things to look for before a pp molts

[teardrop]

im new to hc and I have four small pps and im wondering what to look for to indicate that a hc is going to molt soon all my new small crabs are doing great but I know from reading they arnt safe until first molt

[Brittanybaby22]

They dig alot and they go to the water bowls alot their exoskeleton gets ashy looking they can stay down molting for days even months and they eat alot

[teardrop]

ok thank you my crabs arnt digging at all and not eating alot but a couple of them do go to the pools alot

[Brittanybaby22]

Mine is hiding in his hermie hut right now so I am not sure what he's doing I had him for almost six months I got him on may 27 he already had his first molt the same month I got him

[teardrop]

iv had mine for about a week now

[moonshermies]

Also keep in mind it also depends on what kind of conditions the crabs were kept in..If they were deplorable, its most likely the crabs put off molting & will molt & destress soon..Because you just got them, they maybe be checking out things & getting comfortable..be sure to feed them a prper diet, offer both fresh"dechlornated"water &"dechlornated salt water, prper heat & humidity, sub thats 3x deep as ur largest crab..We have a care sheet section you may want to checkout also. Congratulations &.Welcome to the wondetful world of crabbing & WELCOME TO HCA!!!!

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[teardrop]

I only feed them organic food iv been giving them worm castings nuts honey oak leafs bannas cocunut and no salts or sugers or preservites I have a fress and salt pool with bubblers a fogger uth heaters heat stays 82f humity stays 95% I have 7 in of sand coco mix a moss pit extra turbo shells and two uvb bulbs

[moonshermies]

Conditions sounds wonderful!! I wanna be there 2!!! its quite cold here, lol!! I have 2 purple pinchers, mine like to dig alot in the sub!! My mine watch for molters are the ashy exo, cloudy eyes, spending alot of time in both salt & fresh pools,& devour everything in sight..

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[teardrop]

I hope mine go down soon im doing the best I can for them I think

[YYWW]

Mine crabs all disappear every day and would come out in the evening to night. I cant see or tell any pre molt difference at all. They just stop coming up for weeks and the next time i see them they are different colors


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[moonshermies]

Sunset does the same thing YYWW.. I wont see her for days, then ill sneak a peak & see her..Actually I got to pick her up yesterday..Her legs are beginning to darken up to a much redder color now..she s not ashy & her eyes are nice & clear, so im hoping the variety of food is helping (sunset names due to her being an orange colored pp)..

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[YYWW]

I think crabs of diff sizes or ages turn diff colors. My Dizzy was colored like a blue crab, but now he's lavender/pink colored. Doesn't even seem like the same crab! But Diesel is deep red (in my pic on the right) even though they eat the same foods. I used to use color to tell my crabs apart, but my "triplet" Es are all the same size and have changed colors. At some point i'm sure i'll just lose track and just refer to them as "the Es"
My telltale sign of a FRESH molt is def the hairy legs. I dont get to see much pre molt eye or exo dullness. Hairy crabby legs can only be seen in my tank from a fresh molt!


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[moonbeam]

Don't forget those sharp toenails I can always tell on my tiny crabs because of their tiny black toenails. They're never really hairy (or at least not that I can visibly see).


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[YYWW]

Yes! Those cuuute lil tiny black tips!


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[moonbeam]

That hurt like the dickens on a bigger crab!! (Only when you handle them though the toenails don't hurt them a bit. Figured I should clear that statement up!)


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