exoskeleton question (3rd successful molt)

[rufeelinitnowmrkrabs]

my PP just finished a successful (but stressful) molt, for the past few days he has been regaining colour and munching on his exo, he seems about done with it and ready to explore the tank again. (He ate around 90% of it) the problem is; i really need to do some tank cleaning and add some sand.

i just offered him some honey on a popsicle stick which he immediately ate. which is good, but my question is:

should i just clean around him and his exo? or wait a few more days before i touch anything? should i just leave his exo there even though hes not eating it?

[curlysister]

Did he molt on the surface?

[rufeelinitnowmrkrabs]

Did he molt on the surface?

this is the first time he did, he was digging around, (i had enough substrate) but ive been using eco earth ever since i got crabs (8 plus years) and it has worked fine with molting:

problem is, this is the first time he decided to molt in his little hiding den (theres a little bit of eco earth in there) but it was a sign to change. yesterday i just made a lovely play sand mix with eco, its about 3 and a half inches, but im still going to add a little more to even it out since hes getting big.

update: after eating more exo and honey his colour is basically back to normal, but hes still hiding

question: how do i keep more heat in at night? i have a 25 gallon glass aquarium, plastic wrap over some of the top part with a dimish light on durning the day, which also gives off heat, and of course i have a heat pad on the back. its getting cold here in Manitoba!

sorry for the big novel haha

[curlysister]

What?? You are in Manitoba too?? Where abouts? I am in Southwestern Manitoba!

If he molted on the surface, he will be very stressed. Is he isolated from the other crabs? Was this only his third molt in 8 years? Even though you have had them for quite a while, something isn't right for him to have only molted that many times. Substrate needs to be AT LEAST 6 inches deep, or three times as deep as your largest crab.

I know this isn't technically an emergency, but if you can answer the questions in the Emergency template, we can help with tank conditions, heat, etc.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=46102

[rufeelinitnowmrkrabs]

What?? You are in Manitoba too?? Where abouts? I am in Southwestern Manitoba!

If he molted on the surface, he will be very stressed. Is he isolated from the other crabs? Was this only his third molt in 8 years? Even though you have had them for quite a while, something isn't right for him to have only molted that many times. Substrate needs to be AT LEAST 6 inches deep, or three times as deep as your largest crab.

I know this isn't technically an emergency, but if you can answer the questions in the Emergency template, we can help with tank conditions, heat, etc.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 27&t=46102

omg!! no way! thats awesome! small world eh? im in the great ol' city!!

but yes, the poor little guy, he has been alone for about a year now (i wanna get him a pal in the future but I'm not sure where in WPG i want to buy from yet)

this is his first surface molt. and oh yeah! he molted so many times throughout my life i lost track! 3 is just counting the most recent times! i should've clarified that better. But my current eco/sand mix is at 4 inches but will be filled more since im still doing tank renovations!

i will for sure fill out that template if things take a turn for the worst

thanks for your help!

[curlysister]

I grew up in Winnipeg. I don't think there's anyone else from Manitoba on the HCA, at least that I know of! There was one other person here in my small town who had crabs, but they all died (she wouldn't follow my advice). She gave me her 55gallon free! I know of one person in Brandon who has hermit crabs and who has a good set up. She's on the Facebook page, but not on this forum. She advertises on eBrandon that she will take in any unwanted crabs. I got Sonny and Cher from someone who was giving them away on eBrandon, over 8 years ago! I had no idea about their care when I got them, I had a steep learning curve! I know there are other sites out there, but when I found the HCA I decided to only follow advice from this forum. There are a lot of great people on here, from all over the world!

[rufeelinitnowmrkrabs]

I grew up in Winnipeg. I don't think there's anyone else from Manitoba on the HCA, at least that I know of! There was one other person here in my small town who had crabs, but they all died (she wouldn't follow my advice). She gave me her 55gallon free! I know of one person in Brandon who has hermit crabs and who has a good set up. She's on the Facebook page, but not on this forum. She advertises on eBrandon that she will take in any unwanted crabs. I got Sonny and Cher from someone who was giving them away on eBrandon, over 8 years ago! I had no idea about their care when I got them, I had a steep learning curve! I know there are other sites out there, but when I found the HCA I decided to only follow advice from this forum. There are a lot of great people on here, from all over the world!

I was surprised myself to see anyone else from Manitoba! And that’s too bad about her crabs :/ but that’s great that you got a free tank! I know how expensive they can be. A few years ago I picked up a 80 gallon in rural MB for $80! When the whole set up was worth over $1200! Crazy deals you can find sometimes. Definitely going to make it a crabitat one day that’s so cute! I’m glad you adopted them and they went to an amazing home!! I’d rather adopt unwanted crabs than purchase any day! But I agree. Everyone has been so helpful on here, I’ve learned a lot myself!
But just out of curiosity, where do you get your crabbing supplies ? Online ?



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[curlysister]

Yes, I get pretty much everything online. Brandon is my closest city, there are a couple of pet stores but they have pretty much nothing for crabs except cuttlebone in the bird section, and freeze dried shrimp. I do get play sand from the Home Hardware there. I order shells from Naples Seashell company, and food and Instant Ocean from the Hermit Crab Patch.
As for your question about heating, I actually have three UTH - a big one on the back and a smaller one on each side. That way I can plug in/ unplug them depending on the temperature. My tank is in my sewing room upstairs, in an old farm house with no a/c. There's a baseboard heater in that room, so I can keep the room a bit warmer in the winter. I do want to add some insulation over top of the Ultratherms on each side so I don't have to keep the room quite as warm (altho the cats love it in there, LOL). If you have Zoomed (or any heaters that are sticky on one side, you can insulate AROUND them but not OVER TOP of them).

[rufeelinitnowmrkrabs]

Yes, I get pretty much everything online. Brandon is my closest city, there are a couple of pet stores but they have pretty much nothing for crabs except cuttlebone in the bird section, and freeze dried shrimp. I do get play sand from the Home Hardware there. I order shells from Naples Seashell company, and food and Instant Ocean from the Hermit Crab Patch.
As for your question about heating, I actually have three UTH - a big one on the back and a smaller one on each side. That way I can plug in/ unplug them depending on the temperature. My tank is in my sewing room upstairs, in an old farm house with no a/c. There's a baseboard heater in that room, so I can keep the room a bit warmer in the winter. I do want to add some insulation over top of the Ultratherms on each side so I don't have to keep the room quite as warm (altho the cats love it in there, LOL). If you have Zoomed (or any heaters that are sticky on one side, you can insulate AROUND them but not OVER TOP of them).

Great! But same with me. The closest pet store to me stopped carrying hermit crabs and hermit crab supplies all together last year! Grr haha, I just ordered some shells off Naples too, excited to get them in since turbos are almost impossible to find in stores. My room is quite similar to yours actually. I’m in an upstairs room that only has ONE vent. So it’s a little uncomfortably cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, luckily I have a heat fan. Which helps me and the crab a lot lol. (But boy, I’m sure the crabs love it in the summer!)
that’s a good idea! I currently have two UTH heaters. I’m probably gonna buy one more and Just plug it in when i need it. I’ve thought about insulating around my tank too. But have been too afraid of fire hazards. (I’ve seen people put blankets on TOP of their tank lights in an attempt to keep heat in! Yikes!)
But thank you so much for all your help! I appreciate it




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