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I have had my crabs for a year, but lately I’ve noticed that one of my PPs, Max, looks a bit dull. She was never a really bright colored crab, but she looks a lot duskier. She is more active that she has been. And I just switched them to a 10 gallon aquarium. I am worried. Is she sick or going to molt? I am just afraid to lose my crab. 🙁
Hello, just to let you know, crabs kind of get a dull color to them when they are coming up on a molt. My big girl gets very active, she destroys the tank, moves the water bowls away from the sides of the tank, bulldozes the big cork bark log away from where it sits, rips the plants up from the sand, and then she hides for awhile, before she molts. Sometimes they get restless before a molt, I have had mine for a little over 2 years and I am tuned in to their habits. Sometimes, they fool you, no two molts may be the same. I also noticed the tips of their legs turn yellow or white when the time for a molt is near, but it could be a month or two before they actually molt. Max is so cute! Is this a recent pic? What size, type of tank did you have before the 10 gallon, also, have any of your crabs molted while with you? Please click on the Molt tag to the right of your screen while on this page, if you have not had a crab molt before. There are specific things for you to do to make sure they have a successful molt.
That pic is from august this year. Below is a picture from today. I had a 5 gallon plastic tank. I just managed to upgrade now to a class tank. I believe one of my crabs, Jaro, had molted over the summer. I had the pair in the care of my boyfriend’s cousin, since I couldn’t fly them to my mom’s place. I have their old tank ready as an iso tank, just in case.
Yes, that color is much less vibrant than the one in August. The 10 gallon glass is much better for you crabs. Some people do not use an ISO for molting, since the crab may dig to molt at any time, and you cannot start to dig them up once they are under the sand. Plastic tanks are not exactly the type to use as a permanent home, so its great you upgraded. Have you noticed the crab spending more time in the food and water bowls lately? Crabs “tank” up on food and water to get them through a molt, and they store it in a “molt bubble” on the side of their bodies. Make sure Max gets plenty of fresh and salt water (salt you would use for fish tanks) I use Oceanic Natural Sea Salt mix with distilled water. 1/2 cup mix per gallon of water. Wait 24 hours before You use it and shake the water several times to make sure its mixed. well. Extra calcium is a great idea, a cuttle bone used for birds is good, I order from the hermit crab patch, they have a variety of flavored calcium supplements in a powdered form. Has Max been digging yet? They may dig for a bit, stop, and then resume digging. Watch Max and see what behavior you notice. Max may do nothing at all, then just molt, you never know, they do what they want, when they want, how they want. Us? We just sit and worry about them. When will we ever learn, nature does what it wants! Two years with my “kids” and I still worry when they molt………….doesn’t get any easier!
I put fresh eggshells in the tank as a calcium source. They seems to love it. Both of my “older” crabs have been hanging out in the fresh and salt water bowls since I upgraded. I also got an under tank heater that I have mounted on the side. It was meant for a larger tank, but I read that it was okay. The humidity and temperature has increased to a stable and appropriate level. Maybe the upgrade just made the conditions ideal. Max was the one I was really concerned about. But I noticed Jaro has been doing laps and climbing the fake plant. Is there any other reason besides molting that would cause the dramatic color change?
Can you tell me what you mean by the heater being “ok” even though it is made for a larger tank? It may get too warm for the crabs, and heat does take humidity out of the tank. Do you give your crabs lots of fresh fruits, veggies and meats? When fed a proper diet, molting crabs exo’s are vibrant after a molt. Maybe some other crabbers may have some idea’s as to why the color change is drastic.
I’ve read that if you are mounting the heater on the side of the tank, that you get one for the next tank size up. My hermit crabs seem to like it better, and stay on that side of the tank. It keeps the temperature around 76 degrees and the humidity is currently 79%. And it actually brought up both the humidity and temp from before. I usually give my crabs pieces of my food that are not spiced. So chicken, green beans, popcorn, eggs (either scrambled or hard-boiled), and other things like that.
I have a zoo med mat on the side of my 20 gallon, but I dont use it, I am too afraid to leave it plugged in when I am not home. I never heard that you use the heater the next size up, I haven’t researched that subject. I got the heater based on the size of the tank. It is 4 watts. The food you give your crabs are very healthy for them. Mine go wild when I put a chicken wing in the tank. Anyone who is hiding comes out within five minutes. How is Max today? Is she active, eating and drinking? What kind of popcorn do you give your crabs? I really don’t know any other reasons for the discoloration, I hope some of the other people on this page can give their opinion. I also meant to ask if you calibrated your hygrometer.
Today, Max has been going crazy. She has been pushing Jaro and dug up my newbie (I named it Tuomo) and it wasn’t happy about that with all the clicking it made. She enjoys sitting on top of a tiki decoration I have in the tank. And I caught her going up there a few times today. She is still doing laps to the water bowls and food dish. She even buried an eggshell. And I give them white popcorn that I pop myself on the stove. No salt or butter. Just plain popcorn. And I did calibrate it. Twice, actually.
Uh oh, sounds like Max is getting restless, my big crab acts that way before a molt, but, you never know, maybe that is just her personality. Do you know the last time she molted? I always write down when they dig to molt and when they come up. They are actually pretty consistent when it comes to the timing, my big crab is a November to January molter. The medium crab is about every 6 months and the baby is every three months. I did go on the internet to look for other reasons for discoloration in crabs, but only found that molting and not enough vitamins and minerals caused discoloration. I will have to try the popcorn, I think they will enjoy it very much.
I am not aware of her molting when I’ve had her. However, she is a bit bigger since I first got her. So that would mean she must have molted last may-july. I left her in the care of my boyfriend’s cousin, since I couldn’t fly home. She didn’t tell me anything happening, but then again, she doesn’t really talk. So it is entirely possible that she molted then. I am sure Jaro did. And I’m not sure if my newbie, Tuomo is molting or just destressing. It buried itself last week and I’ve only seen it up once since then.
One of my friends had a hermit crab that faded in color before it molted. maybe thats why your crab is fading. he is about to molt?
I just checked on her, because she hasn’t moved out of her spot all day, and I noticed she is a lot hairier and the tips of her legs are very sharp. And she is darker. So I am guessing she molted? Can they just do that in a day?
Update: Max has a love affair with raw ground beef. I have never seen any of my crabs grab food from the dish and drag it to her hiding spot. And I mean she RAN back.
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