QuestionYesterday morning I found his crab out of its shell and partially buried. This morning after reading up on the net I rinsed him and his shell off and placed him in a glass and encouraged him to go back in his shell, which he did. I noticed when moving the sand where he had buried himself that he had molted. However he wont stay in his shell and the other two crabs are picking on him. What do you think is wrong? The temperature and humidity are ok. There are other shells of various size incase his existing one is too small.
AnswerDear Rachael,
thank you for your question.
Crabs that continue to leave their shell are often sick, it's never a good sign. Separate the crab from the others and put him in an isolation tank with food, water, somed shells and if you still have it, his exoskeleton. Offer food rich in calcium and protein, like dead insects, krill, shrimps or meat (raw or cooked, but not salted or spiced) and extra cuttlebone. If your tank is big enough, you can keep the crab in a plastic box inside the main tank, this makes keeping the humidity and temperature up a lot easier.
Leave the crab alone as much as possible, he has to come through this on his own, there's not much you can do for him anyway. He may move back into his shell once he has destressed a bit. With high humidity, shell-less crabs can survive for a long time, so he won't die just from leaving his shell. I hope he pulls though and I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer
