As a hermit crab owner, one of the most worrying sights is seeing your pet crab lying motionless outside its shell. Is it dead or just molting? This is a common dilemma that all hermit crab keepers face at some point. With some detective work and patience you can get to the bottom of what is going on with your crab.
Hermit crabs are prone to periods of inactivity due to molting or stress. It can be extremely difficult to determine whether your crab is dead, molting, or just chilling out. However, there are some clear signs you can look for to identify a deceased crab. With the right knowledge, you can avoid accidentally discarding a healthy molting crab.
Here is a handy guide on how to tell if your hermit crab is dead or molting, and what to do in either scenario.
How To Identify A Dead Hermit Crab
Unfortunately hermit crabs don’t live forever. Their lifespan in captivity is roughly 10-15 years, though some can live over 30 years. Here are the top signs that your hermit crab has passed away
1. Rotten Smell
The most obvious indicator of a dead hermit crab is a foul, fishy odor coming from their shell or body. A deceased crab starts decomposing rapidly, giving off a very distinct rotten stench. Carefully pick up the crab and sniff – if there is a strong rotten or ammonia-like smell, it is no longer alive.
2. Lack Of Movement
A healthy hermit crab is active and mobile. Gently touch or nudge the crab – even molting crabs will react a little if disturbed. If your crab is completely unresponsive and lifeless when touched, it is likely dead.
3. Disconnected Body Parts
During a molt, hermit crabs will shed their exoskeleton, including limbs and antennae. These discarded parts may look like a dead crab next to the shell. However, the exuvia (molted remains) will be hollow, brittle and empty inside. If the lifeless crab has a solid body, it is deceased rather than molted remains.
4. Buried For Weeks
It’s normal for hermit crabs to dig burrows to hide out and destress. But if your pet has been buried for several weeks with no signs of emerging, it may have died underground. Carefully unearth it and check for a rotten smell just to be sure.
5. Out Of The Shell
Finding a hermit crab laying motionless outside its shell is alarming. First check if it is just an empty exoskeleton from molting. If the crab has a stiff, solid body and is unresponsive when touched, it is likely dead.
6. White Flesh
A dead hermit crab’s flesh will be white or opaque, unlike the translucent appearance of a healthy living crab. This is due to tissue breakdown after death.
Signs Your Crab Is Molting, Not Dead
Hermit crabs molt to grow, which involves shedding their entire exoskeleton. This leaves them vulnerable, inactive and hidden away while regrowing their shell. It’s critical not to disturb molting crabs, so you need to recognize the signs:
-
Lethargic: Molting crabs spend up to 6 weeks inactive in their shell while regenerating. Lack of movement doesn’t always mean dead.
-
Buried Underground: Crabs instinctively bury themselves to safely molt away from threats. A buried crab is likely molting.
-
Empty Shell: Molted crabs emerge soft, defenseless and shell-less. Finding a lifeless body outside the shell may just be discarded exoskeleton.
-
Newly Molted: If your crab has molted recently, finding it inactive likely means it is between molts.
-
Fat Abdomen: Before molting, crabs gorge then store nutrition in an abdominal “fat bubble” to power the molt.
-
Milky Eyes: Molting crabs develop a milky film over their eyes as the exoskeleton separates.
-
Losing Limbs: It’s normal for limbs and antennae to come off during the molting process.
-
No Odor: Unlike a dead crab, a molting crab won’t have a fishy smell.
Caring For A Molting Crab
If you suspect your inactive hermit crab is molting, here is how to care for it:
-
Leave it completely alone in a quiet environment until it finishes molting.
-
Isolate it from other crabs who may disturb it while it’s vulnerable.
-
Provide plenty of humidity and water in case it emerges soft-shelled.
-
Ensure proper heat and ample food is available nearby.
-
Resistance the urge to dig it up – this can be fatal if it’s mid-molt.
-
Monitor for signs of life like tracks in the sand or antennae movement.
-
Wait several weeks before taking any action. Molting can take 1-3 months.
With patience and by avoiding disturbance, a molting crab has the best chance of successfully emerging healthy from its shed.
How To Confirm If Your Crab Is Dead
If your inactive hermit crab isn’t showing clear signs of molting, you’ll need to investigate further to determine if it has passed away. Here are some tips:
-
Scoop out a buried crab to check for a rotten smell up close.
-
Look for white, opaque flesh signaling tissue death.
-
Check thoroughly for any movement at all in response to light, sound or touch.
-
Remove the crab from the habitat and isolate it to observe for signs of life.
-
Check regularly over several weeks before making a call.
-
Gently remove the body from the shell and inspect if decomposition is present.
It can take weeks or months to be certain about a motionless crab. Allow ample time for molting or destressing before declaring your pet dead.
How To Dispose Of A Dead Crab
Once you have confirmed your hermit crab is deceased, you’ll need to remove and dispose of the body properly:
-
Wear gloves when handling the dead crab to avoid bacteria.
-
Scoop out a buried body along with surrounding sand for sanitation.
-
Place the intact crab into a sealed bag then dispose in the main trash.
-
Never flush deceased crabs as they can contaminate water sources.
-
Backyard burial under a foot of soil is an alternate disposal method.
-
Thoroughly disinfect the empty tank before adding any new crabs.
Saying goodbye to your deceased pet can be tough. Some owners hold small memorial services or funerals to pay their respects. Ultimately, do whatever provides closure during this sad loss.
When To Worry About An Inactive Crab
While molting and destressing explain most periods of inactive behavior, any prolonged change in your hermit crab’s health or behavior is cause for concern.
Contact an exotic veterinarian if your crab shows:
-
Lack of appetite for over 1 week
-
Inactivity lasting over 3 months
-
Failure to emerge from a molt
-
Signs of injury or illness
-
Buried underground for over 6 weeks
With attentive care and prompt veterinary help when required, most issues can be addressed to get your crab thriving once again.
Be Patient With Your Molting Crab
Finding an inactive or lifeless hermit crab in your tank is very alarming. Yet more often than not, an immobile crab is simply molting or chilling out in isolation. Avoid hastily discarding a healthy molting pet by being patient and giving your crab ample time to finish its shed.
Look for key signs like a rotten smell or opaque flesh to positively identify a deceased crab before removal. When in doubt, assume your pet is molting and leave it undisturbed. With the proper care and detection skills, you can rest easy knowing your beloved crab is safe and sound.
Disposing of a Dead Crab
- In the community, people say that yes, hermit crabs do eat their old shells. Don’t take away their old exoskeletons; they need them to make their new skins stronger.
- This question asks if hermit crabs eat everything or just plants. The community answer says they eat everything. If they are out in the wild, they will eat anything they can find, from dead animals to parts of windflowers. In pet stores, you can find hermit crab food that has both meat and plants in it. It’s also good to give them different kinds of food every so often.
- What should I do to get my crab to move? Ask the Community: What should I do? You can lightly stroke the crab to get him to move. Stay with him until he’s ready to move if he still doesn’t want to.
Reader Success Stories
- Tyra Laminsoff “This entire article was helpful to me. We didnt plan on bringing home a hermit crab. The kids at my son’s friend’s birthday party asked him if he wanted to crab. Hermies came home with us. Ive never even had a fish before!”. ” more .
How to Tell If a Hermit Crab Is Dead
Is my hermit crab dead or just molting?
Before we can tell if your pet is dead or just molting, it’s important to first know what the process actually looks like. Hermit crabs have exoskeletons that periodically need to be shed as its body grows. This process happens a couple of times throughout its lifetime, and it is called molting.
How do you know if a hermit crab is dead?
This is the surest way to identify a dead hermit crab. If your hermit crab dies, it will begin to decompose – and its carcass will begin to smell putrid. If you can’t smell anything, pick the crab out of the tank to get a closer whiff. If you smell a salty, rotten scent, there’s a good chance that your crab has passed away.
Are Hermit Crabs Dead?
Hermit crabs are often mistaken for being dead when molting their exoskeletons. During the second phase of the molting process, hermit crabs appear lifeless. Aside from the tip of the tail, most of the body hangs limply outside the shell. The exoskeleton is made of chitin, a type of protein.
What does a dead hermit crab smell like?
A dead hermit crab will start to emit a fishy smell as its body decays and gets eaten by other crabs. A molting one does not emit this smell since it has just recently molted, and it is still soft and vulnerable. This rotten smell is actually a sign that its tankmates are feasting on the deceased individual’s body.