Howie The Crab Faces A Painfully Timed Challenge With Upcoming Molt!

TikTok famous Howie the Crab and her human mom Laura Porter have tons of online support. Through each of Howie's more recent molts, thousands upon thousands of people sent well wishes and love and watched from afar.

Another molt is about to begin and with each molt, it gets tougher and tougher for this little rainbow crab to get through. This molt comes with an additional challenge - the timing causes quite the pinch for Porter who is about to travel to Las Vegas for the Cheer Choice Awards.

Porter shared some information about Howie's upcoming molt on Instagram and explained her "biggest worry."

"Important update: Howie hasn't eaten in more than a week. I was hoping she would eat one more meal before her molt...but that's not looking like it's going to happen," Porter wrote in the Instagram caption.

"What this means is there is a high probability that she will be molting the same time I'm scheduled to be in Las Vegas for the Cheer Choice Awards. This was my biggest worry! I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. If Howie would just eat one more time, it would push her molt back past the time I would be gone."

Many of Howie's fans shared their emotional thoughts in the comments. Many people suggested Porter skip the awards to be present for Howie, and others sent positive thoughts and support.

"You can’t go, period. She’s more important. Maybe they can let you do something remotely," one fan wrote. Another added, "That's genuinely such a stressful predicament to be put in. Praying she has one more meal in her!"

After announcing that Howie is getting ready to molt again, Porter shared her decision on what to do about the upcoming Cheer Choice Awards in a TikTok video.

"It's been between 9 and 10 days since she's eaten, and that's kind of what I was waiting for," she said. "This is not an ideal time, because with estimations of her last molt from when she stopped eating to when she molted was about 32 days, and the one before that was 28. That puts me in a bad position to where when I go to the Cheer Choice Awards, she could molt while I'm there and that's really not what I wanted."

Porter was nominated for two Cheer Choice Awards, for Animal Advocate and Earth Guardian. The ceremony is scheduled for the weekend of April 12 to 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And it's not just an awards thing, you guys. This is for charity to help families and children in need," she said. "And it doesn't work unless influencers go to this. And then I also have fans that have booked trips to come see me, and it would be not nice to put people in the position where they spend all this time and money to come see me, and then I don't go."

Porter continued to explain that even if she were to skip the awards and stay home, she could miss Howie's molt if it happens while she's sleeping or at the store. Later in the video, Porter also pointed out that while Howie is molting, she can't step in and help in any way.

"It actually is very rare to catch a crab molting," she continued. "I've been very lucky because I don't get any sleep when I know she's about molt, and that's really hard. But my husband is going to be staying home and he's helped me care for Howie for years and years and years."

She went on to explain that her husband has always helped with taking care of Howie so the sweet rainbow crab is used to him being around. She also revealed that he's been "the one behind the scenes who has been keeping Howie alive and healthy."

Porter has always been vocal about the importance of helping advocate for crustaceans, and attending the Cheer Choice Awards is something that Porter said can help her further spread her cause.

"They are one of the most abused animals on the planet, and I would really love to have the opportunity to have that platform to speak publicly about it," she continued. "And it would just be the accumulation of what I do online, cause I'm not here trying to make a living. I'm trying to spread a message, and I think Howie would want me to help other crabs."

Porter said there is a possibility that Howie molts before she goes to Vegas, or even after she gets back. The timing is unknown at this point.

She also said that she's aware that no matter what she chooses to do, people will be mad at her and feel she's not "prioritizing" Howie.

"This is about doing more. This is about Howie's legacy for however long she makes it," Porter said. "I wanna be able to say that I stood up for crabs, that this isn't just an attention seeking thing that I do."

Porter's TikTok video grabbed tons of attention from her loyal followers. Many dropped into the comment section of her video to share their thoughts and lend some support.

"This is the third molt I’ve been here for and it never gets any less stressful," one fan shared. Another added, "Most of your followers will understand. This is bigger than Howie now. Showing Howie opened the door to a lot of things and is helping a lot of people now."

Another loyal follower wrote, "You got this Howie!!! Sending love and strength your way!"

Many followers told Porter to go on the trip and share her message!

"Going on the trip is an honor to Howie. Make the trip. We support your decision," one person said.

Another person added, "Laura, do what you feel is right and what you feel good about. The true fans support you, we know how you love Howie."