Large G. Chiragra... One day molt?

[DylanE]

So I came home today to find that my G. Chiragra, which is about 3.5", had molted while i was at school...

Is this normal? I thought that it is suppose to take over a week, even more so with larger smashers...

Also, I have an emerald crab in there that is about a third his size, should i remove it till he has a few days to bounce back? It already only has one claw.

 

[justinl]

The actual molting (edysis) only takes about a minute. more or less depending on size but no more than a few unless there are complications.

What we hobbyists sometimes refer to when we say molting, is actually the molting process (which is slightly incorrect but meh). Before the actual ecdysis, a crustacean sucks nutrients from the old cuticle, starts to grow a new one under the old and its attachments to the old on the inside. The actual ecdysis involves puffing itself up with water pressure so as to split the old weakened cuticle and then crawling out.

edit: btw, people usually let the cuticle stay in the tank for a few days since the mantis (or a range of other critters) like to eat the old cuticle.