Have I killed my crab?

[Yelodoggie]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
It is a mix of eco earth and playsand., about 4" deep.

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?
Yes. They are on the back wall of the tank. They usually read between 72-85° depending on the season, but I try to keep it as close to 80 as possible. Humidity 78-85 humidity, consistently.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Uth and a 25W red 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)?
Fresh water is distilled. Salt water is distilled with Instant Ocean. 1tbs per pint.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Mostly dry mixes of organic veggies or fruit that I dehydrate myself. Sometimes fresh. Also calcium powder, pb and pb powder, freeze dried minnows, river shrimp, mealworms, grasshoppers. Crushed eggshells. Sometimes fresh fish. Popcorn. Clams. The occasional cheeto. Spirulina. Oats, lots of variety. I change the food every 2 days, usually.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
Purple pincher. Pretty sure we've had this guy for 5 or 6 years.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
He has never had any molt issues, and has molted normally in the past.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
It's a 10 gallon glass tank. It has a metal mesh lid with 2 pieces of glass covering the top, which allows me to adjust humidity.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
Just 2. They are(were) both in turbo shells with 1" openings.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
5 or 6

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No. On second thought, my S.O. sprayed on deodorant in the room last week.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
Once a year I do a total clean. in between I remove the top pooped up layer of sub and any errant foodstuffs, then add some fresh sub.

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

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.)?
No. The only "new thing" is that sometimes a cat sits on the cabinet next to the tank and looks at them.

So here is what happened so far:
One if my crabs did this thing where he soaked in the salt water for a day, then a day in the fresh water, then back to the salt water, then back to the fresh, he traded off like this for a week. He took a little piece of cholla wood with him each time, so although he was in a water dish, he wasn't completely submerged . He was in a natural shell that was too small for him, but he didn't seem to like any of the larger shells I provided for him, even though they were larger and there were 6 to choose from.
One day he got naked in the water, then later that day he got back into his old shell. When he came out, I was kind of shocked at how big he was, and I didn't see how he was able to cram all that body into that little shell.
Then he just stayed in the saltwater. After about two more days, I saw his exo in there with him, but he was not moving. Another couple days and when I checked on him he still had not moved, but the water he was in was filmy, which worried me. I gently scooped some out with a plastic spoon and added some clean saltwater to the bowl. His limbs were very soft and swayed in the water when I added to it.
Next day more filmy water. I added water and let it spill over into the sub to try to get as much of the filminess out as possible. This just about totally submerged him, and air bubbles came to the surface. . .so then I worried that he would drown. I used a plastic spoon under his shell, and tried to lift him a little up higher on the cholla, but he came forward out of the shell with his soft body, so I stopped.
No movement at all for days, and a little bit of an odor, but not bad, but his eye stalks were limp and forward, and I kind of thought he'd died. I made a little Indent in the sub and put some crushed coral in it, then used the plastic spoon to lift him out of the water dish (because how can he possibly harden in there?) to put him in the Indent. When I did this, the front of his body fell forward out of his shell, and as I moved him his butt came out, too. I noticed he has a blister on his bottom half, kind of to one side right behind where his front half meets his back half. I can't tell if he's alive and limp, or if he is dead. I put him in iso with an appropriate shell, but this did not go well, because he is so soft and floppy from the water. This resulted in a jumble of limbs. if he's still alive by some miracle, now I am afraid he will dry out.
This whole experience is very depressing. I just want to mention that we've been tending crabs since about 2008, but nothing like this has ever happened. I know our set up is not perfect right now. Also, regarding the odor, I broke my nose last year and don't have a very good sniffer any more.




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[curlysister]

I don't think you killed your crab, but unfortunately it does sound like he has passed away. If he fell all the way out of the shell, he is not alive. I'm very sorry.
There is nothing in your conditions that sound like they could be the cause of the death, it sounds like you have everything correct. I do wonder if you need a larger tank and deeper sub, as a 5 or 6 year old crab may be too big for 4 inches of sub (it should be at least three times as deep as your largest crab) - but I don't think this is a big enough problem to have caused his death.
Are your extra shells of the type that PP's prefer?
The last thing that could be improved is your water - distilled doesn't have any minerals at all. Tap water treated with a dechlorinator is preferred, because then they get ground minerals from the tap water and ocean minerals from the marine salt. Again, I don't think this would be a big enough thing to have caused your crab's death.

[ShikikanHermyCrabby]

The same thing happened to my crab. I lifted up the saltwater dish and found him with his exoskeleton. The next few days, he would go naked into the saltwater and then come back into his shell. One day, I found him submerged in the dish. I think he drowned. I should have placed a spounge in there, although the Zoomed dish had some steps to get out. Do you think it is possible that your hermit crab drowned? How deep was the dish?

[curlysister]

The same thing happened to my crab. I lifted up the saltwater dish and found him with his exoskeleton. The next few days, he would go naked into the saltwater and then come back into his shell. One day, I found him submerged in the dish. I think he drowned. I should have placed a spounge in there, although the Zoomed dish had some steps to get out. Do you think it is possible that your hermit crab drowned? How deep was the dish?

No, it does not sound like he drowned. A crab will drop it's shell if it is too weak to carry it. Some crabs have been known to soak in the salt water when they are dying, but as far as I know, we don't know exactly why. Sponges aren't good in water, because they harbor bacteria. If there were steps, he could have gotten out.

[wodesorel]

I don't think you did anything wrong either. When they want to be in the water like that, it's too late to do anything to help. The blister you saw sounds like their molt sac, which is a protuberance where they store excess fats and moisture.