1 claw and 2 legs fell off dead?

Questions about unexpected problems.
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tswoodruff7
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 1
Joined: 19 Sep 2009, 15:22
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 4
Total gallons: 20
Total tanks: 1

1 claw and 2 legs fell off dead?

Post by tswoodruff7 »

Hi all my family is new to hermit crabs. My children have been saving their money up for some time to purchase their crabs. We went last week to the pet store and bought everything they told us we needed. We went Sunday to let the kids pick out their crabs. 3 of the 4 crabs have stayed buried since day 1. The crab that has me so worried seemed to be a nice active crab. Her name is Sunshine, my daughter name her that, cause she lit up her life having her (shes 7 and very dramatic ) Earlier today my daughter said that she hadnt seen her move all day I went to the tank and picked her up and her large claw fell off. Of course my daughter started crying and I started googling trying to figure out what we are doing wrong. I found quite a few things wrong with our setup, things I was told I didnt need and things I had no clue about. Now when I just went to look at her there are 2 other legs laying in front of her, its so horribly sad. I picked her up and she slid right out of her shell. Does that mean she is dead, I figured it does but I have read so many different views about it I am just unsure. How can I know for sure if she is dead? She looks so horribly sad I hate for my kids to see her in the morning, but I do not want to bury a live crab.
TIA
Sabrina
CrabbyJo
Coenobita
Coenobita
Posts: 1849
Joined: 21 Jan 2009, 13:31
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 7
Total gallons: 85
Total tanks: 4
Location: Alaska

Re: 1 claw and 2 legs fell off dead?

Post by CrabbyJo »

Tia,
Welcome to crabbing! Unfortunately, most pet stores do not know what is really needed to help keep hermit crabs alive for any length of time. They are often referred to as "throwaway pets", as they don't seem to live longer than 6 months to a year. This is because most everything the pet stores are selling are not helpful to hermit crabs at all. The longest living hermit crabs are now 33 years old, and are owned by Carol of Crabworks.

Now, when Sunshine she slid out of her shell, was the abdomen attached? If so, then it is likely she is dead. The abdomen is usually whitish or even yellowish and curled up. If not, then it is very likely she did a surface molt on you, and needs to be left alone, separated from the other crabs so they cannot bother her.
Unfortunately your description sounds more like the former.

Do you have temperature and humidity gauges?
If so, can you tell me the readings on those, and where they are located in your tank?
Have you calibrated the humidity gauge if you have one?

What kind of substrate are you using?

Is there anything that contains cedar or pine in the tank? If so, remove it asap, it is an irritant to crabs and can cause illness and death.

Are you offering both dechlorinated fresh and ocean salt water?

Do you have a heat source on the tank? If so, what is it?
If you are using a light, what wattage is it and what kind is it?

These are just a few questions to get us started, hopefully we can figure out what has gone wrong, and correct it so this doesn't happen to the other crabs as well.

It is normal for the crabs to bury, and they should not be held for at least several weeks while they destress and get used to their new environment.

I'm going to stop here and wait for a reply to see if we can get you set up right, and we will give you more info as we go along.
6 hermit crabs - 3 PPs and 3 Equadorians
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