Is he molting again?

[galletagirl]

My hermit crab, feisty, molted about a month ago. now he disappeared back under the sand yesterday. is he molting again? Is this normal? :/

[ladybug15057]

He might be, he might not be? We would need a little more info to try to help with what maybe happening. It might be the perimeters of your tank? Please answer the following the best you can with as much info as possible:

What is the volume of your main tank?


How many hermit crabs do you currently have? How big are they?


How long have you had the hermit crab(s) that you are concerned about?


What substrate or combination of substrates are you using? How deep is it?


What do you feed your hermit crabs?


Do you use distilled, bottled or tap water? If you are using a dechlorinator, what brand is it? Does it state to remove all heavy metals, chlorine and chloramines?


What brand of sea salt are you using to supply your hermit crabs with salt water?


What heat source are you using and where is it positioned?


Have you calibrated your thermometer(s) and hygrometer?


What is the air temperature range and humidity inside the tank? If you are using an under tank heater, what is the temperature range of the substrate (it is likely to be different to the air temperature range)?


Do you have any photos of your tank or hermit crab(s) of concern? If yes, please attach them to your post.

[galletagirl]

O.O those are a lot of questions hahaha and i kinda don't know all the answer but here goes:

1. I have a 10 gallon tank.
2. I currently have 4 crabs. they are about...uhm...ping pong ball size. maybe a little smaller.
3. i believe I've had feisty for about 3 months.
4. I'm using sand. it's about 4 inches deep.
5. I feed them carrots, grapes, strawberries, coconut, banana chips Petco Neopolitan cookies for hermit crabs (those aren't everyday. maybe once a week) chicken, crab food (Crab island Fruit and Flower Crab Food) Cuttlebone (occasionally) doggy treat cookies occasionally (they look like little teddy bears) and rice.
6. I use Deer Park bottled water.
7. I use hermit crab salt water conditioner for the salt water. i also use HBH hermit crab salt with extra calcium.
8. I'm using a plug in heating pad for tanks. It's doing an excellent job. it's positioned on the back of the tank in the top corner.
9. No. I just have a thermometer/hydrometer gauge that sits there and tells me what the humidity and temperature is.
10. the temperature right now is 80 degrees and the humidity is 75.
11. and no, i don't have photos. Currently all my crabs (i have 4) except one are under the sand. they surprised me one morning. i came in and no-one was above the sand haha. One that went down about 2 weeks ago just came us this morning. do you need pictures? i can take some if you do.

[ladybug15057]

2. I currently have 4 crabs. they are about...uhm...ping pong ball size. maybe a little smaller.
3. i believe I've had feisty for about 3 months.

Hermies this size in a 10 gal tank sounds a bit crowded if they have the ponds large enough where they can climb in with ease to soak or fill their shells if they want/need to. This as well as extra changing shells and the other criteria they should have.

5. I feed them carrots, grapes, strawberries, coconut, banana chips Petco Neopolitan cookies for hermit crabs (those aren't everyday. maybe once a week) chicken, crab food (Crab island Fruit and Flower Crab Food) Cuttlebone (occasionally) doggy treat cookies occasionally (they look like little teddy bears) and rice.

Sounds as though the little ones are lacking some important nutrients in their diet. Even though the Petco cookies doesn’t list ethoxyquin or copper sulphate it also doesn’t have any ‘good’ vitamins or minerals either. (click ingredients at)
http://www.petco.com/product/12590/PETC ... okies.aspx

Hermies eat so little it is important to offer the healthier foodsl

6. I use Deer Park bottled water.

Even using this, http://www.deerparkwater.com/
one needs to use a tap water conditioner. But since it is lacking the chlorine and chloramine that tap water contains you may wish to consider using distilled water?

7. I use hermit crab salt water conditioner for the salt water. i also use HBH hermit crab salt with extra calcium.

Hermies must be offered an ocean/sea water mix sold specifically for salt water fish tanks due to the ‘elements’ they contain.
http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabcare/water/

8. I'm using a plug in heating pad for tanks. It's doing an excellent job. it's positioned on the back of the tank in the top corner.

What warms part of the substrate for the hermies? The do need a warmer and cooler side to the substrate because they are cold blooded creatures and must be offered both so they can regulate their body temps.

9. No. I just have a thermometer/hydrometer gauge that sits there and tells me what the humidity and temperature is.

You do need to calibrate/test the humidity gauge for accuracy. Hermies depend on a proper humidity level to breath correctly through their modified gills. Majority of the time the gauges are always off when we buy them.

http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabcare/humidity/

One that went down about 2 weeks ago just came us this morning. do you need pictures? i can take some if you do.

No need to, unless you can take them of just the tank. But do not dig up or disturb the hermies for pictures.
Sounds like you need to do a bit of tweaking with your permimeters of your tank, as well as the foods and waters you offer. Please do read through the Crab Care section:

http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabcare/

There is a LOT of information there, and Wai spent a long time updating the information with todays research, knowledge, and experiences. But please do start with the above, soon. This should give you a good start for now…

[galletagirl]

O.o i have a lot of stuff to change! but thank you for taking the time to answer :] everything was very useful! :]

[ladybug15057]

You're welcome and good luck with your changes. I am sure your hermies will thank you!
If you need any other help, please feel free to post in this thread... we are here to help.

[CrabbyJo]

Sounds like you're on your way to a healthy tank

It's hard to tell with hermies, sometimes they will molt back-to-back and we aren't sure why. Maybe they had to put off molting too long and had a growth spurt

And I agree with Marie (Ladybug), there are some important nutrients missing from their diet. They do need a good supply of protein, which you can supplement by just cutting off little bits of meat that is going to be cooked for dinner, before it is seasoned, microwave it for about 10-15 seconds, and give it to the crabs. They love shrimp too, you can steam it (with the exo and legs and tail still on) and chop it up and put most of it in the freezer for feeding later. You will also want to get a seaweed source, and you can find spirulina and kelp in the bulk section of the natural foods section of your grocery store, and it's very cheap. You can also find seaweed (or algae) sheets at the pet store.
They need cellulose as well, and they can get that from cork bark, maple and oak leaves, and other wood sources (not any conifers/pine, which includes reptile half-logs).

[galletagirl]

:] thank you! i'm going grocery shopping today so i'll get some shrimp and seaweed when i go. i haven't heard of the last stuff (the leaves and bark) so i'll probably order that online....well, I've heard of the leaves but i wary of just picking one up outside and putting it in the tank. :] but thank you for the info! :]

[galletagirl]

do you have a easy diet i can give them weekly? Because sometimes they don't like what i feed them. You said they like shrimp and seaweed....do you know anything else that they will like a lot? :] and i don't want to deprive them of necessary nutrients :] i want the best for them!

[ladybug15057]

Here are a couple of links that maybe of some help:

http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-index.php?pa ... hin%2C+etc.

http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-index.php?pa ... tion+Table+

http://www.hermitcrabcuisine.com/
And some freeze dried/dehydrated foods:
http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-browse_categ ... =off&type=

Key being hermies like a variety. They are known not to eat the same food many times once they eat it for a week or longer.