How Long to Keep Crabs Separated After Molt

[melina]

I accidentally uncovered Bill while he was molting last night. He seems to be fairly far along in the process and is doing okay. I put him back in the tank with the rest of the exoskeleton beside him last night and he ate the rest of it overnight. I had Giuliana in a second container so that she wouldn't try to eat him. The second container isn't very nice, so I wanted to let Giuliana roam around in the normal tank for a little today since I'm sitting right here beside it keeping an eye on it. Sure enough I took my eyes off for a minute, heard sounds, looked over and SHE WAS TRYING TO EAT HIM ! He is fine now and climbing around the tank, but it's obviously too soon to put them together. How long should I wait to put them in the same tank?

[wodesorel]

I would give them three days at least, but a week or more would be better. With luck he'll bury himself and you won't have to worry, but if he doesn't he needs several more days to harden, and then a freshwater bath to rinse off any molting smell before Giuliana is moved back in.

[hprmom]

So how does this work when you have crabs molting with others present in the main tank? If not accidentally uncovered, does the newly-molted crab manage himself as far as staying buried/hidden until he's ready to be around others? Do you give him the freshwater dip as soon as he surfaces? My first went down a few days ago, so I have a few weeks to study up...

[wodesorel]

If it's a normal molt you don't have to do anything, the act of digging up will scrub any smell off of them and they only emerge when they are ready.

The problem is if they're dug up or uncovered before they were ready to come up on their own - they can either be too soft and weak to defend themselves from others, or they can still smell like molt and attract the attention of other hermits.

[hprmom]

Ah, okay. Thanks!