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Molting Hermit Crab

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:40 pm


I seen that my hermit crab appeared to be dead and as the hermit crab newbie that I am I more or less freaked out. I've had three for about three months now. After I calmed down and inspected further it turned out my biggest guy merely molted. *Sigh of relief* I've placed him in a separate tank with all the necessities and in a generally quiet, dark room.

I was hoping to hear any stories of those who has or have had hermit crabs molting and otherwise pretty much anything hermit crab related. While I've done my research sometimes trial and error is more valuable.
PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:25 pm


oookay, I am going to copy paste what I messaged to someone just recently, since it is too long to re-type firstly, if you haven't thrown it out, please give the molted shell back to him, they eat them to gain some of the stuff back for a nice strong exo-skeliton, now on to what I messaged, also, if after reading what I wrote, feel free to ask me any questions if you have any smile (you can get a fairly cheap electric humidity gauge at walmart)

mostly a good highish humidity (around 80 down by the sand) soaking up some cocohusk and mixing it in with the sand helps hold humidity, and the sand needs to be at least 3 times deeper than your biggest crabby (they bury themselves to molt)
they don't need a sponge to drink from, it actually does more bad than good, it holds bacteria, and they can't soak themselves in the water, they like a bit of salt water, just add MARINE (the kind for marine tanks, that part is important) to water, I think it's like 1tbs per like 2 cups of water, I cant remember exactly but it wont hurt them (that is usually what mine run to when I get them, they head straight for the salt water since pet stores deprive them of it)

aaand last but very importantly, is that a lot of the commercial foods have bug killers in them, and since hermit crabs are kind of like cousins to insects the commercial food is very bad for them, I like to make little miniature feasts for mine xD (and freeze dried crickets are very important to their diets because they help to make a strong exoskeleton and they will eat the sponges if you don't have the crickets)

(also, it is a good idea to use play sand for sand boxes instead of the calcisand, its too fine and I think it has chemicals, and also avoid panted shells, they are abused to be put in them, and they can peel and eat the paint)

it's nice to see someone actually care for their crabs, too many people see them as throw away pets, but they are pretty cool lol

this is a list of safe foods for your crabbies smile they love the treats! http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=64004

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:08 pm


Thanks for post there were a few things I hadn't come across. 3nodding Otherwise I have all in order and he started to munch on his old skin. I was caught off guard with the whole thing since he hardly showed any signs that he would be molting soon.

They are really neat. Haha.

I'm hoping to hear people's experiences too which doesn't have to be solely molting related.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:37 pm


I don't have a whole lot of experiences with these ones (well, I have a few stories) but mine are not hold me crabs, they are just to look at, I have already dropped Tank, and thought I hurt him Dx but he was ok when we first got our big boy Sampson, I put him in, and Tank went all puffed up and strutted over, trying to show Sampson (2x his size) that HE is boss, and he started trying to push him, and Sampson kicked him, and sent him flying lol, it was hilarious, Tank is very curious, and he is the one that thinks he is boss, but he isn't lol

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:34 am


Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:45 am


Miss Scherzo
Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
yes, if you have a crab streaking something is wrong (it could be something like he doesn't have a shell big enough, or it could be something worse) the only time they come out of their shells when they are healthy is when they are switching shells, and that only takes about 2 seconds (but they do it about 10 times sometimes to test the shell) they might know one another, hermits are wild caught animals, so they could have lived in the same colony in the wild, you never know >.<

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:52 pm


Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
yes, if you have a crab streaking something is wrong (it could be something like he doesn't have a shell big enough, or it could be something worse) the only time they come out of their shells when they are healthy is when they are switching shells, and that only takes about 2 seconds (but they do it about 10 times sometimes to test the shell) they might know one another, hermits are wild caught animals, so they could have lived in the same colony in the wild, you never know >.<


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:24 pm


Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
yes, if you have a crab streaking something is wrong (it could be something like he doesn't have a shell big enough, or it could be something worse) the only time they come out of their shells when they are healthy is when they are switching shells, and that only takes about 2 seconds (but they do it about 10 times sometimes to test the shell) they might know one another, hermits are wild caught animals, so they could have lived in the same colony in the wild, you never know >.<


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
OOOOHHHH ok I see xD they aren't fans of being picked up, and I don't want to risk dropping and hurting them, and Sampson is really large, so dropping him could hurt him badly, pinching me could hurt badly xD

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:53 am


Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
yes, if you have a crab streaking something is wrong (it could be something like he doesn't have a shell big enough, or it could be something worse) the only time they come out of their shells when they are healthy is when they are switching shells, and that only takes about 2 seconds (but they do it about 10 times sometimes to test the shell) they might know one another, hermits are wild caught animals, so they could have lived in the same colony in the wild, you never know >.<


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
OOOOHHHH ok I see xD they aren't fans of being picked up, and I don't want to risk dropping and hurting them, and Sampson is really large, so dropping him could hurt him badly, pinching me could hurt badly xD

Ah. I see. Haha. Sampson is no push over.
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:50 am


Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
yes, if you have a crab streaking something is wrong (it could be something like he doesn't have a shell big enough, or it could be something worse) the only time they come out of their shells when they are healthy is when they are switching shells, and that only takes about 2 seconds (but they do it about 10 times sometimes to test the shell) they might know one another, hermits are wild caught animals, so they could have lived in the same colony in the wild, you never know >.<


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
OOOOHHHH ok I see xD they aren't fans of being picked up, and I don't want to risk dropping and hurting them, and Sampson is really large, so dropping him could hurt him badly, pinching me could hurt badly xD

Ah. I see. Haha. Sampson is no push over.
lol no, actually, the first time we ever saw him, we were at the store, and the guy took him out to show him to me, and he was like der der der and stuck a key in his big pincher, and let him hang by it (he was pinching it) and said he is a big grumpy guy, well, we didn't buy him that day, (I was worried he might eat my others, and we had only planned to get a couple of them, and have them in a 10g tank, but since we ended up with 4 we had to get a bigger tank) but, I got to thinking he could be like 15 years old, and they were abusing him, so I had my mom get him after work, and he is one of my faves, we only have about 7 now though, some of them dug down and never came back up

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:14 am


Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Do they stay in their shells when you try to hold them?

Haha. Aw. My guys seem to get along as though they're always been together. (I bought them at different stores) They sleep by each other a lot. They have their short moments though. A smack or two occasionally.
yes, if you have a crab streaking something is wrong (it could be something like he doesn't have a shell big enough, or it could be something worse) the only time they come out of their shells when they are healthy is when they are switching shells, and that only takes about 2 seconds (but they do it about 10 times sometimes to test the shell) they might know one another, hermits are wild caught animals, so they could have lived in the same colony in the wild, you never know >.<


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
OOOOHHHH ok I see xD they aren't fans of being picked up, and I don't want to risk dropping and hurting them, and Sampson is really large, so dropping him could hurt him badly, pinching me could hurt badly xD

Ah. I see. Haha. Sampson is no push over.
lol no, actually, the first time we ever saw him, we were at the store, and the guy took him out to show him to me, and he was like der der der and stuck a key in his big pincher, and let him hang by it (he was pinching it) and said he is a big grumpy guy, well, we didn't buy him that day, (I was worried he might eat my others, and we had only planned to get a couple of them, and have them in a 10g tank, but since we ended up with 4 we had to get a bigger tank) but, I got to thinking he could be like 15 years old, and they were abusing him, so I had my mom get him after work, and he is one of my faves, we only have about 7 now though, some of them dug down and never came back up


Wow. That's cool that you saved him. Pet stores, mostly, are so bloody depressing. How big is he exactly?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:32 am


Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
OOOOHHHH ok I see xD they aren't fans of being picked up, and I don't want to risk dropping and hurting them, and Sampson is really large, so dropping him could hurt him badly, pinching me could hurt badly xD

Ah. I see. Haha. Sampson is no push over.
lol no, actually, the first time we ever saw him, we were at the store, and the guy took him out to show him to me, and he was like der der der and stuck a key in his big pincher, and let him hang by it (he was pinching it) and said he is a big grumpy guy, well, we didn't buy him that day, (I was worried he might eat my others, and we had only planned to get a couple of them, and have them in a 10g tank, but since we ended up with 4 we had to get a bigger tank) but, I got to thinking he could be like 15 years old, and they were abusing him, so I had my mom get him after work, and he is one of my faves, we only have about 7 now though, some of them dug down and never came back up


Wow. That's cool that you saved him. Pet stores, mostly, are so bloody depressing. How big is he exactly?
I think, I would say his shell is about as big around as a tennis ball, the opening to his shell is an inch, or a little over an inch wide, I can't remember exactly, he is our biggest one though

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:45 pm


Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo


Er. Sorry I didn't make my question clear. I was asking about how your crabs react when you try to pick them up.
OOOOHHHH ok I see xD they aren't fans of being picked up, and I don't want to risk dropping and hurting them, and Sampson is really large, so dropping him could hurt him badly, pinching me could hurt badly xD

Ah. I see. Haha. Sampson is no push over.
lol no, actually, the first time we ever saw him, we were at the store, and the guy took him out to show him to me, and he was like der der der and stuck a key in his big pincher, and let him hang by it (he was pinching it) and said he is a big grumpy guy, well, we didn't buy him that day, (I was worried he might eat my others, and we had only planned to get a couple of them, and have them in a 10g tank, but since we ended up with 4 we had to get a bigger tank) but, I got to thinking he could be like 15 years old, and they were abusing him, so I had my mom get him after work, and he is one of my faves, we only have about 7 now though, some of them dug down and never came back up


Wow. That's cool that you saved him. Pet stores, mostly, are so bloody depressing. How big is he exactly?
I think, I would say his shell is about as big around as a tennis ball, the opening to his shell is an inch, or a little over an inch wide, I can't remember exactly, he is our biggest one though

Damn. He is definitely up there in age and surprising he it made it in a pet store that long!
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:11 pm


Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo
Cowgirl-with-heart
Miss Scherzo

Ah. I see. Haha. Sampson is no push over.
lol no, actually, the first time we ever saw him, we were at the store, and the guy took him out to show him to me, and he was like der der der and stuck a key in his big pincher, and let him hang by it (he was pinching it) and said he is a big grumpy guy, well, we didn't buy him that day, (I was worried he might eat my others, and we had only planned to get a couple of them, and have them in a 10g tank, but since we ended up with 4 we had to get a bigger tank) but, I got to thinking he could be like 15 years old, and they were abusing him, so I had my mom get him after work, and he is one of my faves, we only have about 7 now though, some of them dug down and never came back up


Wow. That's cool that you saved him. Pet stores, mostly, are so bloody depressing. How big is he exactly?
I think, I would say his shell is about as big around as a tennis ball, the opening to his shell is an inch, or a little over an inch wide, I can't remember exactly, he is our biggest one though

Damn. He is definitely up there in age and surprising he it made it in a pet store that long!
I don't think he was there too awful long, and I was scared he might eat my smaller crabs if I got him, but then I started feeling bad for him

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