HELP!! Dead crabs and overcrowding!

Theodora · Post by **Theodora** » Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:50 am

I was re arrageing my tankk and I found 2 dead crabs ;(. 1 was torn apart and close to his spot another dead crab was rotting. Sad1 his white thing (Butt) Is rotting and gross. I need help. what do I do? check the rest of the tank for dead ones? I will never make this over crowding mistake again. I must get another tank. Any help will be appreciated.I think it has to do with my UTH on the bottom of the tank. HELP ME!!!

miatiny · Post by **miatiny** » Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:00 pm

I am sorry for you loses I would move my UTH to the side or back of the tank to prevent the tank from cracking at the bottom and so the hermies do not burn themselves by accident.

Theodora · Post by **Theodora** » Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:12 pm

I want to move it but there is to much weight in it... I will figure out something

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:58 am

How long have you had the hermit crabs, and these in particular? How many do you have in your tank, what size is the tank?How about answering the following questionnaire?1) How long have you had your crabs and how long have you been caring for this particular crab in distress?2) What size is your tank and what kind of lid do you have?3) What are you using for heat? Please be specific and include fixture type, watt or mat size and where the heat source is mounted.4) What kind of substrate do you use in your tank and at what depth? Is it dry or damp and sand castle consistency?5) Do you dechlorinate your fresh water and if so, with what product? Do you offer aquarium salt water in addition to fresh water? Again, what product?6) What do you normally feed your crabs?7) Do you bathe, mist or handle your crabs at all?8) What are the temperature and humidity readings? Please be specific and include high low fluctuations if you're aware of them.Please also give us as detailed a description as possible of the current problem you're having with your crab(s) and include a description of his previous activity/behavior and current activity/behavior. Answering all of these questions honestly and in full will help us to help you! Thank you.

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:31 am

I cannot move a great deal of weight so when I have had to clean out a tank and move it, I pull all the substrate out and put into smaller containers, sometimes ziplock baggies if they have to be transported in a place I worry about spills such as my car. You could do this to get the UTH off the bottom. At a minimum unplug the thing and get a different one to put on the side. You may have to do that anyway since removing them can be tricky. If you damage it while removing, you really shouldn't use it, it's a fire hazard.I would clean out all of the decorations, wash them in appropriate ways. Clean out any sub that looks contaminated, clean out the area near where the crabs died. Look for problems. If there aren't any, and your crabs are new therefore likely to have died of PPS, you can probably leave it at that. My OCD won't let me do that and I'd probably end up with a deep clean but that's probably not necessary for real. Overcrowding can be a serious issue. There are some things to do to minimize the issues until you can get a larger tank or more tanks or rehome some of your hermit crabs. Things that can help are making really good use of your space. Lots of levels and places to hide. Escape route are also good. Probably less decorations that are for your aesthetic pleasure rather than their comfort. More than one food dish is a must too so there is no one feeling like they have to guard the dish.Do you have something like freecycle or craigslist? Look also at 2nd hand places. Even if you get a bunch of smaller large tanks, it could work in the short term.Answer the questions above and I'm sure you'll get tons of good answers.Peg

Theodora · Post by **Theodora** » Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:37 pm

I am fine now. I have gotten lots of help already. Thanks though.