I was just sifting out hte sand in the hermit tank, and I found a ugly, dismembered leg and some other parts all strung together?!?! are the burried ones like killing each other or something!?!?! Im very disturbed by this carnage in my habitat! What should I do?!?!

I don't know if crabs are aggressive with each other but I do know they are scavengers. It's possible the remains are from one that died a natural death and the others just stashed it away for later.

Ive only had these crabs for 2 weeks!!! and I didnt smell any death!

Are you sure it's not an empty leg? Crabbies shed their outer layer just like snakes do. Is it hollow or are you sure it's a piece of crab?

are you missing any crabs. in your post you mentioned you bought 2...do you still have 2 or is one missing. if the two are alive and then they may be shedding, but if one is missing maybe it passed away.

I have 4 crabs, 2 of which are burried(have been since I got them). This leg was under thewater dish, off to the side(sort of near where their burried).

I didnt bother to check if it was empty or not....I just stuck it back in the sand and quit cleaning the tank.

I did read about the shedding the skin, but I didnt know they did it as soon as you got them..Devs said they were just 'De-Stressing' under the sand, she didnt say they were shedding!

So, if it is an EMPTY leg, dont worry about it?
what if it is actually crab?

If it's actually crab maybe they are overcrowded and fighting or maybe they are hungry.

My yabby (crayfish) shed last night and the shell is complete - I thought it was another yabby.

finding body parts must be a bit freaky for you can you pick up the crabs and count their legs to see if they have them all intact (???) i dont have hermit crabs so if this is a silly suggestion, let me know

Unfortunately cannibalism among hermit crabs is VERY common. WHile they are molting they are extremely vulnerable and unfortunately they give off a scent that is very appealing to the other crabs. If you dont have deep enough substrate in your tank (Im talking at least 4") then the other crabs will be able to smell them very easily.

It is possible that it is an exoskeleton of the crab too and that it molted. Its common for new crabs to molt very soon after getting them. As soon as they are out of the horrible pet store tanks and in a tank with good substrate and moisture, they will molt.

I would suggest reading up on them a lot. They are very, very difficult pets to care for and there is a lot of great information about them out there.

http://www.hermit-crabs.com/
Read through the message board and you'll learn tons:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/

That's interesting Jenny. Any tips on Yabbies?

Well, I finished clening my tank today(i never knew little, seemingly inactive critters would poop so much) anyhow, the leg is gone, ther were just some crumbs of 'stuff' I can only describe as crunchy.

I saw the tops of the shells of the burried ones sticking out of hte sand when I put the tank back together, so I guess theyre under there....and there was a whole network of tunnels under the sand, so I guess theyre under there.

There is no noticable smell of anything other than the food, so Im assuming theyre not dead.

I would count their legs, but the 3 Ive seen all had different numbers of legs....

I have 4 of them in a 10 gal, which I was told wouldnt be too crowded, since the rule of thumb is something like 2 crabs per gallon of tank? i forget, exactly.

they have about 3 or 4 inches of sand on the bottom, and a few inches of dirt stuff on the top floor of their tank, so its nice and moist in there

I ahve been doing alot of research on them, Ive been planning for these for a few mothns now!

That sounds like a really good setup! You said in your other post that you joined the hermit crab messageboard! Is it with your same username? Mine is. I'll keep a lookout for you over there. Its a great board, friendly and very helpful.

Since you said they have different numbers of legs its possible that theyve lost some due to stress, which is pretty common. If theyre kept in good conditions (like it sounds like your tank is) they should grow back within a few molts. I had a tiny little ruggie who lost a leg soon after I got him. The next time I saw him up his leg was a little gel limb, then the next time I saw him he had molted again and there was a whole brand new leg!

yup, Im smack536 on here, applesnail, and hermies....
The burried ones came up last night, actually, and are cruising around like bulldozers feeding their faces.
One question though, one of them(the one that was always most active) has NO LEGS! just 2 claws and some little nubs.....hes turning a od greyish color...is he dyeing?
I think all my crabs are purple pinchers, since they all have a purple big claw, but the one is bright red on the rest of its body.....never read about that....hope to see you on the other board...I havent posted yet, just been reading so far!

hermit crabs will attack each other if there is not enough room.

[quote=smack536,Nov 23 2004, 11:11 PM]


I did read about the shedding the skin, but I didnt know they did it as soon as you got them..Devs said they were just 'De-Stressing' under the sand, she didnt say they were shedding!

Sorry Hun! It's hard to remember every little detail without writing the entire book! I'm no expert,I can only tell you what I know ,or can remember. As for the one with nubs and claws, is he one of the ones that just came back up after being buried? Could be he dropped his legs when you first brought him home from the stress of things. The nubs sound like they may be the legs growing back. Can't say for sure without seeing pics. As for the gray coloring,when Hermies molt,they go through quite alot of color changes,so it's hard to say. Is this guy being pretty active since he came up?