Lone remaining crab - Don't want her to live out her days alone, but don't want to endanger potential friends
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 12:39 pm
Hello,
About eight years ago, I adopted three (I'm about 80% sure Ecuadorian) hermit crabs looking for a home. (Unfortunately, I don't know anything about their previous home, so I'm not sure how old they were or what the tank conditions were like). Noel II died of I think natural causes a year or two later (Noel I was a cat, not a prior hermit crab), but Amelia and Violet did pretty well for several more years, until I found Amelia dead of decidedly less natural-looking causes.
Reading through other posts here, I'm fairly certain that Violet cannibalized her either because the substrate should've been a couple inches deeper (she'd decided to moult directly under the water dish, even though the substrate did go further down than that), or because they weren't getting additional animal protein (I've been feeding them the Repashy 'Beach Buffet' powdered food, fruits and vegetables, and occasional plain stovetop popcorn as a treat).
I don't want Violet to have to live alone, but I also don't want to endanger any other potential tank mates. I've taped a mirror to the side of the tank as a temporary fix, but I realize that's not the same as actual company. I don't hear any chirping like I used to when there were two or three of them, and it's rather heartbreaking. Given sufficiently deep substrate and extra protein on top of the Repashy, what are the odds that Violet would cannibalize another tank mate?
Thank you for reading this!
About eight years ago, I adopted three (I'm about 80% sure Ecuadorian) hermit crabs looking for a home. (Unfortunately, I don't know anything about their previous home, so I'm not sure how old they were or what the tank conditions were like). Noel II died of I think natural causes a year or two later (Noel I was a cat, not a prior hermit crab), but Amelia and Violet did pretty well for several more years, until I found Amelia dead of decidedly less natural-looking causes.
Reading through other posts here, I'm fairly certain that Violet cannibalized her either because the substrate should've been a couple inches deeper (she'd decided to moult directly under the water dish, even though the substrate did go further down than that), or because they weren't getting additional animal protein (I've been feeding them the Repashy 'Beach Buffet' powdered food, fruits and vegetables, and occasional plain stovetop popcorn as a treat).
I don't want Violet to have to live alone, but I also don't want to endanger any other potential tank mates. I've taped a mirror to the side of the tank as a temporary fix, but I realize that's not the same as actual company. I don't hear any chirping like I used to when there were two or three of them, and it's rather heartbreaking. Given sufficiently deep substrate and extra protein on top of the Repashy, what are the odds that Violet would cannibalize another tank mate?
Thank you for reading this!