(January 24-30) They aren't Dead

Posted by Sandee Clark

January 30
My husband and I were up late (12:10) playing board games and I glanced over at the crabs. Pinky was out of the log! I was so excited that I scared the little guy as I hurried over to check on him. After 5 more minutes he came back out to drink water. Pinky proceeded to attempt to climb out. I could hear his little legs scratching the glass in an attempt to climb out. I picked him up. He slowly came out of his shell and then tucked back in. This put him off balance and he fell out of my hand onto the table. I put him back in the dish and he scurried under the log.

January 29
When I checked on them this morning one of their food pellets was missing! It also looks like they have shifted the location of their log so it is more perpendicular to the side of the dish than it was before. They seem to have burrowed deeper into the sand under the log.

January 28
No life signs...I am afraid they are not alive, but I don't want to move them in case they are molting. We don't have new shells for them if they are molting. Well, we will see.

January 27
I haven't seen the hermit crabs move a muscle. When I check them in the morning everything seems to be in the same place. I am still checking their humidity and temperature, and it is usually close to what it should be. I hope they come out to play soon!

January 26
I have had the little guys for two days now, and I haven't seen them outside of their wood bridge once. My husband, upset that they still haven't done a single thing, was questioning whether or not they were alive. I lifted the wood bridge and prompted them to come out by lifting them above the ground. They came out and slowly awakened. Brain (the one with the dark and light striped shell) moved slowly, got a drink, and went back under the bridge. Pinky (the one with the lighter shell that is bigger) moved much quicker. He went right to work at climbing out of the glass bowl. After about 5 minutes of scratching at the glass, he gave up and joined Brain under the wood bridge.
After discussing the situation with group-mates, they helped me realize that the crabs might be molting; therefore, I should no longer disturb them. Hopefully all will continue well.