topside molting

Question
I've had three hermit crabs for 4 months now. My favorite one, Noisy has begun the molting process. BUT, he's at the corner of my 10 gallon tank, on the top of the soil in a sitting position. Four of his legs have come out of the old exoskeleton and that happened 4 days ago. But that's it. I have cookbooks up against the two sides of the corner he's sitting at so that he doesn't see the activity in the kitchen and so that it's darker for him. Is he going to be able to continue to molt? Is it going to get too cold in the evenings for him (we live in PA and the house is now getting cold at night). I have a bottom heater but I'm afraid to adjust it because if it gets too hot he won't be able to move away. I've been misting the tank (and him as he's sitting on the top of the sand) every day...is this okay? He's the size of a golf ball and a 1/4. Also, he's in the main 10 gallon tank and the other two are in a temp tank. I was afraid to leave them in because one of the other crabs is pretty aggressive. I'll get out tomorrow to buy another 10 gallon for the other two but I definitely don't want to bother my topside molter. Is Noisy going to be okay? Do I need to keep the house warm now that it's cold here and will he make it? Can I look at him (I move the cookbook back away from the tank) daily or is that stressing him out. Can I kill him by looking at him? I ask because when I move the cookbook out, the light in the room hits him. Please help...he's my favorite and I don't want him dying.

Answer
Additional Notes: I answered each of your questions (except the misting, now that I look back, misting is fine though). If you have additional questions please feel free to ask them. It's always easier to give specific advice after a few back and forth questions and answers.

Either way, best of luck to you!
Michelle




Usually during a molt the whole exoskeleton comes off at once, not the legs first then the rest. The resulting exo looks very much like a dead crab.

You definitely need to keep the house warm or get a heater. You need to keep the tank between 74 and 82 for temperature AND humidity.

Peeking in on him won't hurt anything, I peek at mine plenty.

Make sure you are offering salt water with the fresh and sadly, beyond that my only advice is to wait.

Good luck!
Michelle