Extremely active and naked hermie!

[giabarbiero]

Hi guys I really need some help. So let me explain my tank conditions first. I have a 20 gallon with 5 hermies! They have play sand, toys, plenty of shells, fresh and salt water dishes changed daily and fresh food given daily as well. The humidity is where it is supposed to be and the temperature is about 77 F. I believe my tank conditions are good. So I got this one hermit crab about two weeks ago. He is one of the larger ones and very active. Eating and drinking running around like a maniac too! So yesterday I woke up and he changed shells. His name is Sushi by the way lol, so I thought that was great! Then I came home and he was streaking!!! I isolated him in another tank and gave him shell options but it didn’t work. Later last night he chose a shell that was too small and he couldn’t even retract into it to hide. An hour or so later he’s naked again. He then started to dig a hole. So I woke up this morning still naked and he is running around like crazy. I isolated him once again and he ate the food and seemed to appreciate when I misted him with the dechlorinated water. He was in there for awhile and no luck so I put him back in the regular tank bc the small one seemed to stress him out. Yesterday he also lost a leg. He looks very healthy minus the leg drop, no signs of molting, no droopy eyes,color looks good, eating and drinking, and very very active. I’m not sure what else to do!!!!! I don’t want him to die!!!

[NLindsey921]

You need to reshell him. Pick him up gently and choose a shell slightly larger than the shell he was originally in. Rinse his abdomen and the shell in declorinated fresh water. Gently uncurl abdomen and slide him into shell. He should slide in. Do this asap cause without a shell he will die.

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[Lewisthecrab]

Reshell him. Put him in a cup with some shells and try to put his abdomen in one. That always works for me. Good luck!

[giabarbiero]

I have tried both and none worked!!!!! Doing it manually makes me uncomfortable lol I don’t wanna hurt his abdomen

[NLindsey921]

It doesn't hurt them. I've done it before. And the crab I did it to was very freshly molded as well. She is still alive to this day.

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[piratetoothgir]

I have tried both and none worked!!!!! Doing it manually makes me uncomfortable lol I don’t wanna hurt his abdomen

You won't hurt him unless you are rough.
As a crabber, you'd probably be gentle

I am wondering why he won't stay in a shell. Is he still active like he was?

[giabarbiero]

I have tried both and none worked!!!!! Doing it manually makes me uncomfortable lol I don’t wanna hurt his abdomen

You won't hurt him unless you are rough.
As a crabber, you'd probably be gentle

I am wondering why he won't stay in a shell. Is he still active like he was?

He is very active running around and digging. I'm not sure why he wont stay in one either! I put him back i his old shell so lets see if he stays in it

[giabarbiero]

the first time I tried he put up a fight, and would not go in and he fell out and tried to pinch me, but the second time he went in. He is still really active and wont retract in all the way, but hopefully the little guy will be ok. I'll keep an eye out for him and keep you updated

[LadyJinglyJones]

Heya,

Looks like you're dealing with the situation, but here are a couple of things to bear in mind...

Make sure the shell you use to reshell him is clean - that there arent granules of sand inside, as it's thought that irritants might induce a crab to abandon ship.

A shelless crab can dehydrate to the point of it being life-threatening in a few hours, and stress/underlying health issues will compound the trouble he's in. However, like many wild animals, he may remain active & appear 'healthy' to us. It is common for injured and sick wild animals to appear healthy when in decline, otherwise they would rapidly be singled out by predators, their immune systems never having had a chance to heal them. SO, I try not to look at a crab and assume it's healthy if it's dropped limbs or won't take a shell - that behaviour shows me it's in bad shape.

Healthy crabs sometimes streak, but i think repeated rejections tell me he's weak or possibly disoriented (I wondrr if crabs get woozy ) , because 'wear a shell' for crabs is like 'don't walk off a cliff' for humans... it's instinctual. I think he may be too weak to hold onto it.

So what to do? Keeping him isolated to confine his movements a bit & offering him energy rich food (honey, proteins) may help. Food can be offered in the ISO, along with small fresh & marine salt water dishes. (The salt water is important too - he needs it to mix shell water to the correct salinity. )

High humidity becomes really important because dehydration will continue to sap his energy, then begin to mess up his physical functions. Keeping the ISO humid with damp moss, a moist cloth, whatever works.. and getting humidity as high as possible could help (do you know your humidity? You'll want to aim for 80% minimum).

Finally, id cover the ISO to keep it dark, just peeking to see if he's still in a shell. This would hopefully help with stress levels. You're right that handling him is stressful - but if he isn't reshelled death is certain. It may take a few days, but is unavoidable.

[giabarbiero]

Heya,

Looks like you're dealing with the situation, but here are a couple of things to bear in mind...

Make sure the shell you use to reshell him is clean - that there arent granules of sand inside, as it's thought that irritants might induce a crab to abandon ship.

A shelless crab can dehydrate to the point of it being life-threatening in a few hours, and stress/underlying health issues will compound the trouble he's in. However, like many wild animals, he may remain active & appear 'healthy' to us. It is common for injured and sick wild animals to appear healthy when in decline, otherwise they would rapidly be singled out by predators, their immune systems never having had a chance to heal them. SO, I try not to look at a crab and assume it's healthy if it's dropped limbs or won't take a shell - that behaviour shows me it's in bad shape.

Healthy crabs sometimes streak, but i think repeated rejections tell me he's weak or possibly disoriented (I wondrr if crabs get woozy ) , because 'wear a shell' for crabs is like 'don't walk off a cliff' for humans... it's instinctual. I think he may be too weak to hold onto it.

Thanks so much! I cleaned off his orignal shell and him as well and reshelled him. Its been about an hour and he is staying put as of now! He seems to just be w
So what to do? Keeping him isolated to confine his movements a bit & offering him energy rich food (honey, proteins) may help. Food can be offered in the ISO, along with small fresh & marine salt water dishes.

High humidity becomes really important because dehydration will continue to sap his energy, then begin to mess up his physical functions. Keeping the ISO humid with damp moss, a moist cloth, whatever works.. and getting humidity as high as possible cold help (do you know your humidity? You'll want to aim for 80% minimum).



Finally, id cover the ISO to keep it dark, just peeking to see if he's still in a shell. This would hopefully help with stress levels. You're right that handling him is stressful - but if he isn't reshelled death is certain. It may take a few days, but is unavoidable.

Thanks so much! I cleaned off his orignal shell and him as well and reshelled him. Its been about an hour and he is staying put as of now! He seems to just be hanging out inside his shell. Thanks so much!

[LadyJinglyJones]

Yay! Fingers crossed for him!

Check back periodically to see if he's still shelled... but hopefully you won't need to do anything else!

[giabarbiero]

Thank you!! I gave him some fresh honey so hopefully that will be okay for him! I'll keep you updated

[giabarbiero]

Well guys he is naked again should i try a different shell?

[NLindsey921]

Try to find one that feels lighter and see if you can-get him in that.

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[giabarbiero]

ok ill try another shell i have in mind lets see if it works!!!