only two lonley legs left

[Pengy]

My sister's crab when into molt and then the crabb became very inactive then it started to loose limbs left and right. It's down to 2 limbs both on the same sides. I wanna help the little dude but don't know what to do!

[emmac350]

Wait - your post doesn't quite make sense. The crab was surface molting? Or under the sand? If it was surface molting, it may have dropped the legs because it couldn't get them out of the exo and so dropped them so it wouldn't die in the middle of molting. However, your tank parameters must be called into question. What substrate and food are you using? What are your temperature and humidity like? How are you treating the water you give the crabs to drink? What size tank is it, and how long have you had the crab?

Please give us as much information about your tank as possible so we can give you the probable causes of your crab's problems and help you to keep him alive until the next molt.

[CrabbyJo]

Emma is right, please give us as much info as possible and we can help you figure out what went wrong, how to avoid it happening again, and keeping the little guy alive. I also had a crab come up with no pincers and only three legs, so have had to learn to care for the poor sick little guy.
Let us know, hopefully we can help!

In the meantime, if he did surface molt, and you can get his exo easily, it needs to be crushed up into a powder for him, since he has no pincers to pick it apart. You can mix it with a little bit of honey then, and place it near him so he can pick it up with his legs. He needs to eat it to regain his strength and begin generating new limbs.

But we need all the info Emma asked for asap if we are to help you in time!

[ladybug15057]

Please do answer the questions above. I have searched HCP and found a couple postings and seems there was a couple questions asked by a moderator a little while ago that were never answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New crab vs old crab
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=2794&p=22882#p22882

Yes, no, Maybe so?
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=2727&p=22338#p22338

AWWW MAN!! I can't get it off.. grrr

I ahev five hermit crabs in a 25 gallon tank one small and four medium

My hermit Crab Won't COme Out Of It's Shell
viewtopic.php?f=77&t=2430&p=19246#p19246

Did you buy a bigger tank and all the stuff to heat it properly? Do you have a humidity gauge now? You have to remember what was heating your smaller tank won't do on your bigger tank. You need the temp/humidity gauges if you don't have it yet because it could be too cold and not humid enough if you don't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What have you bought for your new tank, and did you ever replace the broken humidity gauge? Was the bully hermie ever placed into iso?

[Pengy]

Okay my crab just did the samething! As my sister's crab I don't know what my sister has in her tank but I know she put wter purifier in her water and she feeds them very well! My crab that is in my tank I just bought new eco earth bedding I put salt water and fresh water in I give it carrots honey, along with alot of other heathly and safe things for hermit crabs. I keep the temperature at room temperature and I just hope my hermie will live He was my first hermie and I've really enjoyed his company.

[CrabbyJo]

Pengy,
it is vitally important to have a thermometer and humidity gauge in your tank. Room temperature does not tell us what the temp is, as you could have a hot house or an air conditioned one, for example. You really need to know the actual temp in the tank.
Marie asked you some questions, and I have some for you too.

Can you answer these questions for us, then maybe we can figure out what is happening to your crabs and help you so it won't happen any more:

What kind of tank do you have? is it glass? What size? Does it have a lid?

What brand of ocean salt water mix do you use and how much do you mix in?

What is the temperature in the tank? (in numbers please, what range?)

What is the humidity?

What brand of water dechlorinator do you use?

Did you treat the water that you used to expand the eco earth?

Do you feed your crab foods rich in protein and chitin as well as calcium? You say you give them honey (which should only be an occasional treat), is it organic?
What "other" foods do you give your crab?

he should be getting things like shrimp steamed with the tail still on, you can give that to them whole or chop it up and freeze the rest, and give him little bits every few days. He also needs seaweeds like kelp and spirulina. You can also find freeze dried shrimp and tubeworms at the pet store. Make sure those are the ONLY ingredients on the label. You don't want any foods with preservatives in them.
You can also ask mom when she's cooking meat for dinner to cut off some small pieces and cook them without seasoning before she cooks the rest for the family, and feed that to your crabs too.

Please answer these questions, and maybe we can help. Time is very important, so check back here frequently, we will do the same!

[Pengy]

Pengy,
it is vitally important to have a thermometer and humidity gauge in your tank. Room temperature does not tell us what the temp is, as you could have a hot house or an air conditioned one, for example. You really need to know the actual temp in the tank.
Marie asked you some questions, and I have some for you too.

Can you answer these questions for us, then maybe we can figure out what is happening to your crabs and help you so it won't happen any more:

What kind of tank do you have? is it glass? What size? Does it have a lid?

What brand of ocean salt water mix do you use and how much do you mix in?

What is the temperature in the tank? (in numbers please, what range?)

What is the humidity?

What brand of water dechlorinator do you use?

Did you treat the water that you used to expand the eco earth?

Do you feed your crab foods rich in protein and chitin as well as calcium? You say you give them honey (which should only be an occasional treat), is it organic?
What "other" foods do you give your crab?

he should be getting things like shrimp steamed with the tail still on, you can give that to them whole or chop it up and freeze the rest, and give him little bits every few days. He also needs seaweeds like kelp and spirulina. You can also find freeze dried shrimp and tubeworms at the pet store. Make sure those are the ONLY ingredients on the label. You don't want any foods with preservatives in them.
You can also ask mom when she's cooking meat for dinner to cut off some small pieces and cook them without seasoning before she cooks the rest for the family, and feed that to your crabs too.

Please answer these questions, and maybe we can help. Time is very important, so check back here frequently, we will do the same!

Okay here are the answers to your ???'s but first I have something to say my crab that was talking about died BUT now my other crab is doing it and it's my favorite crab! He moulted AND he lost limbs I looked at the lost limbs and they are the actual limbs not the exoskelton!

Okay
1. My tank is glass about 15 gallons and yes it has a lid.

2. For salt water I use the zoo med hermit crab salt water and fresh water conditioner. I have two water bowls.

3.I don't know the exact temperature but it's what ever the temperature in my house is and my house is hot we don't have AC and I live in cali. where it gets really hot.

4.Again with the humidity it's the same as outside.

5.I use zoo med hermit crab dechlorinator

6. I don't use the expandable eco earth I use the one that comes in the bag and you pour it in is this the wrong stuff to use??

7. Yes the honey is organic. What i give my hermit crabs depends on what we are eating that night. but I found a website that has just about all the foods that are safe and unsafe for hermit crabs and the food the is unkown if it's safe or not. I use that to make sure it's okay to give them.

PLEASE help me I don't want anymore of my hermit crabs dieing!

[CrabbyJo]

Pengy,
when you take a week to respond, it is hard to help you keep the crabs alive If you can reply to our questions sooner, we can help you get things changed.
First, you DO need to read the crab care pages. There is a lot of important information there to help you set up your crabitat correctly.

It sounds like the substrate you are using may NOT be the right kind. If it has any cedar in it, or spruce of any kind, it is irritating your crabs and could be killing them. If it is forest bedding, it likely does have some sort of spruce in it.
Get the expandable kind of Eco Earth, and expand it with dechlorinated ocean salt water.
Which brings me to the next point..

The hermit crab water conditioner is not a good product for hermit crabs (this makes me so angry that most of the products out there for hermit crabs are NOT good for them).
The salt in that conditioner does not remain in the water - by the next day, it does not register.

Take some time to read this: Ocean Mixes

They need an ocean salt water mix. A lot of people use Instant Ocean, which you can find in small to large packages at your pet store. They need an ocean mix that provides electrolytes and other nutrients that are necessary for a healthy crab.

It is vitally important that you get a temperature gauge and humidity gauge. There is NO way to tell the humidity in your tank by "feeling" it, and generally the air we are breathing is much drier than the air that crabs need.

What kind of lid is on your tank?

Do you offer a pool of fresh water (that your crabs can submerge in if they want to) as well as a dish of ocean salt water?

What kind of decorations do you have in the tank and what are they made of? Any woods?

Please let us know as much as you can. Are your crabs molting above ground?

Also, you still don't mention if you give your crabs foods rich in chitin and cellulose, such as cork bark, shrimp with the exo and tail still on, spirulina, protein rich foods, etc. This will help us also to determine if he's nutrient deficient.

[ladybug15057]

I am sorry for the hermies who are passing. Not sure if at this point if your remaining hermies can be saved, but if nothing else only made comfortable during the last days here.
Back in January of this year you began to post about one of your hermies starting to have complications. Some questions were asked then, some which never received a reply. Most of what has been posted today...gauges, food, and substrate was mentioned back then, 6 months ago. Unfortunately there are some who feel some crabbers are trying to push these things and to a degree this is true. But the reason they seem to be pushed is these items are criteria hermies MUST have to survive. If not provided these items the hermies might not drop over the next day or two due to the lack of them, but eventually it does take its toll.
Please take time to read the crab care section Wai has completed and do not purchase any other hermies until you can provide the criteria they need to live and thrive by.