Naked moulter

Questions about hermit crabs moulting and its symptoms.
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TheChateau
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Naked moulter

Post by TheChateau »

We are relative newbies having had our crabs since February 2018. One removed its shell on 19 April 2018, and was relocated extremely carefully with a large amount of substrate to an iso tank. Since then he’s had salt water, drinking water, food and shells. He has remained buried the whole time, not eating or drinking, or no signs of it. The substrate where he is has moved a bit. We check on him once a day to make sure there isn’t a funny smell. We discovered a month or so ago that he should be in a dark environment, so his tank is covered with dark fabric, which still allows for air movement. He will chirp at least once a day, so we know he’s alive. The shell he was in was between 2.5 and 3cm, so he is a reasonable size. We are in Melbourne, Australia and it’s pretty cold at the moment. Would that have an impact on the length of time he’s moulting? He has a heating mat on the outside of the tank to keep him warm.
Is there any special care we need to provide him given he’s naked? Any advice anyone has would be most appreciated.
StellaCrab
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Re: Naked moulter

Post by StellaCrab »

I do realize that this is an older post, but thought this information may help you.

Hermit crabs don't usually streak or go naked out of their shells unless there is a problem while molting, or if they are sick and not strong enough to carry the shell around anymore. Anytime you see a naked crab, you should immediately get it back into a shell, and that can be done with two methods. One, you can manually re-shell it gently with your hand, guiding its abdomen into a slightly larger shell than what it was originally wearing. Two, you can put the crab with a couple of extra shells into a dark container, like an opaque coffee mug, or a larger container that is also dark.

You should also be offering him water, both fresh and salt, along with a few healing foods, like honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, or coconut oil. I did the exact same thing when my molter had issues with staying in a shell. I would get food and water on small Q-tips and put them right near his mouth.

I hope your little guy is going alright.
TheChateau
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Joined: 05 Jul 2018, 19:48
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 1
Total gallons: 50
Total tanks: 3

Re: Naked moulter

Post by TheChateau »

Thanks so much for responding to my message. I went through the tank last night to find out what was going on to find that he had died some time ago, and the sounds I was hearing were from the heat pad attached to the bottom of the tank!
I know now that the priority with a streaker is to get them into a shell, and that is what I should have done first. I think the discomfort he felt was also down to one of the crappy gauges that we had started out using. There was just not enough humidity in the tank, but the gauge always read that the humidity was good.
We have another much larger tank with a much better setup and accurate temp and humidity readings. I can report that the four crabs in this tank are doing well. We have had them since the middle of last year and haven't had any problems.
Thank-you again, and Happy New Year.
StellaCrab
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Total gallons: 125
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Re: Naked moulter

Post by StellaCrab »

TheChateau wrote: 01 Jan 2019, 11:03 Thanks so much for responding to my message. I went through the tank last night to find out what was going on to find that he had died some time ago, and the sounds I was hearing were from the heat pad attached to the bottom of the tank!
I know now that the priority with a streaker is to get them into a shell, and that is what I should have done first. I think the discomfort he felt was also down to one of the crappy gauges that we had started out using. There was just not enough humidity in the tank, but the gauge always read that the humidity was good.
We have another much larger tank with a much better setup and accurate temp and humidity readings. I can report that the four crabs in this tank are doing well. We have had them since the middle of last year and haven't had any problems.
Thank-you again, and Happy New Year.
I am sorry to hear about the death, that stinks :(
The analog gauges aren't very accurate, which is why I recommend using an Acurite digital gauge, you can get them on amazon for six dollars :)
Glad to hear that the other crabbies are doing alright, good luck!
charcoal44
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Re: Naked moulter

Post by charcoal44 »

I'm having similar problems, I'm in Wagga NSW, and now it's blisteringly hot. We have been running our evap cooler non stop and will do all this week (temps over 40) the crabitat humidity levels sitting on 82% is this too high?

My large crab (Abbott) left his shell overnight, and has now crawled over to a corner in some coconut fibre, is he about to molt?

He was doing fine up to now.
StellaCrab
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Joined: 17 Nov 2016, 10:29
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 13
Total gallons: 125
Total tanks: 2

Re: Naked moulter

Post by StellaCrab »

charcoal44 wrote: 14 Jan 2019, 08:44 I'm having similar problems, I'm in Wagga NSW, and now it's blisteringly hot. We have been running our evap cooler non stop and will do all this week (temps over 40) the crabitat humidity levels sitting on 82% is this too high?

My large crab (Abbott) left his shell overnight, and has now crawled over to a corner in some coconut fibre, is he about to molt?

He was doing fine up to now.
Please make a post about this, we will be able to help you better that way! 40C (104F) is way too hot for the crabs, so please ensure you do not overheat the crabitat!

Crabs do not leave their shells to molt, only when they are ill, overheated, or an underlying problem is present do they leave their shells. You need to reshell him immediately, coax him back into a shell or put him in a opaque coffee mug with a couple extra shells. I would suggest making an emergency post ASAP.
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aussieJJDude
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Re: Naked moulter

Post by aussieJJDude »

IMO aussies are pretty resilient to high temperatures, and can handle 40C without breaking a sweat. In the wild, temps can reach that high very easily, and during Melbourne summers, never really noticed the crabs being 'overheated' in high temperatures (weekly high 30's, and occasionally approaching or at the 40's).

The substrate is also a great insulator, and stays relatively cool in comparison to the rest of the crabitat - the air. So as long as the crabs have a deep substrate, they can easily cool down by digging....

As for humidity, 82% is pretty good IMO. The only issue is with higher humidity levels, the more likely you are to get mould growth or the quicker food spoils. Otherwise, the crabs will do fine.
246L/65G - 'Tidal Jungle' (Crabs) | 246L/65g - 'Backwater Pool' (Fish/Snails) | 96L/25G - ''Twisted Minds" (Fish/Snails/Shrimp) | 300L/90G Fancy Pond (Goldfish)

I've never had any problems with 'Impulse Buying'. They're just animals that I forgot I had planned to get.
TheChateau
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Total gallons: 50
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Re: Naked moulter

Post by TheChateau »

Thanks for your input on the temperatures in Melbourne. I agree that the high temperatures don't phase the crabs. I read that Broome is one place where hermit crabs live naturally, and I have tried to model our tank environment on that. Broome gets pretty hot, plus the use of good substrate with aquarium sand seems to be working for me. The only thing I added recently was a humidi-fogger, which has made a huge difference. The crabs seem more active. I got this as I was away for a few days and it did an excellent job. Also, they have grown substantially since we've had them, so they must be doing okay. I recently made a hemp net for them to climb, but I haven't seen any of them attempt that yet......still waiting.
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