On Monday I cleaned the tank and added some new coral sand. To do this I had to put the crabs in their playpen. I counted them and someone was missing. I turned the tank upside down and didn’t find anyone. I finally narrowed it down to Iris as the one missing. I had no idea where she had gone, but assumed she had managed to escape unnoticed the night my stepdad was repairing the screen lid, even though the plexiglass lid was in place.
Later that night I put out water and food for her in hopes she’d come out. Mom and I were watching the crabs because Loki was going to change shells. After her changed, my large black Ruggie came over and they were pushing each other around. I didn’t want it to escalate into a fight so I got out the ziploc back of spare shells and started picking some out. I picked up the shell that Iris came home in but that I thought she changed out of. WRONG! She was in the shell in the bag! I was sure she was dead but I felt her move. I placed her upside down in the water pool and she slowly came out and flipped over. She soaked a bit and then I put her in the salt water. She sat there for a few seconds then climbed out and went to settle in.
I’m afraid she may be too dehydrated to make it but last night she did change shells. I feel so bad! I normally count the crabs as I put them back into the tank and I must have miscounted. I left those empty shells in the bin to dry out before I bagged them up and never noticed her! Poor baby 🙁