HELP, I messed up the PPS method....

[skyzynda]

Hey there, I am a new hermit crab owner (but have done quite a bit of research the past 6 or more months, BEFORE getting my crabs), and I have an urgent question for y'all, please.

Back info:

Eight days ago I got a hermit crab and tank off of my local craigslist, I remembered seeing/reading about the PPS method, and due to the fact that the hermit crab was kept in shallow (about 2 or so inches) of aquarium gravel-rock, I did not immediately put the 6 inches + of sand/ecoearth substrate into the tank. Two days after getting the hermit crab off craigslist, I bought one at my local Petco... and this is where my PPS method mistake became apparent... APPARENTLY the smidge of extra substrate I placed in the back left corner of the tank to help anchor down a climbing structure was/is too deep- or deep enough for the crabs (or at least one of them- the Petco one) to dig down and burrow in/under...

The following morning after getting the Petco crab, I was still able to see it, but it was nearly buried... and I've seen it once since that morning, I believe later that evening (possibly the NEXT morning though), and now I have not seen it for 4-5 days... I know that it is possible that it is coming up and eating/drinking/etc at nighttime or otherwise when I am not observing the tank... and seeing as I have another crab, I'm not able to do the test where I press/smooth the surface of the sand down to be able to check for little "footprints" for lack of a better term... So I am not sure WHAT I should do at this point...?

There is NO smell of "dead fish" upon opening the tank to change out water and food, etc., and I am REALLY, REALLY hoping that I DON'T and AM TRYING to keep from smelling that smell anytime in the near future...

Any help, advice, and suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!!

Concerned, new hermit crab parent,
Sky.

[skyzynda]

Should I just wait it out and leave the buried crab be? Should I add more substrate, or keep it as is, until the crab resurfaces? Or should I gently, carefully attempt to find the buried crab, and then remove the excess substrate..?

Until I hear from y'all I am just going to leave the little guy alone, out of fear of doing more harm than good if I were to do anything else. At least until I hear some advice from some experienced crab owners.

THANK YOU so much!!

[curlysister]

HCA doesn't recommend that method, it has not shown to improve outcomes for crabs. As you have witnessed, if a crab needs to molt, it can only put it off for so long, so if it doesn't have deep enough substrate, it will surface molt which can be very dangerous.

I would recommend getting the crab into idea conditions asap. If your heat and humidity aren't good, get them up right away. If your crab is molting on the surface or doesn't have deep enough substrate, he is easy prey and can be injured or killed and eaten by another crab. So if your crab is totally buried, I would leave him be, and add enough substrate that it is at least three times as deep as your largest crab. You can add it gently, just don't pack it down, or drop it in because you don't want to disturb any tunnels/ caves underground.

[CrabbyLover77]

Hi there,

There's no more gravel in the tank right? As long as that's gone, just leave your crabbies be. Don't worry about the substrate being too deep. I have 8-10" of sub in my 55 gal and 6-7" in my 29gal. It gives them more room to tunnel and molt. Crabs bury themselves for all kinds of reasons, to destress, to molt, or just for fun. Since you just got him, he's likely destressing, or preparing to molt. Try not to worry, but I know that's tough to do sometimes.
Welcome to crabbing!

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