · Post by **sdevine** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:07 pm

So last night I see the largest of the E's climb in the saltwater dish and start sort of pushing himself in and out of his shell. So I'm sure he was flushing out his shell. He then sat for a while in the saltwater and then sat on the edge for a while before moving on. This little guy actually changed shells the first night we put him into ISO. I'm wondering if he is about to molt. He has made himself a cave next to the salt water and the smallest E invaded it this morning. There was a lot of chirping but both crabs are still in the cave. I'm excited and a bit nervous.

suebee · Post by **suebee** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 2:13 pm

That is how they clean out the shell. They often get waste in the shells and thats what they do to flush it out, its one of the reasons we often find poo in our water dishes. That is a good sign that you have a good depth of a water dish for that size crab. That is also how the mamas let the eggs go into the water! Its very cool to watch!