Eye Infection?

[kristin]

Hi,

My hermit crab has a white eye. It looks like he's blind, but then I started to think he has an infection. He has been spending a lot of time buried lately, but he isn't molting - his exoskeleton is really really dark, and he is usually really light coloured when he is about to moult. Is he sick?

[ladybug15057]

Sounds like a pms to me. Cloudy eyes, or like a cataract. I have a hermie Strawberry Shortcake (a red PP) who with one of her molts a few years ago had some nasty white eyes. It looked as though somebody wet her eyes and dipped her in salt. I to this day think she could not see due to how thick and granular her eyes were. I put her in iso and it did take her a good while to molt, but her eyes had a beautiful shine to them after she molted.

[Wai]

Is only one of the eyes pale in colour? If yes, this is a bit abnormal. However, having both eyes paled out is a common pre and post-moult symptom.

[kristin]

It's only one eye.

[ladybug15057]

One eye is not all that common, but it does happen. Same as with some hermies who are in premolt do not get cloudy eyes at all? Some get paler in color about their joints, and some do not and keep their dark coloring and molt anyway.

Dark (and molted)
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x276 ... r-Dead.jpg

lighter about joints and leg tips:
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x276 ... r-Dead.jpg

[Vamizi]

My hermit crab Wally had one cloudy eye prior to his recent molt. At the time, I considered it one of his molting signals. After the molt, both his eyes were shiny and black, looking healthy. Now, that one eye is starting to become cloudy again as his exoskeleton continues to harden. That whole eye stalk, in fact, looks a tiny, tiny bit smaller and maybe malnourished somehow? I'm guessing that he doesn't see out of this cloudy eye, but maybe it just has a white color to it and it is perfectly healthy? Can I get some feedback on this?

[Wai]

That is quite unusual. Keep him well fed and hope that the eye grows back to normal size over time.

[ladybug15057]

Wai Carrie had some foods she was giving her one hermie that had an eye condition. I am at a disadvantage with this laptop still. Do you remember the post?

edited to add: Found it!
viewtopic.php?t=3880

[Wai]

Yeah, but Arwen still refuses to eat the vitamin A food that Carrie gives her, so Arwen's eyes haven't been getting any better, if not worse.

[ladybug15057]

Has she tried mixing it in with other food, even if only small amounts at a time? What substrate is she using nowadays?