Thought hermie was stuck in shell, now won't move when held

Where we discuss the behavior of our hermit crabs, as in fights, pecking orders, shell swaps, etc. Please post all naked-crab posts in the Emergency forum.
Locked

Topic author
Guest

Thought hermie was stuck in shell, now won't move when held

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:48 am

Hi - I'm new to this list. I've had 2 hermies for 1.5 years. They have been doing very well. They both molted about 6 months ago. I initially wanted to post an emergency note on Satruday, but I didn't have an account and needed to wait for it to be activated.

The problem... Einsteen had been burried for weeks. I would check on him and he was ok. Then another 2+ weeks went by and I checked on him under the substrate and he appeared stuck in his small shell. He never changed shells when he molted last year. I could only see his pincher and part of one leg and knew he was alive as the pincher would move slightly. I waited a few hours and he never moved or burried again. I found some articles online that said if they don't come out to greet you they are either "stuck, sick, or dead". We found some weak spots in his shell and cut out a larger opening. I was afraid he was starving if stuck. I put him in a separate tank and left him with popcorn, food, shells and water. Would come back and the popcorn would be devoured and he would have moved from one area to the next. BUT, if I ever pick him up he won't move or come out of shell. Frozen like a statue! I peeked on him last night and saw his eyes come out and move a bit. My hermies always come out to greet me so I have never seen this before. He is still in his old small shell that was cut open to make a bigger opening. Any advice would be welcome. Don't know why he won't go in a bigger shell. I'm thinking he is sick and needs to build up some strength.

1/31/update:

I put Einstein back into the big tank. Bought some more shells (and pulled out some smaller ones I had from before) and WHALA, this morning he was out of the small one and into a new one. I think the shells I had before where too big and he finally found one he liked! He used to ALWAYS poke his head out when I held him. He has this COOL arrow shape on this back/neck. It's still odd to me that he hides in his shell, but maybe he is stressing or pre-molt. He has molted already within the past 6 months. Thanks for everyones help. I will leave them alone now :). I do keep the tank very humid. Use saran wrap over the screen top to keep the humidity in. I have a heat pad under the substrate under a cave, but don't think that keeps it warm enough. THe temp gage says 65-70. I live in Northern NY so it's chilly right now. I have a heat lamp that I can put on top of the screen top, but won't leave it there when not home and think that could dry them out? I thought I read to use a glass lid? How does air get in?


Thanks.
Julie
Last edited by Guest on Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:21 am

Hi Julie,

First of all Welcome- Welcome!! :D

Being somewhat new to crabbing myself I'm not too sure what to tell you. :oops: Can I assume that you have several different shells for him to try? Sometimes they like different styles of shells. Maybe your little guys just does not like what is being offered?

I have PP's and they all seem to like something different. That may be just a thought.

Is he really stuck??..... I will be anxious to hear what our experts tell you.

I can tell you that you have come to the right place. Everyone here is extremely helpful and most of us are quite knowledgeable too.
Again, welcome aboard!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:51 am

Hi - thanks for the nice Welcome! I really don't know if he was stuck, and probably panicked when we tried to cut him out! I swear he was burried for over a month and not eating. I'll take a picture of him tonight and share it (how do you attach/share a picture?). He's in a small travel plastic tank now so there is not a lot of room to put shells in there. I have 1 or 2 in there at a time. I've always had at least 3 empty shells in the large tank. Soon I'll put him back in the big tank and buy more shells. I'm just worried more that he doesn't move at all when I hold/touch him. But glad that he is eating and moving around. I'm afraid now that his current shell has some jagged edges from our clipping away at it. Oh, and I have PPs too - the other one is named Wiggles. I got Einstein as a gift and didn't know ANYTHING about hermies. I read up and felt bad for him and knew he needed a friend. My husband teases me about how much $$ I have put into them! In the hundreds!
J


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:29 pm

Don't be alarmed it they "dig-in" for weeks at a time. This is very normal and often dig-in to destress or to molt. Also when they have molted they will eat their exoskeleton (gross, huh?) to replace some of the neutrients that might have been lost in the process. Nifty way to recycle. :wink:

Reading some of the postings myself one person said that one of their jumbo crabs went under ground for nearly 3 months! Can you believe it?!? That's crazy!
I guess if you keep sniffing into your tat and don't smell something that reeks of "dead fish" your crab is probably just fine. Someone else mentioned the use of a stethoscope to listen for scratching sounds in the tat which of course would mean movement. Eitherway, your crab was just doing what comes natural- so it sounds.

I wouldn't encourage chipping at a shell- that alone could creep out a crab. Usually they can tend to their own wardrobe just fine. Some crabs are just stubborn as if to say, "old shoes are the most comfortable"...

I hope that in your "travel tank" you have all the necessary things to keep your hermie happy? You know, moist substrate and heat?

My hubby thinks I'm crazy too for spending so much $$$ on the crabs. I just tell him that I got everything on "clearance"! LOL!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:40 pm

You do have to remember that all hermit crabs have different personalities - some of them do like to come out of their shell when you pick them up(although it's actually more of a panic reflex then a gesture of enjoyment), and others just slink back into their shells. I've got one that refuses to come out of his shell even a little bit when held, but he's pretty active when he's above-ground in the 'tat.

If you really must get him to come out, however, you can try gently blowing into the shell(like the way you would to fog up a window or something). This usually gets them to come out very quickly. It's a trick almost everyone here uses to check up on crabs with similar situations to yours - to make sure they aren't stuck, or aren't injured.

Just remember, though, that handling your crabs stresses them out quite a bit in some cases, and if a crab is already undergoing PPS, it can push them over the edge. If they dig down, it's to de-stress or molt, and it's a very good sign.


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:51 am

Hi - I updated my original post! Good news!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Jan 31, 2008 1:03 pm

:D Sounds like great progress!! :D

I'm delighted to hear that Einstein has made a new choice. I always get excited when they swap shells.

As for heat lamps... You might want to try an aquarium strip light with allows for the smaller "glo" bulbs. I have one on my 10 gal that has 2- 15watt glo bulbs. One is day and the other is a night- I leave them on all the time. If you are concerned about the crabs getting too warm or drying out I'd suggest starting out with a low wattage bulb say a 15 or 25 depending on the size of your tank. Keep in mind you want to be able to maintain 80+/- on both the temp gage and humidity gage. That range keeps the crabbies very happy- and active!

I also have a glass canopy which keeps the moisture in nicely. As for air? I have little rubber feet in the very corners of the tank top that keep the lid open by about 1/4 inch. This seems to work for me. Plastic wrap on the screen lid is what a lot of folks use. You may want to turn up one of the corners about an inch or so to allow for some air flow. Just a thought.

You sound as if you've got things well under control! Nice job! Your crabs will love you for it. :wink:

T'tah, Joy


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:06 pm

Hi - when I got home from work today he was in ANOTHER shell and moving around the tank. He's in a better shell in my opinion. He must have been dying to find a better shell and now I've provided him many! And he even poked his head out when I held him. Here is a picture of him...

Image


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:42 pm

Toooo cute :D


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:51 pm

He looks just wonderful!! :D
I'm so glad things are going along better for you! Nice shell too! :wink:


Topic author
irishgirl45

glass top

Post by irishgirl45 » Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:40 pm

Hi and welcome to the site. I have a glass top on my tat. We got it cut to fit the ledge on top of the tat. but we had it made it into two halves just a little shorter than the entire width of the top. This leaves a 2-3 inch gap we have a piece of mesh screen there and the glass holds it on. It works well and keeps in moisture. I use two small pieces of wood to place the heat lamps on night and day..
If you get a thick piece of glass it will take the heat. Hope this helps.


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:25 pm

What a beautiful shell! :) Very nice choice.

And to help elaborate a bit on the glass lid style hood with light, here is a pic of my tank.
Image
I got the glass cut for me at an Auto-glass place and got it cut to fit the outer dimensions of the tank so that I wasn't fighting to lift it out of the lip of the tank everytime I reached in. Hope that helped! :)

User avatar

burnin4Christ
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:04 am
Location: VA

Post by burnin4Christ » Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:03 pm

awww. he's cute. i would give him some colorful foods like strawberries, carrots so he'll get some color back and then he'll be even cuter!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:47 pm

I have a question,
how do you serve carrots so they eat them?
raw & whole
raw & shredded
cooked slices, or smashed?

Locked