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It finally happened! Howie the crab has molted! After 30 long days watching and hoping for good news, not only did Howie’s fans find out that she finally was able to molt, but more than 14,000 of them had the opportunity to watch her do it live on TikTok.
If you were lucky enough to be scrolling on TikTok between around 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday night, you got the chance to see the little rainbow crab in action molting after 30 days of fasting and getting ready for this big moment. Howie’s mom went live so all her fans could witness this miracle moment happening. The entire molt took more than an hour and many of the nearly 15,000 fans who were watching stuck it out and stayed for the entire nerve-wracking, but exciting live experience.
As Howie was actively pushing to get out of her tight shell, her mom was cheering her on along with everyone in the chat of the live. Messages of encouragement and excitement scrolled in the chat. “You got this Howie,” “Get it girl,” “yessss victory is ours,” This is really cool to watch. I have watched her progress. Cheering her on. She is gonna do this,” and many other positive thoughts scrolled by quickly in the chat during the video. And while Howie is molting and getting cheered on by thousands, cheery Christmas music played in the background to help set the exciting scene.
Viewers of the live got the chance to see how the molting process works, and for many people watching, this was a total learning experience they likely couldn’t get in too many other places. Howie’s mom explained what was going on so people could understand since it was tough to know just what viewers were seeing at times. First viewers saw the crack in Howie’s shell and watched as it got bigger and bigger. Towards the end, her eyes and feet were freed from the shell and there were cheers and tears of joy all around.
As time progressed, more and more fans began joining the live. By the end of the experience, the live video received more than 4 million likes. The biggest cheers came when Howie completely backed up from her shell and moved around freely. Howie’s mom explained that the next step will be Howie eating her old shell. She also wrote in the comments of her TikTok video showing clips of the molt that she hasn’t eaten it yet because, “she has to inflate her body and harden a little. I’ll offer food tomorrow when she’s settled.”
During the entire molting process, Howie’s mom shared updates in videos and photos on both TikTok and Instagram. She made sure to include both platforms in the exciting news of Howie’s molt.
“HOWIE MOLTED!!! We can all breathe again. I’m so relieved…I can’t even begin to describe the stress I was under. We’re gonna have so many more adventures. Howie is going to get to ride in a helicopter! I’m so happy 😭❤️❤️❤️” the most recent TikTok video is captioned. The video was shared only ten hours ago and is close to getting a million views already.
Fans of the rainbow crab dropped into the comment section to explain how happy and relieved they all are feeling right about now. “If you told me 6 months ago I’d be crying about a TikTok of a crab molting… well…I’d totally believe you, but still. Yay Howie!! 🦀❤️,” one fan wrote. Another added, “I RAN TO THIS PAGE!!! YASSSS!!! HOWIE MOLTEDDDDD!!!”
“Howie is looking gorgeous and I’m so glad that molt is over so I can breathe again,” one happy fan wrote. Another follower is happy a Christmas wish came true saying, “Howie you just made everyone Christmas wish!! Howie you did good!!”
Filed Under: Entertainment, Internet & social media, Smart News, TikTok