Hermit dead or molted?

[magnificentNovice]

Noticed this in my tank and haven't experienced a molt before. My gut reaction was that it was a dead body. Snails don't seem to be after it, unless I missed the feast.

I heard that if it still had eyes in the stalks that it was a dead hermit. Under the microscope you can see the whole stalk and the textured lensing, but there's no coloration like I've seen in other dead crab close-ups. Is the eye cover part of the exoskeleton or am I being overly optimistic here?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Noticed this in my tank and haven't experienced a molt before. My gut reaction was that it was a dead body. Snails don't seem to be after it, unless I missed the feast.

I heard that if it still had eyes in the stalks that it was a dead hermit. Under the microscope you can see the whole stalk and the textured lensing, but there's no coloration like I've seen in other dead crab close-ups. Is the eye cover part of the exoskeleton or am I being overly optimistic here?

I'm not sure with the eyes, but one easy way to tell for sure is to cut it open - if there's flesh inside, it's a carcass; if there's no flesh, it's a molt.