Hermit crab molt?

[NaturallyKait]

When I got up this morning I noticed a few hermit crab legs scattered around the tank, but I didn’t find any other body parts. We only have two hermits, and now that lights are on I’ve confirmed both are accounted for and from what I can tell still have all their legs/claws. It’s safe to assume one of them molted, right? Last week one of them was hiding in a little cave for 4-5 days and eventually came back out when we got the second over the weekend, was he likely molting and that’s why he didn’t want to come out? 

[seabass]

4 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

one of them molted, right?

Yep.

 

4 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

was he likely molting and that’s why he didn’t want to come out?

Generally they are reclusive for a couple of days after a molt, while their exoskeletons are still soft.

[NaturallyKait]

9 minutes ago, seabass said:

Yep.

 

Generally they are reclusive for a couple of days after a molt, while their exoskeletons are still soft.

Perfect, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Easy enough. There are already spare shells in a few sizes in the tank in case they need to upgrade, there’s not really anything else I need to do right? 

[FishBoy69]

Definitely a crab molt... had my first molt in my 20g the other day. it was a cleaner shrimp. buutttttt like it was the full complete body. i originally thought he died but then i saw him on the other side of the tank and i was like "oh shit, i have two now". nope. just a molt 😂

[NaturallyKait]

16 minutes ago, FishBoy69 said:

Definitely a crab molt... had my first molt in my 20g the other day. it was a cleaner shrimp. buutttttt like it was the full complete body. i originally thought he died but then i saw him on the other side of the tank and i was like "oh shit, i have two now". nope. just a molt 😂

A full body I was prepared for, just legs was a bit more concerning lol. 

[FishBoy69]

6 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

A full body I was prepared for, just legs was a bit more concerning lol. 

Now that i think of it, just seeing legs could make me nervous. Something may have munched on the rest of the molt..??

[Ratvan]

14 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

A full body I was prepared for, just legs was a bit more concerning lol. 

 

4 minutes ago, FishBoy69 said:

Now that i think of it, just seeing legs could make me nervous. Something may have munched on the rest of the molt..??

I've had this before. I put it down to the molt going through my filtration and the parts being spat out all over as a result.

[NaturallyKait]

5 minutes ago, FishBoy69 said:

Now that i think of it, just seeing legs could make me nervous. Something may have munched on the rest of the molt..??

The hermits are the biggest things in there (just the two of them, a few snails and a clown goby) so unless one of them ate it I’d guess the rest is just hiding. 

 

1 minute ago, Ratvan said:

 

I've had this before. I put it down to the molt going through my filtration and the parts being spat out all over as a result.

Entirely possible. The rest could also just be hiding in the cave he was hiding in, I may have knocked the legs out with the turkey baster last night when I was blowing detritus off the rocks.