Accidently dug up TWO molting crabs

[FJrocks003]

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?
Play sand-eco earth 5-1 ratio, 13 -14 inches

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?
Two gauges on either end of tank, 93% humidity and 84 temp, and 85% humidity and 83 temp.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Three overhead heat lamps and one uth. uth is taped to the back and always on, two heat lamps ore on during the day (one "basking light" bulb and one "daytime bulb" (heat + uvb), the other heat lamp is on at night and is just a heat emitter with no light.

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)?
Both are available, I have two 2.5 gallon filtered pools. I don't always use the same dechlorinators/salts but these are the brands I have used/are currently using: Prime water conditioner, Stress coat+, API aquarium salt, Instant Ocean, and Zoomed Hermit crab water conditioner (this is just a back up if I find myself low on the other stuff).

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Mixed diet, not very consistent. Always have some sort of fruit or veggies available, always have cuttlebone and some other calcium in food (just to be safe, always was a source of protein from both insects and seafood. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to changing the food, usually every few days-a week, once it's too moldy to count as food. I have some live plants, isopods, broken shells, ect in there so I don't worry if they dont get fed for a week or so.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
#1 is a Indonession, I've had him for a year. #2 Is a purple pincher, I've had her for three years.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
They were both molting. #1 Had been down for 5 months when this happened, #2 had been down for 3 weeks.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
Crabs are in a 65 gallon aquarium, screen lid covered in boxing tape (with holes for heat lamps) for humidity.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
5 crabs total, ranging from medium-jumbo. #1 is a jumbo, #2 is in between medium and large.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Less than recommended. most the crabs have different shell sizes so Im not worried about fights. About 7 extra now I think.

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, just changed the food and water.

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

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
An extra inch of substrate while they were under.

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.)?


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
I got back from a 5 day vacation (no one was watching crabs, they go that long without care all the time) and the saltwater tank was in full bacteria bloom. Everything was black and the filter had broke. It smelled like death. I tried to clean it in the tank at first because 3 of the crabs were molting and all of which I was pretty sure were in that area. The tank is 2.5 gallons so it would be likely to collapse tunnels if removed. Unfortunately it was super bad so I had to take it out to clean. When doing this all the substrate on that side of the tank collapsed. I found two of the three crabs in that half. #1 is named Indigo, he's a jumbo Indosion that has been down for 5 months until this. I'm confident he is post-molt because he's been down a while and I found a few bits of the harder parts of his exoskeleton. He's in a large critter keeper (4.5 gallons) with food, cuttlebone, and freshwater right now, he had came out of his shell a little to look around but hasn't moved much. #2 is a medium-large purple pincher named Fleck who was been down about 3 weeks before this. I'm not sure if she is pre-molt or post-molt since in the past her molt have ranged from 2 weeks to a month and a half. I didn't find any exo with her and she is pale in color. She isn't in the middle of the molt because she retracted into the shell when I moved her. She is currently in a small plastic tub (~2 gallons) with food, cuttlebone, and freshwater. She has not moved at all. Both are in the closet so it's dark and around 82 degrees. I'm more worried about Fleck (#2) because she hasn't moved and is super pale, although this is Indigo's (#1) first molt with me and he's jumbo. Any advice welcome.

.

[JoeHermits]

Molters are weak and vulnerable so they may appear pale or inactive. Keep them in isolation until they’re moving around on their own.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk