My hermit crab Dead or Molting?

hermit crabs usually don't get out of there old shell until they found a new one to go into right of way (personal experience)..i am sorry, but i think he is dead.

sorry to hear about your loss. Not sure where you got him... or when... what I noticed about stores that sell hermits.. is they have them in a tank with sand... no mist, no humidity control... which is necessary for hermits... I hope you have a humidity control and some sort of misting device.. they need this or they dry out and die.... hermits are not as easy to keep as people think.. walmart is the worst for killing them before they are even sold and the ones they sell usually dont last long unless they do to a hermit expert who knows the condition of the crab. So having said all this, you should educate yourself about them more and shop at breeders of these crabs (I am only assuming your not an expert because your on here asking if one is dead after its legs and pincer fell off)...you will get a much healthier crab ..... and enjoy him for awhile.... good luck

The animal is dead. You don't smell fish right away. They do not abandon shell when moulting. if it was moulting it would be in the shell and you would see the shed skin lying there ( which some people mistake for a body of a crab)

They ditch their shells when they are stressed or sick.

If you're keeping it in a plastic cage then it likely cannot get the right amount of humidity causing it to slowly suffocate. And plastic tanks cannot be heated safely so it may not have been in the right temperature.

Or the damage may have been done prior to the move to the plastic tank. common issues could be- exposure to bad food, painted shells damaging gills, chlorinated water damaging gills, no ocean water access, mites, or damage caused in a pet shop.

Stress can be caused by living isolated, and living in unhealthy conditions.

Jtkchick,

Your Hermit Crab is most likely dead. I'm so sorry. Pet stores these days don't care about the products they sell, nor the animals they sell, either. Coconut shaving are deadly to Hermit Crabs, and actually kill them.

Your hermit crab probably needs a new shell.. they like to have several to choose from so put a few in with the crab and it will move in. It could be dead?!?! Is it moving?

well idk my hermit crab didnt live long enough to do that ony about 2 or 3 months but it prob needs a new shell they move out of theres to grow and until they find a bigger one. but u might wanna pick it up to see if its dead before u waste ur money on a shell for a dead crab!

dead. it doesnt start smelling bad until a while. he doesnt come out of his shell to molt.

The fact that you have a plastic cage lets me know that your humidity would be low. you have only one hermit crab? at least two.

its probably molting. If you think it is, keep the cage warm since it could die from the cold without its shell and keep it away from other hermit crabs

If he were alive, he could still move outside of the shell. Try touching him lightly. If he doesn't move, he is dead.

pick it up, if its not moving... sorry it's probably dead. bring it back to where you got it from