Under Rock

[Joshiewowa]

I put an old coral rock my dad had in my aquarium, and my hermit crab dug underneath it and appears to be moulting.He is in a little burrow under the rock.If you lift up the rock you can see into the burrow, then put the rock back on top with no harm to the crab or his little cave.Would it stress him out if I lifted up the rock every once in a while to check on him, then put it back?This is my first moult and me and my dad are really worried.

[arhoads]

Depends on who you ask. Some people think you shouldn't disturb the crab at all, others like to peak now and then. I would try to avoid looking if you can to reduce his stress. They molt when a hormone is released that is triggered by proper conditions and darkness is one of those. They can take anywhere from two weeks to three months to molt. generally the smaller they are the shorter the time. I wouldn't expect him to come back up any sooner than four weeks.

[Joshiewowa]

thanks for the help, I'll post here if/when he comes up.

[ladybug15057]

Joshiewowa have you read the Crab Care section? When a hermie has burrowed they should not be disturbed at all unless it is an extreme emergency.

[Joshiewowa]

Okay guys,update!He is trying to dig out from under!If you read my journal, you'll see that hee filled up the one entrance he dug, but he just burrowed out from under behind the old entrance and is about an eighth of an inch below the surface!He's about to punch through!

[arhoads]

he may just be digging for fun then or to destress. If he has molted ( I don't know how long he was down for) then he'll have little hairs on his legs and little black "spikes" on the end of his legs. Depending on his size they might be hard to see.