Help! Surface Molt!

[ed_and_stacy]

I am very new to hermies. I have 2 of them. About a week ago I noticed what looked like bits and pieces of 1 of the crabs scattered in a small area of tank. I really thought the bigger crab must have attacked it and that it was dead, I could see what was left of it down in its shell so I thought I would just wait and see what happened. When I woke up this morning the first thing I noticed was that its shell was completely empty! I looked around and found it without a shell in the water dish! I moved it into an iso tank with about 5 inches of sand, food and water and its shell. 14 hours later it is still moving around and not burying itself. Is this normal? I am very worried about it, What do I do?

[iluvhermies]

I have had several surface molts lately. You have done exactly what you should have done and moved it into ISO. With food water and shells. What you can try to do is pick up the shell and make sure it is all rinsed out. No sand or dirt in it. Pick up the hermie very carefully and rinse it in the fresh water. Place it in the opening of the shell and see if it will get back into its shell. Sometimes you might have to careful VERY CAREFULLY stretch out the abdomen and place it into the opening for it to get back into the shell. Then I would just leave it alone and see what happens.

[Wai]

I assume your hermit crab hasn't fully hardened his new exoskeleton, so you must also be VERY gentle when handling him, as he is very delicate.

[Jaci]

he will slowly gain his color back, meaning his exo is hardening. i would throughly wash your hands before and after touching him.

[ed_and_stacy]

Thank you all so much! So far so good, he is finally back in his shell, about 16 hours after my first post. I am not sure what to do now though. Do I leave him in iso and for how long? Also, ( this may sound stupid) I am new to this and do not know if he has hardened or not. Can anyone tell me what to do next? Thanks!

[iluvhermies]

I would make sure you place in some egg shells or sutlebone ground up or the exo if you still have it. I would leave him in ISO til he is active and his color has come back. It can be a week or 2. After he looks active and his color is back you can place him back in the main tank.

[Wai]

Most importantly, don't fiddle with him or pick him up, as it may stress and kill him. I regret fiddling with some of my moulters in the past. My first successful moulter (Neptune) was also the first hermit crab which I didn't try touching or digging up whilst she was in the hardening process.

[Jaci]

definitely feed him calcium rich foods and give him a lot of salt water, in addition to fresh water. all these things will help his exo harden.