Hermit crab, dead or molting?

Cover the tanl with plastic wrap with breathing holes and so it doesn't get too humid, They are nocturnal, that means the come out at night, you need more than one three is best, Try not to handle him.

2..Proper Humidity levels

The Ideal humidity level is 65% to 80%, but can do ok with a level of 55% to 60%, proper humidity keeps their gills from drying out and other important soft body parts like the abdomen, this is essential for adequate oxygen exchange. A mesh sided tank does not work as well as a standard class, plastic or Plexiglas enclosure. It is important to maintain correct humidity levels and a mesh tank does not allow this under average conditions. A Crab's gills exposed to low humidity is like us holding our breath, completely enclosing your tank causes shell rot and fungus from high humidity levels,there is no cure for these ailments.To regulate humidity you can cover parts of a mest reptile top.Hermits are tropical animals and need temperatures in the 75-85°F range.Heat damage is irreversible and temperatures too low slow their metabolism down. An improper environment can cause your crab to become inactive, lose limbs and ultimately die.A natural sponge in their water effectively evaporates moisture into the air maintaining proper humidity levels.

10.The Molt

Throughout the life of a hermit crab life they periodically undergo a process called "Molting"..Crabs as they can loose limbs or fall prey to predation as the new exoskeleton is very soft.Aggressive Hermits seek out molting or newly molted tank mates to eat so isolate the molting Crab with its exoskeleton until the process is complete.Crabs eat the molted exoskeleton to replenish lost calcium. To quarentine use an inexpensive plastic pet tank with a lid in goes water a little food with the molted exoskeleton to eat .Molting Crabs are very timid during this time and may cast off appendages due to stress so handle them as little as possible.Excessive digging behavior will be noticed in enviroments without a deep substrate so the molting crab can bury itself,a couple of inches or more of coconut fiber is needed. In nature hermit crabs bury underground to molt.Salt plays an important role in the shedding process and stored nutrients will sustain the crab while buried. You may notice the gray-black bubble on your crabs abdomen. This indicates that the crab is storing food and water reserves for the molt.They need a period of extended darkness so the molting hormone will be secreted . If crabs are not provided substrate (preferably sandy soil or coconut fiber) that is deep or moist enough to completely bury in, they will attempt to molt a surface molt. Small crabs may be able to accomplish a surface molt, but danger lies in the possibility of other crabs scavenging the freshly molted crab who is unable to move until it regains muscle control and the shell hardens up.Freshly moltded crabs have an enticing smell to other crabs as a free and easy meal. Put the molted shell, food and water in the tank in close proximity to the crab so they can move as little as possible to eat. Until their new exoskeleton hardens they will be very weak from muscle tissue loss from the energy it takes to molt. Muscles pulling against the new soft exoskeleton before it hardens can possibly cause harmful complications to the new shell. crabs that have lost an appendage will have a pronounced “limb bud” called a gell leg just prior to molting. Eventually the leg will grow back to normal size after 2-3 molts.

16.Books

Hermit Crab Care (T.F.H. Publications)

Land Hermit Crabs (Phillip de Vosjoli

Hermit Crabs ( Sue Fox )

Hermit Crab ( Audrey Pavia )

Hermit Crabs for Dummies (Kelli A. Wilkins)

17.Materials

Books (see above selection)

Cuttlebone (see molting section)

Humidity Gauge (hygrometer)

Thermometer

Specific Gravity meter (for measuring salt content in water)

Tetra Fauna Hermit Crab Meal

Hermit Crab cakes

HBH Hermit Crab Variety Bites

Stress Coat water conditioner (helps when they are molting)

A Water Dechlorinater product for marine aquarium water

A Product for fresh water to memove Copper (toxic for INVETABRATES)

Marine aquarium sea salt (No Iodine)

Non Metallic Water and Food Dishes

10 gallon Tank (at least with cover that can maintain proper humidity levels)

A small quarantine tank for Molting Crabs ( see molting section)

Forest Bedding®, Bed-A-Beast® or Eco-Earth® (an excellent substrate material, see 6. Various substrates)

Extra shells (in various sizes see extra sheels and agression)

A choya climbing stick (Cactus limb with holes)

Pet grade natural sponge (to aid in humidity when wet and see below)

Glass Marbles (for bottom of water dished to help small crabs to escape deep water)

Written By Cheryl Millard (c) 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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

Well this is what my one crab is doing too. He is lonely or sad, perhaps?

For warmth:

Put him under a lamp that generates heat

So that he is not lonely:

Talk to him gently and put toys in his cage (they love to climb and chew! however it's best you put clean, unpainted, wooden blocks) Also consider buying a new friend, they often live in groups of 150 or more. But if the friend is too big or too small, they will fight. They sell crabs at Petsmart.

For humidity:

Spray the inside of his tank with a spray bottle once a day on the mist function.

Hermit crabs will be hermit crabs. If he looks pale, he may not be getting enough vitamins, put fresh cut fruits and veggies in the cage. He might be molting so it's best to put a good layer of playsand in the bottome and don't pick him up.

I've noticed that if you get the soil substrate and use that instead of sand that it helps with the humidity level. I sometimes just pour half a cup of water into my tank, spreading it around in the soil, to keep the humidity levels up. You definitely will want to buy at least one other hermit crab. Despite their names, they like living with other hermit crabs. My hermit crabs like carrots so you can try carrot peels and see if that will perk your hermit crab's appetite. My hermit crabs don't eat too much of the meal I give them, but will devour the carrots. Good luck.

The best thing to tell is the nose. If you've had Hermit crabs before, then you'll know that they don't just smell bad unless their dead.

As suggested, use plastic wrap. For my brother's tank(After his fish...retired), I once used packing tape, and glass from some old picture frames to make a lid that worked wonderfully. You could try something that if you have anything that would work.

Jeez, when will people stop putting every life thing they see in a tank or cage.

Hermit crabs...my God...what's next.

Anyway! why not do some proper research on your animal before you feed it peanut butter or thinking you're an expert on them after owning them for a day. Maybe finding a website that contains info on hermit crabs would be more useful than posting here. It's not all that difficult to do:

http://www.hermit-crabs.com/

1. hermit crabs are more active at night

2. if they was dead they would smell really bad

3 i hope u did not get rid of a hermit that was still alive.

overall her is just being him and really its nothing to worry about.

see if u can get a spray bottle to mist it with, that will help with humidity.