how do i know?

[sami]

How do i know for sure if a hermit crab is preparing for a molt? How long does it usually take for them to complete the process of molting?

[MoribundMaverick]

Well my crabs tend to do really WEIRD things with molting, but I can usually tell when they become a little less active, they start digging a lot, and eating a lot.

They usually bury themselves when they molt, but I've also had my share of surface molters.
If you get a surface molter he actually will look like he's dead. They hang half way out of their shells, or sometimes almost all the way, and just lie really still. At first it will smell fishy, but after a few days if the smell doesn't increase, then that means it's most likely molting. This should be confirmed by you slowly seeing their exo come off.

I actually had a crab molt in 12 hours, but that was only ONCE, and I've never heard of any other crab doing that. I've heard that it can last up to four weeks, but it also depends on the size of the crab.

Hope that helps

[alli'smommy]

My small crabs usually take about 2-4 weeks, that's from the time they go down till the time they come back up. My mediums take anywhere from 6-8 weeks. Mine also get sluggish, eat alot, and hang out in the water dishes. I had one once that was "floating" in the salt water bowl for hours. I thought he'd drowned, so I took him out. He was alive, and went right back in and stayed overnight!! He buried within two days of that and molted!!

[sami]

Mine are still new to the home, but they seem to not eat much and like to mostly hang out in the corners. i also haven't really seen them drink their water a whole lot.

Thankyou everyone for your advice

[silver616]

The key with having a molting crab is not to freak out and dig around looking for them when they're buried for a while. The time it takes to molt depends on the size and the crab. Mine typically take a few (3-4) weeks at the most, but I've heard of some crabs taking longer. The only "sign" that they're getting ready to molt that I usually notice is the salt water seeming to disappear quickly and sometimes mine seem to dig around in a few places before they settle in one for the molt. Crabs also get a molt sac that looks like a little ball of gel on their back legs, but I usually seem to miss that "sign" myself.

[alli'smommy]

Yeah, I've only seen the molt sac a couple of times, since they have to come out pretty far to see it. I have also heard that their color will go "ashy" before a molt, but I either don't know what that really means or I've never paid attention to it. Mine usually look the same until after the molt when they are a beautiful bright color! The actions tell me more than the appearance! If they are missing a limb, they will start to develop a "gel bud" to replace the limb during the molt. I have seen that on two of my crabs!

[List Of Demands]

i had one only take about a week and a half but that was only one time, and now when he goes down it's about 4-5 weeks, my biggest, which is i think a bit bigger then a small but not quite medium sized one, takes about 5-6 weeks usually, and my other one usually take about 5 weeks. I hope that helps a bit.