Inactive Hermit Crab

[Onestepcloser1]

well first of all i am a new hermit crab owner just for a heads up... ok so I got a hermit crab about a month and a half ago. When I got him he was extremely active. he would crawl on my hand and come out of his shell when I picked him up. he wouldn't be shy. He fits in a small-medium size shell. well I didn't know that the care for a hermit crab was so complex and I didn't know what I was getting myself into. well I got the hermit crab and only him. I got a little set up cage at petsmart with him and the cage basically had a plastic top and bottom and wiring going around it. I put coconut fiber in it and it came with the hut, food and water bowls, water sponge and a misting bottle. I give him distilled water and for food it is the food medley with the brand of all living things. well after about a month I read online and started to see people said hermit crabs need a certain humidity and temperature and everything. I also read they needed a friend. So i got a 10 gallon tank and i put coconut fiber in it a few inches deep, i have it moist with a humidity/temperature gage and a heating lamp i got from pestmart in the hermit crab section and it keeps it at the right humidity. well before I put him in a different tank, I put the other hermit crab in the cage. they got along good and they would crawl all over the cage because the other hermit crab is active as well. I also bought new shells for my hermie to move into. well about 1am i was watching my hermit crab and he was moving into one of the new shells i bought. he switched into 3 shells until he finally switched into his original shells because i guess he wasn't satisfied with any of the others and ive been told hermit crabs are picky. a few days later I finally put him into a new tank. i have a thing that sticks to the wall for them to climb on that i got from the hermit crab section so they can climb around so they weren't just sitting in a tank. well he was still active for about a day and then he started digging. He seems so unactive now and he will bury himself under the coconut fiber. the first time when he did it i thought "where did my hermit crab go?" becacsue it was like he vanished so i looked for him and found him under the fiber. I have the fiber damp but not liked dripping wet but when i picked him up water was dripping from his shell because he was under in the moist fiber. and he keeps going back and digging. I figured he was molting because ive done some research but I'm just trying to figure this all out. i don't see any black pockets under his legs the only signs ive seen is that he has been digging ALOT, he hardly comes out from under the fiber (which when he digs its not necessarily a hole kind of like a den, he just covers himself with the bedding) and if he does come out it is in the middle of the night and by morning time he has vanished again. he hardly comes out of his shell if i go near him if he is ever out or if i go to make sure he hasn't died he will pull himself way far into his shell which he never was like before because i didn't even know he could fit that far back into his shell. He is just so shy now and he hides away. i did research and found that some people who have owned hermit crabs said theirs acted the same way and it was because it got stressed from having the right shell but I have 5 shells for him to switch and he has only changed into 3 before he changed back into his regular one. when i first got him though he was in a different shell and so this counts as his second shell hes been in since i got him. I need advise on what i could be doing wrong or what i need to do. i tought ive got everything settled and maybe he was digging because i put him in a different tank but even the day i got him he hasn't acted this way. he didn't dig so much and he wasn't so shy. if anyone has any advice or needs more information i am happy to give it. i just don't want him to die because ive gotten attached to the little guy.

[Wai]

Welcome! Can you please fill out the questionaire first under rule #6? I would like some more specific details.

The crab's behaviour isn't necessarily abnormal and he may indeed be planning a moult. It is also normal for hermit crabs to leak a bit of their shell water. Refrain from disturbing him and make sure the tank parameters (temperature and humidity) are ideal.

[Onestepcloser1]

What is the volume of your main tank?
10 gallons

How many hermit crabs do you currently have? How big are they?
2. one is pretty small. a tiny bit bigger than a penny(shell wise but is not the one I'm concerned about. the one I'm concerned about is probably about 2 or 2 1/2 times its size.

How long have you had the hermit crab(s) that you are concerned about?
A month and a half

What substrate or combination of substrates are you using? How deep is it?
coconut fiber. about 3 inches?

What do you feed your hermit crabs?
(brand) all living things. food medley. has little pellets, tiny shrimp, and meal worms.

Do you use distilled, bottled, tap or other types of water?
distilled

If you are using a dechlorinator, what brand is it? Does it state to remove all heavy metals, chlorine and chloramines?
TYPE HERE

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

What heat source are you using and where is it positioned?
a heating lamp and bulb from petsmart in the hermit crab section. I have it on the left side of the tank over their hut. food and water is on the opposite side of the tank.

Have you calibrated your thermometer(s) and hygrometer so that you can interpret accurate readings?
Not 100% sure how to do that. It was just a thermometer/hygrometer in the hermit crab section. but it changes so I'm pretty sure its accurate.

What is the air temperature range and humidity inside the tank?
temp is 75-80 and humidity is around 80

What is the highest temperature that the substrate near the heat source reaches?
78

Do you have any photos of your tank or hermit crab(s) of concern? If yes, please attach them to your post.
I cant figure out how to add pictures.