Is my Hermit Crab molting or dying?

For someone new to keeping hermit crabs this can be a confusing time.� Some of the symptoms of molting can also be symptoms of impending death.� It can be hard to tell the difference especially if you have just purchased your crab. First of all there are symptoms of molting.� We affectionately call them PMS, pre molt symptoms. ������

• Digging
• Consuming large amounts of water or soaking in the dish
• Cloudy Eyes
• Ashy looking exo
• Lethargy (very in active)
• Spilling water to dampen the substrate

Here�s the first place this gets confusing.� When you bring home a crab from the store it may have been kept in poor conditions.� It may be dehydrated, stressed out and hungry.

In which case it may do the following: ������

• Dig down in the substrate to �destress�
• Consume large amounts of water (or food) or soak in the dish
• Be very lethargic

Here is the second place this gets confusing.� When a crab dies, most often its limp body will droop out of the shell.� After a day or two the crab will smell terribly like a rotting fish.� In some cases there is no smell, but most of the time its unmistakable.� When a crab molts, it pushes off its exoskeleton which comes out of the shell and looks exactly like a limp, lifeless crab. If your crab is in this position, hanging out of its shell and limp, do the following: ������

• Set up a Isolation tank and gently move the crab into it
• Leave the crab completely in peace other than to change the water and food

If the crab begins to smell you will know its passed on.� If not, then there is a good chance it is molting and the exoskeleton will be eaten over the next several days.� There really is nothing you can do to stop your hermit crab from dying.� The most important thing to remember at this point is:� DO NOT HANDLE YOUR CRAB! Don�t poke it, pick it up, blow on it or otherwise disturb it.� If its dying, you are just causing it unnecessary stress.� If its molting, you are causing it more stress, which could in turn kill it. So, in conclusion, if you are asking yourself:� Is my crab dying or molting?� You should put the crab into isolation and wait and see.� That�s it.