Naked crab

[Moe2076]

Since you've come to the emergency forum, we know you want a fast answer to your question. In order for us to figure out the problem as quickly as possible, we ask that you answer the following questions as best you can. Some of them may seem odd, but they're all designed to give us the information we need to give you a good solution for your problem. The things in the [ brackets ] are there to make this post easier to read once submitted. Thanks!


1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
I have a 75 gallon tank with 12 inches of 5 to 1 sand and EE


2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
front gauge is 80 to 85% humidity and temp runs form 75-80 in the front in the back its 85 degrees


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
2 ultra therms on on the back and one on 1 side

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
Fresh with stress coat plus salt with instant ocean and stress coat plus

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
dry food is meal worms coconut, in a plastic paint dish with several sections thre is honey, bee pollen, oatmeal, strawberry, pinaple, I thin kI had kiwi in there, cherries


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
PP I've got them all between September 2019 and January 2020

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
I think they have all molted. S/He has pretty pointy feet and the color is pretty brilliant brown

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
I have a 75 gallon tank covered with plexiglass lids

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
15 5 largish, golf ball sized, 5 medium and 5 small

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Thres a tub of smaller ones and 10 to 15 of the larger ones, I think I needed to add some larger ones, and I boied and added some this morning after letting them cool and soaked them in salt water, but this is a medium sized crab.

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
no

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I don't, I've not had any problems with any mold and there are fruti flies and those really little tiny bugs that look like sand, food mites I think, but they are harmless.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
no sponges, they hold bacteria

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
no

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
I been a little more lax on the fresh food lately and the water was probably a day overdue, it was a little dirty

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

I came in this morning and this medium sized crab was naked on the mesh in the saltwater dish. I followed the instructions for the naked crab and put him in a smaller Tupperware with 1/2 inch declor water and a few shells. ( Boiled them and let them cool and soaked them in salt declor, they usually go nuts for that.) I think his old shell was in a cocohut, it didn't look like there was any shelljacking. S/He is real weak and that's why I think it dropped the shell. I cant get it to take one. I'm pretty hands off and a bit of a chicken so I never handle them so it's been a good hot mes with me trying to get it to take one, it just won't back into one or stretch out it's tail to take one.
I set up an iso with 6 inches of sub and both waters and a plate of honey, bee pollen and an apple, it did take some apple and some honey. I have an ultratherm on it. I covered it and left it alone a while. When I checked on it, its been eating. I think the plate was too smooth so I took it out and tried to reshell it again with the lightest I could find that would fit but still won't take, it wen tot hide under a coco hut. I swapped out the food dish to a smaller plastic with more honey and bee pollen and apple, there's a piece of cuttlebone in there. My second attempt was messy and in the honey and I put it in the water again.

What else should I do? Leave it be and hope it gets back enough strength to reshell itself? I feel like I've done the best AI can for it and I don't want to stress it worse by trying to mess with it more often and freaking it out. From what I've read of the other posts like this they don't end too good most of the time... How long can it live without a shell? I feel like it needs to be strong enough to take one first, but I'm just guessing.

[crabs_lex]

i just had two crabs go naked and it’s a first for me
but luckily the both went back in their shells quickly but the one seems very weak or sick
so i would keep him in iso with lots and lots of shell choices around his size
try to keep it dark
it is very important you keep your co did toons the same as in your main tank
give him lots of healing foods to try and boost his health
your conditions seem pretty okay
maybe more shells
and i would not use stress coat as a regular water conditioner i use prime for their water

[crabs_lex]

conditions*

[CrabbyLover77]

Crabs-lex gave some good advice.
Your tank conditions sound pretty good to me. And it sounds as if your doing what you can to get him back in a shell. If you can't get him to take a shell by himself or by helping him, I'm not sure there is much else you can do. Maybe give him a break from handling, and try again after a few hours to manually re-shell him again. I know you're supposed to re-shell him asap, but I would think constant handling might stress him out even more.
I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

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[wodesorel]

He should be cleaned off and put into an empty clean plastic container with cleaned shells. The idea is the only thing to do is shell shop, so he doesn't get distracted. Also, with everything being clean and smooth there is no risk of further abdominal injury!

We also have a guide to naked crabs here that covers the most common problems. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=122302

[Moe2076]

Woke up this morning and found it resting in some moss. I cleaned out 4 shells and gave them a dip, then took out the crab and gave it a bath. It had a lot more energy today. I put the shells in a dish with 1/2 inch of fresh declor and then put it back into the iso and came back in an hour and it had reshelled itself. I'm going to keep in in iso a while and see how it does.

Thanks for the replies!

[CrabbyLover77]

Woke up this morning and found it resting in some moss. I cleaned out 4 shells and gave them a dip, then took out the crab and gave it a bath. It had a lot more energy today. I put the shells in a dish with 1/2 inch of fresh declor and then put it back into the iso and came back in an hour and it had reshelled itself. I'm going to keep in in iso a while and see how it does.

Thanks for the replies!

That's good news!

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