Molting, adjusting, or dead?

[ChaseKaibutsu]

Does the claw have "meat" in it, or is it just empty? It isn't likely he grew a new big claw back that quickly. . . it is probably the big claw part of his exo.

I didn't really investigate because both of my crabs seemed pretty upset, but it felt really light so I think it was empty. When I look at Hermin in the bottle now I can see him leaning over something that it looks like he's eating, so I think he did have a successful molt and the claw was part of his exo.

[DragonsFly]

If you didn't throw it away, he would appreciate being able to eat that claw exo also. He also needs water in his bottle iso area, and some supplemental food (organic peanut butter and organic honey are frequently recommended for molters) in there.

[ChaseKaibutsu]

If you didn't throw it away, he would appreciate being able to eat that claw exo also. He also needs water in his bottle iso area, and some supplemental food (organic peanut butter and organic honey are frequently recommended for molters) in there.

I didn't throw away the claw, because I figured it could be exo and I should leave it.
I'll fill a clam shell with some pb and honey, and another one with water. I just worry about crowding him.

[DragonsFly]

He won't want to move around very much until he has finished his exo and had time for his new exo to harden. It will be a few days, though, so he does need water.

[ChaseKaibutsu]

He won't want to move around very much until he has finished his exo and had time for his new exo to harden. It will be a few days, though, so he does need water.

Okay, I'll get on that.
He doesn't seem to be really eating anything, and I can see the claw under him. He's sort of just sitting there hanging out of his shell, and he's angled his shell so the opening is sort of pointed upwards.

[wodesorel]

It takes them several days to get through their exo and some won't even start crunching away for two or three days after shedding. It'll be best to leave him with just the exo until he mostly finishes it - they won't eat or drink while molting and he's got to eat his old skin for him to have the best chance.

Is he covered under the bottle with something to keep him dark? The molting process is light dependent and they need that pitch-blackness for the stages to trigger properly.

[ChaseKaibutsu]

It takes them several days to get through their exo and some won't even start crunching away for two or three days after shedding. It'll be best to leave him with just the exo until he mostly finishes it - they won't eat or drink while molting and he's got to eat his old skin for him to have the best chance.

Is he covered under the bottle with something to keep him dark? The molting process is light dependent and they need that pitch-blackness for the stages to trigger properly.

I haven't covered the bottle, but I know I have some fabric scraps around that I can use to cover it. I was wondering about that, and going to do something about it.
I'll make sure to have food and water ready for him soon, as well.

[DragonsFly]

So wode, even if they've done a fairly sudden surface molt, they aren't going to need water? I would have thought it was safer to give them some access?

[wodesorel]

Honestly, I've never given disturbed crabs any food or water until they've shown signs of wanting to surface. I have read of cases where when presented with food they snap back into "normal" mode too quickly and they then don't want to eat their exo. The whole molting process takes place with them in a state of hibernation - it's why they can stay underground for weeks or months without needing food or water. I've always tried to preserve that as much as possible.

If it's possible to offer water and food without disturbing the crab on a regular basis to change it and while also keeping them in the dark it's probably not a bad thing, but having to get in there every day to refill small bowls will cause them a lot of stress.

[DragonsFly]

Right; I was pretty much thinking put some water in a small container, maybe a tad of food (but it sounds like maybe it's better not to offer any food as long as there is still exo) and then leave him alone until he starts to stir significantly on his own. I just worried that he might not have much (or any?) water reserves, if it was a fairly sudden surface molt.

[ChaseKaibutsu]

Right; I was pretty much thinking put some water in a small container, maybe a tad of food (but it sounds like maybe it's better not to offer any food as long as there is still exo) and then leave him alone until he starts to stir significantly on his own. I just worried that he might not have much (or any?) water reserves, if it was a fairly sudden surface molt.

Yeah, I was wondering about water. I know he drank some before he went into the shelter, but that's been a while. But he probably built up a good reserve. I'd try putting water in, but he's right in the center of the bottle so I don't really have room to put any down. Also, Hellboy has gone under the sand near the bottle, I think to try to burrow in, so I think I'm just gonna leave Hermin be. I'm going to cover the bottle now, as well.

[wodesorel]

I would check Herman once a day or once every other day. Once the exo gets down to leg tips and the BP it'll be time to pop the bottle off and offer access to food and water. Hopefully Hellboy is molting so that when it comes time to let Hermin loose there won't be any problems.

It would also be a good idea to give Herman a bath once he's up and moving again. I don't normally recommend bathing a crab, but when they surface molt they aren't able to scrub that molting smell off because they have no substrate to dig through to reach the surface, so a bath will rinse anything that may make him smell "yummy" to another crab.

[ChaseKaibutsu]

I would check Herman once a day or once every other day. Once the exo gets down to leg tips and the BP it'll be time to pop the bottle off and offer access to food and water. Hopefully Hellboy is molting so that when it comes time to let Hermin loose there won't be any problems.

It would also be a good idea to give Herman a bath once he's up and moving again. I don't normally recommend bathing a crab, but when they surface molt they aren't able to scrub that molting smell off because they have no substrate to dig through to reach the surface, so a bath will rinse anything that may make him smell "yummy" to another crab.

Okay, I'll check on him once in a while, and make sure to bathe him when he seems ready.

I think Hellboy just surfaced from molting before going after Hermin. He had been down for about 3 weeks and when he came up, Hermin was in the middle of his surface molt. Hellboy ate a bunch of food and bathed and drank water from both dishes, before going in after Hermin.
And Hellboy surfaced today after unsuccessfully trying to burrow his way into where Hermin is, and has been inspecting the shells I have in there on and off and just chilling out.