An Opposing View about Stress Coat (edited by Chestersmom)

[Guest]

I see people on here talking about Stress Coat when the crabs are bathing. What exactly does this do for the crab? Who else uses it on here, and have you seen any real positives in using the formula?

I generally bathe my little guys using sea salt and tepid spring water. They always seem to enjoy the little baths and run around the tank like nuts doing little karate kicks and what not off of the side of the little tub I bathe them in (it's entertaining to say the least).

[Guest]

i use stress coat on my new crabs to help relieve the stress from moving from the store to its new home

[Guest]

Hello All!
I'm new here and have a few questions about the Stress Coat myself. Checked the local pet store and they did not have any in. Is there any house hold items that I can use to replace the store bought kind? Right now just bathing the little guy in de-chlorinated purified water. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kelly

[Guest]

I'd definitely stick with Stress Coat. You'll find it in the fish section of the pet store (if it has one). If not, you can check aquarium stores or go to
http://www.petdiscounters.com/small_ani ... index.html where they have more things for hermies than you can shake a stick at! It's a FABULOUS site for all things hermit crab - including a great selection of shells. Have fun!

[Guest]

The use of StressCoat for hermit crab baths was first done by a man who went by the name of Crab Lover Don.

Before the use of StressCoat in crab baths, it was very rare to get an E to molt successfully in captivity.

StressCoat is a combination of a declorinator and aloevera. It was designed to be added to aquarium water to help tropical fish to recover from health problems.

Using a few drops of StressCoat in a gallon of water for weekly baths will help maintain gill function and assist the crabs when it comes time for them to molt.

Thank's to CLD's efforts, we know a lot more about caring for hermit crabs. Sadly CLD is no longer with us. But thanks to him, many hermit crabs still are.

To learn more about Crab Lover Don, please visit the Hermies Yahoo group. An archive of e-mails discussions with him are maintained at their site.

[Guest]

I generally bathe my little guys using sea salt and tepid spring water.

From what I have read, the point of bathing is to help flush out the gunk that builds up from time to time in their shells, and it is also done to help their gills and bodies to stay moistened. Using sea salt in their water defeats that purpose. Salt of any sort has a drying effect and will cause the moisture to be leeched out of their bodies. On the same note, when they ingest salt by means of sea salt mixed with water it will help them to retain moisture.

The aloe vera extract in Stess Coat helps to replenish the "slime coating" on their gills which is essential for them to breathe. Much the same way frogs need a slime coating on their skin to breathe. (yes frogs take in oxygen through both skin and lungs)

As far as formula, I use a drop per quart of de-cloronated water. My
de-clorinator of choice at the moment is Reptisafe by Zoo Med. It is only because of the type of chloronation used on my city's water supply that I use it. A de-cholonater will cause ammonia to build up in the water when chloromine is in the tap water. Reptisafe and a few others like AmQuel and A.C.T. will remove ammonia, chlorine, and chloromine.

[Guest]

Thanks for the info. I had seen stress coat in the store, but figured it must have been the wrong product or something that I was looking at (because I saw it was noted for tropical fish).

Thanks for the info!!