QuestionI recently purchases three hermit crabs at a Wing's store for my kids. We have created a nice habitat, and read up on the necessities for their environment. They seemed great, but yesterday, we took the blue hermit crab out of the cage to play with him, and some brownish liquid dripped onto my hand. Also, there is a fishy smell. I decided maybe he had "passed", and went to the petstore. They advised me that I needed calcium sand, and to wait before getting another to see if the others are sick. Now, as I was about to clean the cage, I notices some small white "worms" crawling around in his shell. What are these, and is our hermit likely dead or alive???
AnswerIf he is not moving at all and smells like a dead fish he is most likely dead. I'm not sure what you mean by "blue hermit" are you not in the US? Do you have a photo? There are no blue hermit crabs for sale in the us although they do exist in Japan and are protected by the government.
Crab death has nothing to do with whether or not you have calcium sand but more likely one of the following.
Temp and humidity not between 74 and 82
Water not chlorine-free
No salt water offered
spraying perfume or household cleaners in the room
