I used to keep land hermits. When they molt, they bury themselves underground for like a month, where they molt their old “skin” then eat it. Once their new exoskeleton has hardened, they comes out from underground. If the crab is dead, you will be able to dump it out of the shell. It will not hold itself in. And if you touch it, it should retract and pull away to try to protect itself.So I need help. This is my first hermit crab and it went into their new shell. And their big claw fell. It stopped moving but I dont see anything happening. Its been like this for 2 or 5 days but I haven't smelled anything strange from the cage. So this is what it looks like. I dont like the cage but I cant really get a new one atm. It changed from its yellow shell to the big one that you see im the photo. And yes its a land hermit crab
I’m not sure what happens if they cannot bury themselves to molt. I kept mine in about 2 inches of peat. I had a couple that hibernated in the corner of the tank for about a month to molt. They come back very brightly colored. I believe sand can be used too, but whatever substrate you use, it should be deep enough that the crabs can fully bury themselves.
