Molting

Molting is the process that occurs when hermit crabs shed their exoskeleton and then slowly eat the shed exoskeleton for nutrients.

While hermit crabs can molt on the surface of the substrate (as they are often forced to due to the use of aquarium gravel as the only substrate), the crab is more likely to lose a leg or pincher, or even die, in the process.

SuperCrab molted on the surface for 9 years, as mentioned previously, losing a pincher a couple of times, but always regaining it during its next molt. However, three of his compatriots perished while attempting to do the same.

Once I fixed his crabitat up so that he would have somewhere to bury himself and molt, he picked it up immediately and molted underground for the first time in his 9 years, acting purely on instinct. Proof that he preferred being buried for molting? His substrate was half aquarium gravel, half sand at the time, and he chose to tunnel in the sand. In fact, he stayed underground for a good month and a half that first molt, and returned healthier than he had ever been.