QuestionI recently added another hermit crab to my family, 3 total, a few days ago I found that it had lost a leg, this morning my mom picked it up and the pincher fell off, what do I do? I haven't noticed any fighting, is it stress? Or something more? Thank you.
AnswerOlivia, This could be caused by several things. Stress could be one of them. He may not make it if this is the case. It could be self amputation because your other little one had ahold of him and he wanted to release the hold or stop the blood loss. It could be a molt that isn't shedding completely , but in pieces. The worst case scenario is mites. If you see small brown or whites dots on him...... or around the cage .... get rid of the bedding and boil everything. You will have to use stress coat and water bath him in it two times a day for 4 days. Fill his shell and hold him there for about 2 minutes... no longer or they will drown.You can get stress coat in your pet shop. It will suffocate the mites.Next time you get a new one quarantine him for about a week and get him used to the temperatures in his new environment. That will help him acclimate easier. Clean the tank with vinegar and water if you think mites were the problem.If everything goes ok, don't worry it will all grow back after he molts. They usually do it from evry 7 to 18 months. Good Luck, Tina
