What happened to my hermit crab?

Question

so i have 2 hermit crabs.. theyre in the kind of cage with the wire sides for them to climb up..

i bought them just a few weeks ago.. and in their cage they have sand. a sponge. and a feeder with food.. and some extra shells

last night.. the smaller one was up all night. being quite noisey crawling all over the cage.. and he was like that this morning as well

i went to our country faid at like 10.. he was still wondering around.. and i got back at about 230.. i went in to check their sponge. and he had like fell out of his shell.. so i figured maybe idk.. he was changing shells? but he didnt pick another one.. so i poked him.. and he didnt move.. he looked normal.. other than the fact that he was naked..

so i threw him away. thinking he was dead

but now im not sure if he was

anyone know what happened\

Answer 1

the cage you have them in isn't appropriate for them and could have contributed to it's death. Here is a great caresheet to help you

Housing/Crabitat:
no smaller than a 10 gallon glass tank, is preferable. A glass or plexiglass lid is also preferable, to keep proper temperature and humidity.

Temperature: 74-78 degrees F (thermometer)

Humidity: 70-80% relative (hygrometer)

Substrate:

Playsand, Forestbedding (Eco-Earth, Bed-a-Beast, etc). Moss and calcisand may also be added to the tank, however it is not recommended as a main substrate. Needs to be 1 1/2 times as deep as your tallest crab is tall with a minimum of 3" deep.

Diet:
Commercial crab foods, Vegetables (favorites include-carrots, lettuce, parsley, spinach, and corn), Fruits (favorites include-coconut, mango, apples, grapes, and pears), Meats (seafood, silversides and chicken are favorites), Grains, Peanut butter, eggs, seeds, algae and seaveggies. Please see http://www.epicureanhermit.com for a list of other edible foods.

Purple pinchers need both fresh and salt water (dechlorinated and salt water made with a good marine salt like oceanic).

Shells:
Turbo, pica/magpie, Sharks eye. Shells with circular openings are favorites

Molting:
-Lethargic before and hyper after molting
-Legs tend to be dry and ashy pre-molt
-Will sometimes molt without a molt sac or other pre-molting symptoms
-Are thirsty and hungry pre-molt and post-molt

Other Characteristics:
-Sweet/nice temperament
-Love to climb
-Love to crowd into piles
-Not as active as other species such as the Es
-Like to hide during the day and are most active at night
-More willing to pinch if they feel threatened/scared
-Love to change shells
-Love to eat and climb on wood such as cholla/choya and corkbark

Answer 2

yikes, to bad you pitched him before you asked, He might have been shedding his shell. They shed like a snake, but where a snake sheds a see through skin, the hermit crab sheds that hard outer body. Some will bury themselves in the sand to do so, but I have had them just lay out like yours and do it. They do seem like they could be dead while they do this. And they could be hurt by the other crabs during this time. IF they are dead, they will stink like old fish with in a day or two. I wait for the stink to make sure they are dead before tossing them.

Answer 3

He may have been molting. Here are a couple of excellent care sites that will tell you more:

http://www.hermit-crabs.com/index.html

http://www.seashellcity.com/crabs/hermitcrab.html

Answer 4

Hahaaaha why would you throw him away ritgh then if you weren't sure?! He might of been alive. I don't know. I always have werid mysterys with my fish, frogs, and crabs! They are so strange!

Answer 5

i don't understand, yet while mine molt i in basic terms go away them in the tank...i save notice of the place they buried themselves and in basic terms save an eye fixed on them...considering I even have been in basic terms leaving them on my own while they molt, i haven't had a single one die...I even have 3 strawberries and four caribbean now, with a million extra strawberry on the way

Answer 6

did he stink really bad if he didn't he was alive and you threw him away alive.now he is dead for sure that poor thing

Answer 7

he didn't move when you poked him..... he was dead for sure(don't think about it anymore)... happened to my hermit crab