QuestionQUESTION: My hermit crab Cali has lived with me 6 years with no problems. Last night I noticed she was halfway out of her shell and not moving much. She will not go all the way back in her shell. About 3 weeks ago I used bleach in my apartment, this is the only change that I can think of. She apeared to be acting normal at that time until last night. What can I do to try to help her? She has sand, food, water, and humidity. Any suggestions? One vet said to try dunking her in unflavored pedialite. Would that be harmful? Thanks
ANSWER: I cannot imagine why a vet would suggest that. I hear some weird things though. When was the last time she molted? Do you offer fresh and salt water? Are the pools big enough to climb in?
How deep is your substrate?
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QUESTION: Cali has not molted in quite awhile. She has many shells to choose from. She has fresh and recently added salt water (because I did not know she needed salt water until last week). The shels that hold the water (fresh and salt) are deep enough for her to climb in and bathe if she wished. Her sand substate has spots that are more shallow than her and areas that are double the height of her. She appeared to be doing better last week, staying in her shell more, but sunday night she was back to hanging halfway out of her shell and not moving much. I placed her on a shallow water dish and that seemed to get her moving a little bit. Any ideas that I can try to help her get well are welcomed. I was also told that she needs a UV light. She has never had a UV light. Do you suggest this? If so, how often? I do not want to overheat her. She also has a humidity gauge that ranges from about 80 degrees to about 90 degrees. Please help.
AnswerIt sounds like she is pre-molt. Is she eating a lot?
As for the light, a 12/12 day night cycle is important. You can get a very low wattage sunglo/dayglo bulb that will provide the light without a bunch of heat. It's as easy as adding a clamplight to your setup.
