Crab Sitting very still

[llmercll]

I noticed today my crab is sitting VERY still. He's been more active than usual lately, but when he's inactive he used to bury.

Now he's just sitting still staring out of the tank, barely moving at all.

He's still alive, though. I put him the water dish and he quickly got out and went back to his corner.

Any idea whats going on? I just recently cleaned his cage and moved it. I just moved it back to it's old location in case the new spot's stressing him out. I've also noticed the tank has smelled kind of funny since the cleaning, I assumed it was my EE. It's the first time I've used the brick.

Is my hermie going to die?

[CrabbyJo]

Don't worry hon, they will sometimes sit and just look out for hours on end. I have crabs who do this on occasion.
You just changed a lot of things, and even changed what he looks out at. Maybe he's just taking it all in.

[llmercll]

Ok I feel much better, I just found him on top of the climbing log, which is no easy feat.

If he was sick or dying he wouldn't have that strength right? I also just put in a fresh shrimp for him.

I guess the biggest cause for my worry is lack of antenna moving. I noticed they have been moving less lately, even before the cage cleaning, and know that moving antennas are a sign of a healthy crab. They usually move a lot on this crab, so it worry's me.

I've just never seen him so still before, almost like he was petrified. And this is during the day, where he usually burrows/sleeps. He's been much more active since I changed the cage and moved him, could this be a sign of stress? Stress would be the only thing I could even consider that would hurt him right now. Everything is perfect in his cage, and I've had him for months.

[llmercll]

Usually he spends most of his time buried, but recently he hasn't. I've seen him out a lot more than usual, even during the day, which is when he seemed petrified. I'm used to him being completely buried during the day, even at night quite often.

It's late here, far into nighttime, 2 am, and hes chilling out above the surface. Much more active than he was during the day, and I see antenna movement, though not as much as I used to see. But again, he spent most of his time buried in the past, so when he did come out it was kinda a big deal.

I guess the big change here is he's spending a lot of time on the surface. My crabs have never been surface dwellers and always seemed to spend all their time buried, so that's the norm for me. And now that this guy is up all the time, I'm nor sure if it's normal behavior or not.

My crabitat was very boring before, with almost nothing for him to climb on. I recently added a plastic castle and a cholla like log, both items boiled boiled and non pine. I also moved him to an area with more of a day night cycle, and less noise. There's a "hum" from a nearby heating/ac unit, but compared to where he used to be it's quieter. He used to be on top of entertainment center with a tv that was on almost all the time!

Either way, that's a lot of changes, so I'm scared I might be doing something that's hurting him or stressing him out.

So is it normal for a crab to be on the surface most of the time? with little to no antenna movement during the day? He climbed a log earlier and tore down one of my plastic plants, so he's been moderately active to say the least tonight. I'm just wondering if anything is out of the ordinary, because his behavior is a bit different. Maybe it's an improvement and I'm just not used to it?

Update** I'm checking on him every 10 minutes or so, I think I'm going to die of stress! Anyway Within the past 20 minutes he's climbed from one end of the tank to another, on both on the new playthings I added in, and he's moving his antenna and limbs a lot. He also looks pretty wet so he's been in his water dish. Either way he's doing really good right now, definitely acting healthy and active. Does anyone know if my crab was sick or stressed if he'd be so active right now? Could a hermit crab NOT burying and being overly active a sign of stress? or most likely him just having a lot of fun on his new climbing toys?

I'm just dreading waking up tomorrow and seeing him petrified again. He was just sitting there staring out into space, changing position every hour or two. Shouldn't he have been buried and sleeping or something?

[CrabbyJo]

I think you are witnessing a very normal crab. It may be that he's actually getting ready for a molt down the road. Some crabs will become much more active when they are pre-molt. Is he spending more time at the feeding dish? Spending time in the salt water pool? Visiting the fresh water more often?

He may have been burying a lot before because he was destressing. I don't think you mentioned how long you've had this crab, so I'm going to assume not too long, especially since you are super concerned about his behavior, which is a good thing.

It is very likely that your crab is just napping on the surface. This is a sign that he is comfortable and relaxed, not hiding out to sleep. This would explain his lack of antennae movement.

I have noticed that most of the time, my crabs, which I've had for a year and a half now, don't waggle their antennae like they used to, unless things are all changed around or especially if there is a new crab in the tank. They seem quite relaxed, and slow, easy movement of the antennae is now the norm.
If they are sitting still, with no antennae movement, you may also notice that the two smaller antennae are pulled in between the pincers. This is what they do when they are sleeping.

Your little guy sounds extremely healthy to me, so enjoy his newfound personality change, he could go back to being a digger again (and likely will) so watch him and delight in his explorations!

[llmercll]

Thanks for the support, he's doing well!

I was so worried he was going to die =)

[CrabbyJo]

A crab that may be going to die is usually very lethargic, will hang out of his shell in a strange manner, drop his shell altogether while displaying lethargy, or even sit in a water dish for several days while behaving sluggishly.

You can be content that an active crab is most likely healthy. It's good that you are very observant, and notice behavior changes in your crabs. Over time you will begin to notice what is completely normal, and will be more aware when something seems amiss.

You're doing great.