How to Recognize When a Pet Hermit Crab is Sick

By eHow Pets Editor

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Hermit crabs are pretty resilient animals, but they may become sick at some point. You should observe your pet hermit crabs on a daily basis to recognize the first signs of sickness.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Isolation tank for sick hermit crabs

Step1

Spend a few minutes each day checking on your hermit crabs. Make a note of which crabs are digging, burying themselves or climbing. Also, look for any crabs losing legs, running around without a shell or not retreating into their shells. Those are the main signs a hermit crab is sick.

Step2

Observe any crabs that are losing legs. When adjusting to a new environment, it is normal for a crab to loss a leg or two. If at any time, one of your pet crabs begins losing legs quickly, he is probably sick.

Step3

Check for mites, which appear as white or brown flecks on the crab. You can usually see them crawling on the crab. While not necessarily a sickness, mites are not good for your pet.

Step4

Isolate any hermit crab that will not curl up in its shell. This crab is probably sick, and you don't want your other pets to get sick.

Step5

Recognize that when hermit crabs become inactive, their habitat may not be suitable, which can cause them to become sick. Even in proper environments, your crab may become sick and inactive.

Step6

Inspect your hermit crabs for mold or fungus. If you find any on your crab, you should isolate the crab and bathe it. You should also provide a new shell in case your pet wants to switch to a cleaner shell.

Tips & Warnings

Most "sick" hermit crabs can be helped by simply adjusting the temperature and humidity in the tank.
Provide an isolation tank with plenty of substrate for the hermit crab to bury himself completely and ample food and water. You pet may be getting ready to molt and need the same care as a sick hermit crab.
A strong, fishy odor means that your hermit crab has died. While a molting crab may be still and have a slight odor, a strong smells indicates that the crab has passed away.
There is much debate on whether to bathe hermit crabs by submerging them in water for just under three minutes or not. If your crab is consistently sick or losing legs, the baths may be stressing him out. Switch to a more natural bath system in the tank.

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Comments

Daethian said

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on 11/17/2008 Hey just wanted to say this is a very helpful article and covers the common issues with hermit crabs. I own The Crab Street Journal website and we are focused on educating the public about proper hermit crab care.

There is another ailment that is rare but happens and can be fatal. This is black spots that appear on the exoskeleton, often after a molt. This is can be a bacterial infection. We provide directions on a medicinal bath that can help in this situation. I'll have to do an article on when I get some free time but in the meantime it can be found on our website.

Thanks again for helping us spread the word on proper crabby care!! :)