Please Help...molted crab naked

[galaciel21]

I have had a hermit crab for a little over a year now and this is their first molt. He is a larger crab so I didn't expect him to molt as often as my smaller crabs and was really excited about this.

He surfaced molt and this morning when I walked by the tank I could see his exo starting to break away. I do have 3 other crabs in the tank (one is currently burrowed and molting) and the other two were roaming around. This was a completely stupid move on my behalf. I knew I had to remove them but became pre occupied with something and when I ran back to the tank, I saw one of them on the shell of my molter. Not to stress my molting crab even more, I promptly removed my two active crabs to another tank and discovered that my molter was no longer in his shell. I don't know if the crab who was on top of his shell pulled his shell away, he came or or what.

He has been lying in the same spot since I spotted this (this was around 11 am and it is now 12 am as I am writing this) and he is laying on top of his casing. He is in tact and he looks like he has hardened up a bit since I first saw him out his shell. I been spraying him periodically throughout the day to keep him hydrated and I know he is still alive because he moves his body slightly. I know molting is an extremely stressful time for a crab so I didn't want to move him to get his casing to help make it easier for him to eat or handle him in general. I also placed his shell and a couple other shells around him.

I'm absolutely devastated that this could have been prevented if I had just removed the other two and have spent the whole day worrying about is he is going to make it or not. I've tried researching for similar issues but haven't really came across something as similar as mine.

Does anyone know what I could possibly do to help or am I better off just leaving him be and hoping for the best?

[Wai]

Stop spraying him with water! Water hinders the exoskeleton's ability to harden, so you should instead be aiming to keep him dry, but make sure the air is still humid. Is he still naked?

[galaciel21]

Stop spraying him with water! Water hinders the exoskeleton's ability to harden, so you should instead be aiming to keep him dry, but make sure the air is still humid. Is he still naked?

I wasn't aware that spraying him was affecting him any as what I been reading about naked molters, people suggest placing them in shallow cup of water to prevent dehydration. The humidity in the tank is 80%. Yes, he is still out of his shell. He has been out of his shell and in the same spot for 13 hours now.

[Wai]

Is his abdomen rolled out flat or is it coiled?

[galaciel21]

It appears to be coiled

[Wai]

Rinse the empty spare shells in warm salt water, then offer them to him again.

I had bad experiences wetting moulters, hence I am rather against doing so.

Edit: I changed my mind about keeping him in water... just make sure the air is humid and check if his abdomen looks moist. If his abdomen appears to be drying out, get an eye dropper of some sort and add a drop or two of chlorine-free water to his abdomen.

[galaciel21]

Rinse the empty spare shells in warm salt water, then offer them to him again.

I had bad experiences wetting moulters, hence I am rather against doing so.

He actually isn't in the water. He surfaced molted in an area between the side of the tank and the water dish and he has just laying there, dormant, on his casings.

I can see where spraying them would affect the hardening so I'll stop doing that, esp. since you have had a bad experience with that. Thanks for the heads up

I did rinse the shells earlier and will try that again. He just seems like he isn't going to do anything as he hasn't moved at all during this time (other then when I sprayed him the few times). I hope maybe sometime durin the evening he'll move into a shell and finish hardening up in there. I want to try to do whatever I possibly can. If he does happen to perish, at least I'll know that I've done everything i possibly could.

[Wai]

Yeah, it is a difficult situation, isn't it? I'd be panicking too if I was in your shoes. Does he flutter his attennae? Is he making any twitching movements? What colour is he now?

[galaciel21]

Panic isn't the word. I've been so anxious and in a horrible mood all day because I done nothing but worry. Its really had to see his face because the lighting isn't really good where he is laying but, it looks likes his attennae's are tucked in so I can't see them at all. Unless I sprayed him, he doesn't move. He's still pink but has def harded up some since this morning.

[Wai]

Since he is making progress with the hardening, I would leave him alone for now. Is he still showing no interest in the shells?