QuestionQUESTION: Hi, again, My hermit crabs are molted and out of hiding! One had a bendt leg back which is now gone and back to normal. The other still has a tip portion of the bendt leg back. I was wondering what this was from? I know you said once before it was normal. I was just curious because one was back to norm and one wasnt. This isnt anything to worry about right?
ANSWER: All hermit crab armor legs are bet backwards ( the one that's a different color from the other and often thicker and shinier). If you feel that it is bent so much that it is a deformity it is a possibility. Right after a molt a crab's exoskeleton is very soft and if they get smooshed up against the glass or a tank item it can sometimes cause them to harden in a poor shape. As long as he can get around and eat though, he will be fine.
I will warn you that a severely deformed leg will often cause the crab to drop the leg which can be scary but is usually better for them in the long run.
Sounds like he will be fine. Make sure they are getting a varied diet with lots of vegetable, fresh meat, and calcium sources.
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QUESTION: when you speak of an armor leg, I am alittle confused as to this is not my expertise. The leg that is bendt seems to be on the large pincher side (The claw that looks like a lobsters claw) and is the last leg all the way on the same back side. So it is the last claw in the back that is actually bendt and it is at the very tip so it sticks out of his shell on the backside a bit. He's getting around okay. What kind of vegetable, fresh meat and calcium do you suggest? And can any form of any of these items get them sick. Once I gave a hermit crab (past)a piece of buttered popcorn because someone told me they liked popcorn and they got sick after that. I dont know if that was the reason or not but since then I've stuck to hermit crab food pellets and coconut.
AnswerThe armor leg is the last long leg back toward the shell on the big pincher side of the crab. It's called an armor leg because when a crab withdraws into it's shell it is used to help close the opening of the shell with the big pincher. If it is sticking out even when withdrawn he probably had a molt accident. As long as he can get around he's fine.
I normally don't do this but the food list is so long I am going to point you to a website called www.epicureanhermit.com It has a safe food and plant list as well as an unsafe food list.
Popcorn IS a great food for them because it is high in chitin. However buttered and salted popcorn might not agree with them. Take 5-10 kernels and put them in a brown paper sack and fold the edges over. Wait by the microwave until they pop and remove. Then you have crab safe popcorn.
