I'm concerned...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:41 pm

First off...please forgive me if some of these topics or questions have been bludgeoned to death before, I am a new member as of today...so I haven't had a chance to read through many of the forums to see if I could dig up some information....

Ok, so we currently have 6 Hermies...2 of them we have had since March, another from sometime in April...and the other three we have acquired over the past few months. They are all PP's (I think) and run from tiny to small/small medium in size. My concern? None have them have any so much as made an attempt to molt! Is this a problem? Should I be concerned? One of the original two (Debbie) actually came up missing her small claw and and leg from the other side a few months ago...I was really worried for a while...keeping a very close eye on her...but now she has obvious "gel" limbs in both areas, so I figured that was a good sign. The other original (Crabbie Patty) is too big for his shell and REFUSES to leave the thing! So I figured that maybe he was holding off for a molt to change into one of the MANY other shells that I have in the tank. But now I am a little worried because like I said, he shows no signs of molting anytime in the near future at all!! Is all of this normal? It seems like I have tried 100 different set-ups to help put them into the "mood", but nothing seems to work! What if they never molt? Will they die? I'm lost!! Thanks to anyone who could give me some helpful feedback...or some encouraging words before I freak out completely!!!

Thanks all!

limeslide · Post by **limeslide** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:57 pm

dont worry about the limbs and if your substrate is not deep enough the won't molt or they don't want too oh and keep providing more and more shells of different kind not the same the same the same OK

ElinaGrace · Post by **ElinaGrace** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:27 pm

I don't think anything is wrong, maybe offer a larger variety of food, hermits need a lot of proteins and calcium to molt if I'm not mistaken, and they might not have the energy to molt.

Check your substrate and make sure it's deep enough for your largest hermit to bury himself easily.. (I'd suggest around 4 inches)

Always check the humidity/heat etc, they may be molting and you don't even know it!

I checked out my 2nd largest hermit and sure enough he had pointly toes covered in lots of black hair, I didn't think he had had time to molt, but apparently he did!

Where as my smaller one hasn't molted in a while, even though she's buried down several times!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:36 pm

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions! I have a 10 Gallon tank which actually has 3 different substrates in it. Most of it that Repi-Sand (75-80%), and then on the other end I have it split between the Coconut stuff and aquarium Gravel. The humidity level usually fluctuates somewhere between 65-80%. We live in Northern Colorado, which is a notoriously dry climate, so that has been quite the challenge for me! Any suggestions? I do have some Moss as well as two big sponges in each corner to help keep it up as best I can. I also give all of them a little spritz of water in the morning. I saw a lizard humidifier for tanks somewhere a while back, but I'm just not too sure how big it is...and I don't want it to take up a ton of room! That's all I need...a reason to get a bigger tank!!! So let me know if anyone has any suggestion for me!
Thanks again for all of the help!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:41 am

what's the tank cover like?

MamaZelly · Post by **MamaZelly** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:05 pm

You'll want to avoid any kind of gravel--they typically won't dig in it, and need to dig to have a healthy molt.

Keeping the humidity constant should be relatively easy with the 10 gallon tank. What are you using for a cover? Do you have a full hood, a screen, saran wrap? My ISO is a 10 gallon, with a screen cover. I keep a damp hand towel over the top of the tank to keep the humidity stable. If it gets too humid, fold back a corner of the towel. If it gets too dry, dampen the towel, and make sure it covers the whole top of the tank.

And welcome aboard!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:22 am

[quote="mzkitty23"]what's the tank cover like?[/quot

I have a screen top...is that bad? Do some people just go ahead and use the regular hooded tank cover with the lights already in for their tank? If so, Probably a silly question, but how to they have enough air to breath with one of those tpes hoods?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:30 am

MamaZelly wrote:You'll want to avoid any kind of gravel--they typically won't dig in it, and need to dig to have a healthy molt.

Keeping the humidity constant should be relatively easy with the 10 gallon tank. What are you using for a cover? Do you have a full hood, a screen, saran wrap? My ISO is a 10 gallon, with a screen cover. I keep a damp hand towel over the top of the tank to keep the humidity stable. If it gets too humid, fold back a corner of the towel. If it gets too dry, dampen the towel, and make sure it covers the whole top of the tank.

And welcome aboard!

Hi!! And thanks so much for all of the info! I have a screen tank top. That is so funny that you mentioned the towel idea!! That is exactly what I was doing for a while, until we put them In our office area (we keep the vents turned off-so it is much warmer in there! ) I just have a small corner of the gravel, and it is to set their drinking water on...it stays a little cleaner then!
Thanks again!! I am gravel excited that I found this great site!!!!