My crab is out of his shell

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Tammy
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My crab is out of his shell

Post by Tammy »

Hello: I am fairly new to crabbing. My largest crab whom I've had since Sat Feb 14 is out of his shell. Upon receiving 4 new hermit crabs I put in an assortment of shells in case any wanted to change. My biggest crab sat in front of the largest shell for about 1 1/2 days. I just saw him and his old shell was in the water dish and he was naked. What is he doing? Is this odd behaviour? Is he going to pick a new shell? I took the old shell out of the water and placed it close to him. I'm working from home today so I can run upstairs in a few minutes to check on him.
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emmac350
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by emmac350 »

Tammy,

This question doesn't belong in this section (it should be in "Streaking") but I'll go ahead and try to get more information about your crabs.

What type of tank or container do your crabs live in? What type of substrate (bedding) is in there? What kinds of foods and waters (dechlorinator brand if applicable or type of treatment on the water, salt water mix brand if applicable) do you offer? How warm and how humid is the tank? Did you get all the crabs at once? If not, did you isolate all of them to ensure that they didn't have any diseases or mites? Also, have you handled your crabs since getting them? If so, how often? Do you use any perfumes, lotions, or air fresheners in the room the tank is in? Do you wash your hands before handling the crabs to ensure no irritants are transferred to them?

I'll offer some suggestions as to what would help your crab as soon as I can get more information about the situation. All of the questions I have asked have an impact on your crabs' stress level, so please let me know! And if I don't know the answer, I'm sure someone else on here would!
Follow the daily lives of my crabs at thedailyhermit.tumblr.com

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Rack, 23 Sep 08; Benny, 23 Sep 08; Slightly, 3 Jan 09; Nibs, 3 Jan 09; Curly, 3 Jan 09; Spaz, 5 Jul 09

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Foxydiva3
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by Foxydiva3 »

Well I Will Say this My Largest Crab Is Almost As big as A Softball, He Is A Straw And His whole body was much larger then the shell he was in. I Unfortunately Had A Horrible Time Finding a Shell big enough for him to change in And Finally Had to treck to Seashell city to find one. Before That he would sit for Days at a time in the shell shop, I Have a huge basket of shells in my crabbitat But Of course none of them would fit him, so He just did this for months while I Was searching for a shell big enough for him. So After finding one I Put it in the shell shop for him and in a matter of sec he was out of the old and in with the new he never looked back at that old shell. Maybe your crab is not seeing a shape or shell he likes and just doesn't want to go back in his old. I would Isolate him with his old shell and at least 3 others next size up and dip them in some salt water sometimes that helps and see if he will at least go into something. Some Crabs Are really finacky about types of shells they will go in. What species of crab do you have and What types of Shells do you have for him to go into. You really want to isolate him because if he is naked hi is vunrable to other crabbies. Good Luck C
Tammy
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by Tammy »

My crab is a 30 gal glass tank- 75 degrees- humidity is the same. Right now only fresh water- ro water- no chlorine. Bedding is sand at one end and sand/some sort of mulch mixture at the other. My husband set up the tank according to pet store instructions for Xmas present. At Xmas I got one crab and he was joined with 4 others on Valentines day. When the new ones were put in the first little guy became quite lively upon receiving company. I've never handled them at all. I've just found 3 large shells- hubby is boiling them now and they will be put in asap. I'm going to isolate him. I don't have another aquarium. I have a few small size plastic containers with air poles on the lid, they are about 7 inches long by 5 inches wide and about 5 inches or do deep. Can I use this. I've got extra sand etc to go into it? The guy at the pet store never said anything about salt water! What kind of salt can I put in. Hopefully I have some on hand. I'm working in my porch until 6pm Toronto time. OMG I'm feeling stressed/worried!!!
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emmac350
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by emmac350 »

Don't worry too much about it - you've done much more than a lot of newer crab owners. I am curious what type of "mulch" it is - are you talking about coconut fiber, often called "EcoEarth"? If not, is it a pine/cypress bedding? If it is, that could be your issue. Pine and cypress (or their close relatives) are irritating to crabs and insects...it's why a lot of people use cedar (a pine relative) to keep insects out of their clothes.

As for shells, I would recommend you check out ebay - the seller glassreign has some very good shells, as does Wagner's Western (something). If you do a search for "hermit crab shells" you can find lots of 75 or more shells for under $10, of assorted sizes.

As for isolating within the main tank, even a Tupperware container with tall enough sides that your other crabs can't climb in will be sufficient. You should put in separate food and water so that your crab doesn't have to get out to get those things. You don't need to cover it as long as it's in the main tank and shares the same temperature and humidity. You would need to have sand in there, I'd recommend sandcastle-type consistency as you wouldn't have the room to put a deep enough water bowl for the crab to wet it itself. I'd recommend lots of protein-rich (no preservatives) and calcium-rich foods in case of an impending molt (which this may be). Foods like shrimps with the exoskeleton still on, cuttlebone, dark green veggies, etc. Not commercial 'hermit crab foods' as these pretty much always have preservatives.

The salt you need is an ocean salt aquarium salt mix recommended for SALT WATER (not fresh water) aquariums. Most people use instant ocean, oceanic, or other mixes like that. Just mix it as per the instructions on the container. Don't use table salt because the iodine is harmful to the crabs, and even sea salt sold for human consumption has anti-caking agents in it.
Follow the daily lives of my crabs at thedailyhermit.tumblr.com

Mommy to:
Rack, 23 Sep 08; Benny, 23 Sep 08; Slightly, 3 Jan 09; Nibs, 3 Jan 09; Curly, 3 Jan 09; Spaz, 5 Jul 09

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Foxydiva3
Zoea II
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Posts: 207
Joined: 17 Sep 2008, 08:28
Hermit crabs: 27
Total gallons: 65
Total tanks: 2
Location: East Coast

Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by Foxydiva3 »

Yes It Has To be Saltwater for aquariums not table salt! Good luck!
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ladybug15057
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by ladybug15057 »

You mention your humidity is the same as the temp of 75* F Did you calibrate your humidity gauge to see how accurately it is reading? (They are off majority of the time and sometimes can be off as much as 20%)
http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabc ... alibrating
Where in your tank is it located? Top, middle or towards substrate level?

You mention the temp, and I am assuming this is the air temp of the tank? Have you checked the substrate temp to see how warm the warm side is, and how cool the cool side is? (Hermies must have both options to regulate their body temps due to being cold blooded creatures.)
Would you happen to have any 100% pure honey you can offer him?
You mention RO water, if this is from your tap at home, do you have a very expensive filtering system like that used in a hospital? If not you need to use a dechlorinator for the heavy metals that are in the water.
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CrabbyJo
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by CrabbyJo »

Also, what kind of sand is in your tank? Chances are it is calci sand, which most pet stores recommend for hermit crabs. This sand is not a good substrate for crabs, as when it becomes wet and dries out it becomes hard as a rock. They need sand they can burrow in. The best sand is CaribSea sugar grain (.01 mm) or in the absence of that, select or pink Fiji sand (.05mm) will do. It is an Oolitic sand and is very beneficial to the crabs.
The Calci sand is great for adding to their food dish though, as it is high in calcium which they do need. :)
Good luck hon, hope your Straw picks a new shell soon!
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
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Tammy
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Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by Tammy »

My little guy passed. He isn't moving at all. Everything is in tact. No fishy smell. He probably passed late last night. I had him isolated from the rest. I found the perfect container just like in the photo under isolation. He went in on Friday at 6:30pm. He was in his food bowl eating for quite some time. He never picked a new shell. I put him gently into his old shell lastnight but I knew things didn't look too good. I will bury him. I sprayed water on him and he never moved at all. So sad when one dies like this. I have 10 pets not including my terrarium fellas. I love them all dearly as they are more true friends to me than my actual human friends are. Everything values its own personal life just as I value mine- its no different. So when one is lost it makes me sad. The conditions at this pet store do not seem to be that great by the comments from a little niece and nephew on Valentines day. I only want to keep the crabbies that I have now. Its not really fair for them to not be on a massive beach. Well, I will take care of them, enjoy them and hopefully they enjoy their new home. This site is wonderful!
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ladybug15057
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Total gallons: 305
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Location: Southwestern Pa., U.S.

Re: My crab is out of his shell

Post by ladybug15057 »

The best sand is CaribSea sugar grain (.01 mm) or in the absence of that, select or pink Fiji sand (.05mm) will do. It is an Oolitic sand and is very beneficial to the crabs.
All of the CaribSea sands are considered aragonite sands. But only the Carib Sea sugar and select grain sized aragonite sand is the oolitic sands, not the others….they are aragonite but not considered oolitic.

Oolitic
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