What should I do? Possible tunnel collapse??

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Phoenix
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What should I do? Possible tunnel collapse??

Post by Phoenix » Sat Jul 10, 2021 12:09 am

Hi there, so I’m a bit worried on what to do with my hermit crab.

To make a long story short I haven’t been able to be at my house for about 2-3 weeks because of some serious personal stuff. He’s had been under for about a week or two before I left and now I’m briefly back for a few days and he’s still under.

I had been scraping some mold off the top layer of substrate (I only just now discovered mold isn’t harmful for them) and I’m anxious about the idea that maybe a tunnel collapsed when I did that. I sniffed his tank and it smells just like the probiotic spray that I had used earlier this year. I don’t want to dig him up because I read that doing that was really bad for them.

He’s gone down before for like 2-3 months, so should I just wait it out? If so I have another issue. I’m in the process of moving and I’m not sure what to do about his tank. I really don’t want to take the tank in my car while he’s under. I’ve done it before when he was up top but (again) I’m worried about a tunnel collapse.

I would normally just watch for him to surface but I don’t even know if he’s still alive and I don’t have the time to wait right now.

He’s been really resilient and I feel like I worry about him a lot but he’s always been fine… What should I do? :(

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Re: What should I do? Possible tunnel collapse??

Post by wodesorel » Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:45 am

He's very likely okay down there. If its a very small tank just give the surface a good spray down to make sure it holds shape and if you feel comfortable moving the whole thing it should be okay for a car ride. If there is any weight to it though you'll need to empty the glass for safety because it can crack easily. He can go in a plastic food container with some substrate or moss to cushion him. Just go slow and careful while digging.
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