QuestionQUESTION: My daughter has 4 hermit crabs in a 20 gallon long tank. She's had them about 4 months. Two are large, one is medium/large %26 the 4th is medium sized. Last night we saw the smallest one at about 9:30 in it's shell, partially buried in the sand (hadn't been there too long - maybe 12 hours or less#. This morning at 6:30 we saw her shell moved about 7 inches away, under a half log empty. There was also a large %26 the medium/large crab under the log. There is absolutely no sign of her at all! We don't know if she's been eaten by another crab or if she's buried. There's no body parts or claws anywhere %26 no holes in the sand. The sand is calci-sand %26 is probably about 3 inches thick. We lifted everything %26 looked underneath logs, dishes, etc..... nothing! I called a pet store %26 they said it would be very unusual for a crab to be eaten completely #claws %26 all) in such a short time period %26 that it may just be buried. My daughter is upset %26 was crying %26 I don't know what to do. To be on the safe side we moved the other 3 crabs to a 10 gallon tank so if she was buried she'd be safe. What do you think? Thank you for your time.
ANSWER: It is very possible that the crab is buried down under the sand and is either just digging for fun or is preparing to molt. There is no reason that you need to remove the other crabs. Is your sand wet or dry? We have had a lot of problems happen with wet calcisand (smelling bad and clumping) so once all your crabs are up I would recommend switching to playsand or coconut fiber bedding. Both are much less expensive than calcisand.
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QUESTION: Thank you for your response. The sand is dry and we have a bi-fold aquarium top and heater to keep the humidity level in the proper range for them. I will switch the sand over to play sand once this is resolved. How would we know if she is buried in there if there are no signs or holes? I am afraid to move the sand around because I don't want to hurt her if she is. How long could she safely stay buried without coming out at all? Also, is it possible that they would have eaten her completely and left no evidence at all? Thank you once again for your response.
AnswerA crab can stay under the sand for weeks at a time. Frustrating isn't it?! It is very unlikely that she could be eaten underground. Generally what you find when a crab is eaten is their parts are strewn about the tank because the crabs will fight over the parts but it is extremely rare for a crab to eat another crab like that unless they are already dead.
