an overly concerned hermit crab parent

[watertownsalt]

My hermit crab just molted or shed his entire shell.. It looks like a dead mirror image of him laying on the subrate, looks alien like.

a - do i yank the skeleton out of the tank?
b - should I have an empty shell in the tank for him to upgrade to?


It looks like he went back into his old shell... is this normal?

Kind of wild to see this happen - I cannot imagine shedding my entire skin to get taller - pretty wild!

Thanks

 

[mogurnda]

a. You can leave the old skeleton in there. The crab, or someone else will eat the edible bits and make use of the nutrients.
b. Always a good idea to have extra shells in there. They don't change shells every molt, but will eventually need to move to a bigger apartment.

 

[watertownsalt]

thanks mog - you are always very quick to answer and it is surely appreciated by all.

 

[DEdwards]

It's pretty cool to watch them change shells too

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's pretty cool to watch them change shells too

Whoa, I bet. I've never seen that. Having plenty of extra empty shells will slow down their predation on any snails in your tank, also.