Crab lost leg

Post by **Wai** » 30 Jan 2005, 15:07

A crab owner just posted me an emergent question below about one of her crabs. She says she's a bit too young to join this forum, but I'll ask the question for her.

Lisa wrote:hello,
Oh gosh! My biggest crab is missing a leg! I came home, and the leg was sitting in the cage. What should I do? I put him in a shoe box with some wash clothes at the bottom. I put his leg in the box with him.
Thanks,
Lisa

What do you guys think she should do?

Julia_Crab · Post by **Julia_Crab** » 30 Jan 2005, 16:39

The crab should be put in ISO, in appropriate heat and humidity with both salt and fresh water, and food. It should have a hidey and a towel over the top of the tank to keep it nice and dark. the crab is obviously stressed and needs some down time.

If these are new crabs, it could have happened because of post purchase stress. If she's had these crabs for a while, it could be that the humidity and/or temperature in her tank aren't in the right range, or that the crabs have had a shell fight or some other type of aggression.

The crab may need to molt. It needs to be ISOd ASAP until it is acting normally, or at least a week.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » 02 Feb 2005, 08:05

Kali_Ma did a good job of answering the question. He doesn't need the leg in there with him though, he won't eat it and has no use for it, you might as well throw it away or bury it.