What to do when you have a surface molt

Questions about hermit crabs moulting and its symptoms.
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What to do when you have a surface molt

Post by Hannah »

When you have a surface molter, separate them from the other hermies as soon as you can. They will attack the molter and eat it's exo and sometimes cannabalism becomes a problem. To pick the molter up, gently slide a non-metallic spoon under him and his exo and transport him to the ISO tank. Keep the humidity very high, about 80% relative. If you want to, dig a small hole or cave and place the crab inside. Or, put a hermie hut, salt water and molting food (or stuff high in calcium) within leg reach. They might not go to the hut, but that's okay. They won't move very much, because they won't need to except to eat their exo. Don't touch the crab after transporting him. Don't mist him because he is already stressed, and misting stresses. Plus, without the exo, the excess moisture promotes mold and bacteria to grow. Keep the tank in a dark, quiet place. When he is done eating his exo and has resumed normal activity, move him back to the main tank. Oh, and you can find a recipe for molter food in my post in the Recipes forum. If you don't feel comfortable with picking the crab up, you can take the top half of a 2-liter bottle and push it into the substrate around the crab along with food, water, and the crab. Make sure the bottle is in as far as it will go. I hope this advice helps when you need it.

P.S. If your crab is dropping legs- this is not molting, you should always have the humidity and temp. cranked up to 80 for molters but keep it like that especially for leg-droppers!
Last edited by Hannah on 21 Feb 2005, 06:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Wai »

In addition, make sure whatever water you use is dechlorinated, including the water which you use to mist the tank!
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Post by Hannah »

yeah what Wai said.
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Hands-on post-molt care for weak molters

Post by Carrie »

My surface-molters have always ended up being weaker than the others. The two recent molts I put into the iso tank both died (Rita had lost her shell and her big claw after her surface molt while I was at work and another crab had gotten to her before I got home and put her in a new shell). Rita then went on to molt about a month and a half alter, and regrew her big claw, but she didn't make it. Norma, a small jumbo, molted just fine but left her shell in the iso tank, just like Rita did after her second molt. My theory on this is that these crabs are so weak after they molt that leaving them completely alone ends up causing them to leave their shells. They can't lift their shells and they are desperate for water so they leave them instead, as soon as their skin has hardened. (If I find them, as I did Rita the first time, I can put them into a new shell... but I'm not home all the time!!)

My most recent molt I left in the big tank (the Crabiverse) b/c I figured that must have the exact heat and humidity they need, and the iso tank must not. This crab (nameless as there are no hurricanes to name it after!) is doing great now, three days later. I have a bit more hands-on approach b/c my molters don't seem to be able to get around on their own for the first few days.

As soon as her skin hardened up (she is a small-medium crab) I misted her a bit. She was ready to come out, if not strong enough to make the journey to a water dish--she had a sort of "WATER!!!" reaction and drank while only halfway out of her shell; the same with food. She was barely able to hold her own shell up. I'd say this was about two days after her molt. I'd left Rita and Norma totally alone, with their exos, and Rita ate a bit of hers, but Norma didn't. (Norma is the biggest successful crab molt I've had, save Katrina, who is thriving now, about three months after her molt).

The bigger the crab (and the bigger the shell) the weaker they seem to be. Gentle handling doesn't seem to hurt them--AFTER THE EXO HAS HARDENED COMPLETELY and they've had time to de-stress from the molt, like 24 hours for a small crab, and about 36 for a big crab. I've had to hand-feed some of them, actually holding their shells up for them--they get FMR Hermit Crab Treat at this point, b/c it's bite-size and they can pick it up easily with one claw (important for Rita as she'd lost her claw).
After a day or two of hand-feeding and hand-watering, they are then strong enough to get around on their own, and eat their exo. That first bt of hand-feeding and hand-watering seems to get them through the rough patch immediately after the molt.

I've read about leaving them alone until they are ready to move but I believe this is why Norma and Rita died--they were too weak to move their shells and so they left them. (The iso tank, a 20 gallon w/ heat lamp and jungle earth, has the same setup as the regular tank so I don't think there were environmental variables). The first few days after the molt are critical but once the exo has hardened I always hand-feed and give water to a crab, just to get them started. (The bigger the crab, the harder the molt, I've found--the biggies often need a few days of this extra attention to get them back on their feet). There was one crab (before I learned of proper nutrition) who I had to actually hold the shell up for when she became active again, so she could walk around and gain strength, gradually taking more of the weight of her own shell on.

The smaller crabs seem to do better after a molt--their skins are less 'crusty' than the jumbos, for one thing, so it doesn't take as much out of them. They usually take care of themselves just fine. The bigger ones do require some of that hands-on attention. When any crab first molts it is desperate for water (and the FMR treat or a bit of bread provides the extra strength). If a crab is afraid to come out when misted I just put it back overnight and try again in the morning. When the crab is ready (past the stress point) it will come out, seeking water and food, in your hand...

Another 'less handling' approach: again, wait for the exo to harden before doing anything at all, and then wait a little longer, so the crab can de-stress. I'd say any handling should be saved for about day 2. The other approach is simply to place the crab in the water dish for a few minutes (tilting the shell back slightly in case the crab is too weak to lift its own shell) and then the same for a small dish of something easy to break apart and eat (the Treat or some white bread). That way you can avoid the handling part. When done, simply put the crab back on top of its exo, shell slightly tilted back, with the exo directly underneath--the crab only has to come out a little to eat! (I always put the exo's back near the 'new' crab b/c this has the thinnest skin, and is ideally the way the exo would land after the molt--in the same direction as the crab is in when it molts--that way the tougher skin of the legs is reached only after the crab eats through the skin of the 'head.')

Both the hands-on and hands-off versions of this might have to be done twice a day for a few days, after which the crab is strong enough to get about on its own. Again, the smaller crabs seem to do just fine on their own but as they get bigger mine, at least, seem to need a little extra help. Rita II, being big-clawless after her first molt, really needed the help. I had to hold her exo for her so she could eat it, or place it in such a way that her shell was partially holding it down, b/c she couldn't grip it to eat it, having only one claw.

Katrina, my first surviving jumbo molt, also requried a few days of "intensive care," having a heavy shell.

Rita I and Norma I left totally alone and both crabs left their shells while I was at work.

I know everyone says hands-on treatment after molting is bad b/c of the stress... but with my crabs, if they are stressed and you mist them a little they just open their claw at me and I immediately put them back and try again the next day, or that evening. It's true that when they are ready they will come out, which is why I go with my hands-on method, b/c they really don't come out until they are ready and aren't too stressed by the handling. If the crab opens its claw and retracts further, put it down--it's not ready for anything yet and is probably still very afraid. If it comes out and goes for the water and food you offer... obviously a good sign.

NOTE: if you mist a crab whose exo is not hardened yet you will be adding extra moisture and therefore causing the exo to remain moist rather than hardening properly! Always wait until the exo is completely hard before attempting any 'contact.' With big crabs, this is usually 2 days; small crabs, at least 24 hours. The very small ones seem to molt like it's nothing and don't need any extra help at all, except in terms of isolating them for a few days to keep them from the others.

I know this contradicts what everybody else says... but this is the approach that seems to work on my crabs. Some are just too weak to get up and go on their own.

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Post by Panther_Shadow83 »

How do you know when they're done molting? One of my crabbers is under and I think she'll eat her exo under the sand, so I'm wondering when I'll know she's done... and I'm worried she won't make it... I haven't heard any sounds from her since this morning....
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Post by Wai »

You can tell if their exo has finished hardening when you see it reflect light, but do not deliberately dig up moulters to do this.
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Tricky molts

Post by Carrie »

I know everyone says not to dig a crab up... but I've had to. I'd wait a day before doing it tho... b/c if the crab is molting it needs the time. Usually once they dig under and actually stay under they molt. You can help by keeping the sand moist around the crab--this increases the humidity (not wet, but damp). As Wai advises, use distilled or spring water, not tap water--the chlorine in it only dries things out more.

Saturn once molted and I had to pull the exo out of the front of her shell b/c it was literally stuck. Had I not checked (as was the case, later, with the TraumaCrab, Saturn would've died.) Which is why I advocate at least checking on the crab every few days. Just pick it up, look at it, and immediately re-bury it. If it hasn't molted yet, rebury it. If you see an exo, rebuy the crab over its exo in the position in which it was found. I haven't had a crab die from me doing this. (I did have Kali IV molt in my hand twice b/c I was afraid to put her down once I realized she was molting. I just kept spraying her with springwater).

As to how to tell the exo--it will be in the shape the crab would be in if it fell out of its shell dead. But it will be light and papery, and it will actually feel lightweight. If you can see the eyes and they are totally clear that means that the crab is either currently molting or has already molted. In Saturn's case, the eyes were clear, the exo was off, and Saturn was hiding behind it, and she wouldn't have been able to remove it on her own to get to any water. If you can actually pick up the exo and you look near the place where the limbs meet the body you will be able to see hollow holes at the top of each leg, next to the thorax. It will also be dull, not shiny...

When you check on the crab yoy can also mist it a little, again adding to the humidity and the moisture in the skin before it molts for sure.

I know I recommend a more hands-on approach than everybody else here... but that's how I do it. I dig the crab up, look, mist it, and immediately put it back, reburying it exactly as it was. That's the extent of my involvement at that point. Once it has definitely molted, leave it alone for at least a day if it's a smalll crab, two if it's a big one. This allows the crab to de-stress and the exo to harden again. Never handle a crab with a soft exo and never throw away an exo as it contains all the nutrients and the crab needs to eat it (that's for all the new folks out there who haven't already read this somewhere else!). After the molt always put the crab back on top of the exo. I find that mine need to be misted a few times after the exo has hardened b/c they aren't strong enough to go for the water at this time themselves. Maybe it's different in nature but that's what I've found in captivity. Just had one molt the other night, in fact...

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Post by happibunni42 »

Well.I know you've been here longer but I seriously need to say this. Never, ever, ever dig up a crab. One or two days are not enoegh for molting. At all. My two teeny crabs molt 1-2 months each time. They gone through 2 molts each and they are alive. Digging up crabs are very bad, especially when they are molting. Never disturb a molting crab unless you smell something fishy or it has been a very long time(3 months for mini about umm 5 months for larger). Misting causes more stress to the crab that is already stressed from being dug out. Reburying the crab is even worse. Never bury a crab. They make speical air holes for them to breathe we humans can't make. So please never dig out a crab no matter what, and especially don't rebury it.
-{4 Hermit Crabs)-
[Nemo][Girl]July 04]
[Kero][Girl][July 04]
[Stone][Boy][June

05]
[Cleo][Unknown][October 05]
-{All in a 20 gallon tank being properly cared for]}
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Post by happibunni42 »

Also, if you can't move the crab to another location and he is surfacing(or even under the sane in the main tank) locate where the crab is and push something far into the sand(until it touches the bottom) on every side of the crab. MAKE SURE U DONT HURT THE CRAB WHILE UNDER THE SAND. Just keep the thing you are using pushed into the sand so no crabs dig under to eat his exo. Be very careful. Makesure no crabs can get to the crab or where he is dug under.
-{4 Hermit Crabs)-
[Nemo][Girl]July 04]
[Kero][Girl][July 04]
[Stone][Boy][June

05]
[Cleo][Unknown][October 05]
-{All in a 20 gallon tank being properly cared for]}
-{I am iluvmicrabs on the HCA]-
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Post by Panther_Shadow83 »

Well, my Eclipse has been under for a week and one day now... she's about an inch big, so I think this is normal, right? I know she's still alive because I can hear her moving around at night but she's still buried... so I shouldn't check on her, not even to make sure everything is OK?
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