Now That TikTok Favorite Howie The Crab Successfully Molted, What's Next?

Howie the crab finally molted! And she did it live on TikTok for all her fans and followers to witness. After a long 30-day fasting process, the beloved rainbow crab finally freed herself from her confining shell, but now everyone wants to know what happens next.

Howie's fans were more than excited that the popular crab was finally able to molt. Some of Howie's Instagram followers shared their feelings of relief in the comment section of a clip of the molting process. "THIS IS SUCH A RELIEF HOWIE. BEEN INCLUDING YOU IN MY PRAYERS. SENDING LOOOOVE!!! GO YOU LITTLE ROCKSTAR!!! 🦀," one fan wrote. Another added, "Howie saves Xmas 😍😍😍😍 so so happy and relieved."

One follower explained that she learned a lot about this process by following Howie's updates. "Wow that is incredible! She looks so soft and fresh! I was curious if her legs and everything shed; that was quite intense - no wonder it took awhile to build up the energy for such a process! I’ve learned a lot - thank you for sharing and yay such relief for you now!! ❤️ 🦀"

After not eating for an entire month, many fans wanted to know if the sweet crab has had a meal since shedding her old shell. Others wanted to know if she ate her shell yet, which is what she will eventually do. The day after she molted, Howie's mom posted an update video on Instagram captioned, "I offered her cheese today and she turned it down. Howie is still hardening her shell. It'll be a while until we're back to normal ❤️"

The most recent Instagram update says, "Howie is slowly starting to grow her new shell. She's already looking better!" Many took to the comments to say how great she's looking and ask some more questions about the process.

The video captioned, "Lots of people have asked to see Howie's old exoskeleton. Here's a semi educational overview of what's left," further educated Howie's fans on the process that everyone watched Howie endure. "This is so cool! The relief I felt seeing that she molted! How often do they molt?," one fan asked in the comments. Howie's mom responded, "It depends on their age. I'm hoping for 10 months until her next one."

Another fan asked, "Her stomach molts also, or just the lining surrounding it? That’s so cool, thank you so much for this overview of it I learned a lot," to which Howie's mom replied, "It's the lining of her stomach and intestinal tract. A larger one grows around the old one and she pushes the old one out."

One person asked how Howie's doing now that she finally molted. "She's doing okay. Her new shell is starting to form. She's still not eating yet I'm until her body settles a little more," Howie's mom responded. One question on many fan's minds is about the next molt. "If this molt was the worse yet. Does that mean the next one will be difficult??" The answer Howie's mom gave to that question is concerning. "Yes the next one will be even more difficult." Another person also asked about the next molt to which Howie's mom sadly responded, "As difficult as this one was, I'd only estimate about a %20 chance of survival on her next one and that's being generous 😓"