naked molter..can I touch?

[crabbiemom]

Hello,

We are fairly new crabbers, and we have had a heck of a time with our first molt.

We didnt see it coming, and then assumed the poor dear was dead. We left "her" in a dish overnight, only to discover the next morning she was alive and confused!! :shock:

We set up an iso chamber, and she went to sleep, after a few days she has woken up, gotten some water and gone into the crabbie hut...But she is Naked!!

We boiled and put in larger shells...but she doesnt seem interested!!!

I have read about what to do for a naked crab, but I am not sure about a molter..other than being a streaker, she seems fine...bounced back miraculously after the way she was treated.

Can I touch her to guide her back in...or will she go in on her own???

Thankyou in advance for your help

Lisa

[Wai]

Naked molter... that's a big problem. Get a glass cup, and a plastic spoon in the other hand. Scoop in some sand into the cup. Scoop up the crab WITH the sand she is sitting under, and put her into the glass cup. Put in the shell she originally wore, and put the glass into the ISO. Close the lid, and leave her in a dark place. Make sure that the ISO has really high humidity, at least 80%. Don't touch her though!

[ayianna]

Actually, I had a crab attack another crab for the shell. The loser of the fight had an injured exo, but wouldn't go into a shell for anything. Eventually (because they will dry out and the longer they're out of a shell, the more stressed they are) I picked her up and delicately put her in a shell far too large for her body, but big enough that I could get her in it. I held her like that for several hours because when we put her down, she would climb out of it! During my holding her, it looked like she was going to die. She seeped clear fluid and started panting. After a while, her legs started sliding off and I realized that she was going through an emergency molt (fine by me, she needed a molt and was already preparing for one!). We put her in iso and put iso in a really dark area for the week, checking on her several times every day. But I do not feel that had she not been in a shell that she would have survived the molt for stress reasons.

Even if it's really big, your crab needs a shell. However, if it's already molted more than 24 hours ago, the exo is hard enough to not be particularly fragile for gentle human handling. My advice is to be careful, but offer the extra shells, even scooping her into a really big one if you have one available of appropriate size.

[crabbiemom]

Thankyou...we put her in the glass as you said to and she backed right into her shell. She seems to be better now.

I am just surprised how active she is . I thought they hibernated for a few weeks...but she seems to be very active.

Thankyou again...my daughter was very worried about her "baby"

Lisa

[Mr.Crab]

oh no, don't get such a good bond between your daughter and the pet. she'll be completely paranoid when she finds out it passed away =[[ thats my opinion tho.


best of luck
Mr.Crab

[vckums]

It's nice to see your daughter taking such a deep interest in hermit crabs. Keep it up! It can be sad when a pet passes or gets injured, but you are teaching her great skills for when she is older.

[Mr.Crab]

well.. thats the good point for it, but the greater bond, the more aggrivation when it passes away

[PhoEniX212]

Yeah, it does hurt when you're attached to something and it passes away, but that's a fact of life that can't be avoided. So I get attached to pets and make the most out of the time I have with them, so I can have fond memories to look back on

[HermieLove19]

you also know that you did way better things for them than a pet store ever could. you give them a good life before they go.

[PhoEniX212]

Very much so! It really is worth it all in the end I rekon