recovering a crab...

Questions about unexpected problems.
Post Reply
User avatar
rawbie
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 52
Joined: 07 May 2013, 21:43
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 24
Total tanks: 2
Location: WA

recovering a crab...

Post by rawbie »

i found a leg... not connected to a crab. i quite sure it was the whole leg and not just the exo. it had the 2 white stingy ligaments connecting the end section to the middle section and apeared to have body tissue inside.
my question is: if i want to recover the rest of the crab which is burried some where in the tank i may disturb molters... what am i supose to do in this situation. 4 out of 7 crabs have been burried for over 6 weeks.
new to crabbing, May 2013.
boys: Red [M/L]. Hook [M]. Scale [S/M]
girls: Bubba [XXS]. Nip [S]. Jane-doe [M]. Violet [M/L]

Image
User avatar
rawbie
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 52
Joined: 07 May 2013, 21:43
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 24
Total tanks: 2
Location: WA

Re: recovering a crab...

Post by rawbie »

i suspect there was a shell fight underground a few weeks ago
new to crabbing, May 2013.
boys: Red [M/L]. Hook [M]. Scale [S/M]
girls: Bubba [XXS]. Nip [S]. Jane-doe [M]. Violet [M/L]

Image
User avatar
emmac350
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1949
Joined: 22 Sep 2008, 08:08
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 6
Total gallons: 40
Total tanks: 2
Contact:

Re: recovering a crab...

Post by emmac350 »

Wait until your crabs come up. Having dug up a freshly molted crab during a deep clean before...I wouldn't recommend it. She's STILL really skittish, about a month later. This may sound callous, but the nice thing about your crabs' being buried is that, if one is dead, you very likely won't smell it until it's dug up. So wait for as many crabs to surface as you think will (look for one with a missing leg for sure) and, once you're at that point, do a deep clean. Keep in mind that, if you have coconut fiber, you may not find anything of that crab other than its shell. I've always found dead ones in sand, but coconut fiber seems to help them to decompose much more quickly (my sister had my crabs for 3 years. She did partial deep cleans several times. She never found any dead crabs, despite 3 of them passing on during that time).

Keep calm and be patient. It's hard, but worth 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

If you are contacted privately and enticed to join another forum, please inform a moderator. This is an unethical practice.
User avatar
rawbie
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 52
Joined: 07 May 2013, 21:43
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 24
Total tanks: 2
Location: WA

Re: recovering a crab...

Post by rawbie »

Thanks :-)
new to crabbing, May 2013.
boys: Red [M/L]. Hook [M]. Scale [S/M]
girls: Bubba [XXS]. Nip [S]. Jane-doe [M]. Violet [M/L]

Image
Post Reply