crab out of shell

Question
Hello Vicki,

Our crab came out of his shell  3-4 weeks ago, I thought he might be
moulting so separated him in a small container with sand substrate. He
promptly buried himself and stayed under until a couple of days ago. Now he
is above ground but lethargic I have put several different shells for him and
food and water but he has not got into one. I even have tried very gently
putting him into a shell (as advised by local crab store) but he didn't get in
properly so i took him out. Is there anything else we should do. Here in Perth
Australia people don't seem to heat their crabitats, our temp is 15 - 20
degrees celsius inside.

thank-you for your help,
Robyn

Answer
Hi Robyn,

The main reason for a crab to come out of his shell is that something is inside the shell thats irritating him. Another reason is that the tank is too hot.

It sounds to me like the crab is very stressed. My suggestion would be to offer him shells like the one he was in before, thoroughly check those to make sure there's nothing inside them. I'd also put some dechlorinated water in the shells to help him insert his body when he chooses one. Keeping him ISO'd is a good idea until he reshells.

As for being lethargic, offer him protein foods(meats, fish, eggs), some organic honey and calcium(sand dollars, cuttlebone).

Keep me posted!