I thought he was dead...

[newbie25]

after about 3 weeks I dug him up from under the sand, and it appeared that his legs were lifeless and dead. So I pulled out the dead pieces, washing with water, but then realized that his body was retracting to the back of the shell.

It seems he must have been molting old skins.

Unfortunately, in the removal of the old skins, 4 of his new legs came off also (two pincers and two legs). I feel really bad. Is it still possible for him to recover?

I have put him into a separate tank away from the others. Put food around him, plus water and salted water. Plus a little bit of honey on the edge of his shell.

Is there anything else I can do?

Has anyone else experience this? Will his legs grow back?

[WizKidsMom]

The rule is never disturb a crab! Sounds like he was in the middle of a molt and your stressed him out.
He needs to be covered - a hut or similar to give him darkness. Put the honey in a small cap or small food dish. Try honey with tiny pieces of apple or his favorite food.
Then you have to wait and see if he survives.

[krackersmom2]

If he lost BOTH pinchers, then he can't feed himself. They normally use the small pincher to break off bits of food and put it into their mouth. This can be done with the BP if necessary, but if that is gone too, then that's not good. They also need to eat their exoskeleton that they shed to help replinish the calcium to harden their new exo. The legs might not have been such a big deal, but the pinchers...yes If you accidentally dig up a molting crab, Place a hermie hut over it and do not attempt to move it or rebury. I know you did not mean to harm your crabby.....They are able to shed their exo completely on their own and it is a process that can take days to complete. It is also not good to get a freshly molted crab wet.
Keep us posted.....Hang in there!

[silver616]

Unfortunately, without either of his pincers he will not be able to feed himself (as was previously mentioned) which means he most likely will not survive. In the future, do not go digging for buried crabs...they are down b/c they are normally buried b/c they are molting or de-stressing...in either case, they should not be bothered!!!!!!!!! Even if it seems like they have been down for a long time and as tempting as it is.....don't dig them up. If for some reason, you do accidentally disturb them...do not try to re-bury them and definitiely do not begin pulling at their limbs!!!!!! If they are dead, trust me, you will know (they will fall completely out of their shell and they will stink terribly).

Any updates on your crab?

[newbie25]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

He is still alive, and in a separate tank now in darkness. I put some honey mixed with corn and apple on the edge of his shell, and placed him on top of crab food. There is water and salted water close also.

I can see that he has 2 legs still, but looks a little weak. I will let him rest now and see what happens.

[HERMEZ]

He can feed himself...provided you feed him and or make it all mush foods- you can do this effectively with raw honey- spirulina-cuttlebone powder- etc etc just think outside the box- baby food you can make a mish mosh of good energy/protein foods in a combo and he will eat.........I have had to do this for many crabs- I have one now that does not have either pincher from his molt and I am not doing anything for him but making sure I put some mush food in there for him but he is fine- they eat with those inner arms that wipe their eyes off- dont give up hope!!

[alli'smommy]

Please don't beat yourself up. I'm sure you're not the first to have made this mistake. Just do as Hermez said and keep us posted.

[Hildegarde]

As for your question if your crab's legs will grow back: Yes, if he lives long enough for another moult, his legs should grow back. Often in a situation like this the crab will moult much earlier than usual. Good luck, I hope he makes it.

[MoribundMaverick]

Wow, I had a very similar thing with a crab!!
My crab Tiffany had a quickie surface molt in her water bowl over the winter.... She lost both pinchers and another leg, and was barely mobil at first. I had to hand-feed her with a toothpick. The crabs actually have two little bitty weird things... I have no clue what they are... next to their mouth. I had to be really still, and it took about 45 minutes twice a day to feed her, but it worked.

I bought foods that I knew were extra high in calcium and dampened them. Then I stabbed them with a toothpick and held her and the toothpick up so that she could eat. At first she wouldn't do it, but she got used to it and ended up eating off of the toothpick.

After a while she did gain her mobility back, and she started sprouting gel legs. Unfortunately she didn't live to her next molt, but she did live for about a month or two after the lost-leg-catastrophy.

Hope that helps.

[Hermie's rule]

Originally Posted by MoribundMaverick

Wow, I had a very similar thing with a crab!!
My crab Tiffany had a quickie surface molt in her water bowl over the winter.... She lost both pinchers and another leg, and was barely mobil at first. I had to hand-feed her with a toothpick. The crabs actually have two little bitty weird things... I have no clue what they are... next to their mouth. I had to be really still, and it took about 45 minutes twice a day to feed her, but it worked.

I bought foods that I knew were extra high in calcium and dampened them. Then I stabbed them with a toothpick and held her and the toothpick up so that she could eat. At first she wouldn't do it, but she got used to it and ended up eating off of the toothpick.

After a while she did gain her mobility back, and she started sprouting gel legs. Unfortunately she didn't live to her next molt, but she did live for about a month or two after the lost-leg-catastrophy.

Hope that helps.

I think that those thingies next to their mouth are called mandibles! Correct me someone if I'm wrong...