Sick/Injured Crab Recovery Status & Care Tips
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Guest
Update on Chester and the mysterious gell node...
My silly crab went down for about a week, still in the same shell he stole from Dexter, caught him eating the sultana raisin treats... he is still crabby... isn't hanging around anyone, in the water dish I noticed that the bump on his side is still there, maybe smaller but is still clear...not opaque like a gell limb would get to be at this point... he has taken to burying himself under a corkwood log, so I think he may be working up to another molt. I am relieved tho...was worried about him, I usually see him everyday, except when he molts...I got a new candy striped shell from my girlfriend (she collects shells as a hobby) silly girl paid $5 for it, then gives it to me! (isn't she sweet)...I am hoping Chester will like it, the opening is about 1/4" more and it has the apeture of a nerite! I hope he makes his mind up soon, Craig has been checking it out!
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Guest
Had to do a tank clean out.. my lil "walking grains of sand" bugs did a population BOOM... and while they dont bother the crabs they annot me when they are all over the bloomin place.... soooo.. new FB.. bought some crushed coral to placer around the water bowls and mix some more crushed coral into some marine sand and used that instead of the playsand... now everyone is happy.. except my straw Bhaji who is mad at me for moving them again... hes sulking and not at all happy.. hope he cheers up..
As for my lil Peanut whos doing the "cricket death" thing.. still in ISO.. hangin in there.. i have him in a shallow proped up.. I swear it looks like a balance issue.. i let him have a drink and something to eat everyday.. last night tho he was abit lethargic and didnt really want anything.. but im fightin for him.. After the dissapearnce of Spiderman and Topas death.. i SOOOO dont wanna loose anyone else... Im going to keep at him and let ya know if we pull thru... keep your fingers crossed for us.
*Peanut died.... started yesterday down that road.. dropped several legs.. i dont see him coming back from that.. we tried at least...
I am starting to think its like poisoning... when you spray a bug with bug spray how it flips over n dies...im going to switch ALL my pet food over to EQ free foods... I have a bad feeling this is the root of all our problems guys... *
As for my lil Peanut whos doing the "cricket death" thing.. still in ISO.. hangin in there.. i have him in a shallow proped up.. I swear it looks like a balance issue.. i let him have a drink and something to eat everyday.. last night tho he was abit lethargic and didnt really want anything.. but im fightin for him.. After the dissapearnce of Spiderman and Topas death.. i SOOOO dont wanna loose anyone else... Im going to keep at him and let ya know if we pull thru... keep your fingers crossed for us.
*Peanut died.... started yesterday down that road.. dropped several legs.. i dont see him coming back from that.. we tried at least...
I am starting to think its like poisoning... when you spray a bug with bug spray how it flips over n dies...im going to switch ALL my pet food over to EQ free foods... I have a bad feeling this is the root of all our problems guys... *
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Guest
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Guest
EQ is Ethouxiquin.. pardon my spelling... the FDA and Agriculture Department classes it as a herbacide /pesticide/ fungicide/ prservative and it is a rubber retardant... basically.. its bad news... its only supposed to be in animal foods in miniscual amounts.. BUT.. if you add up all the amounts in all the different types of "foods" its used on it adds up.. especially seeing as the use larger amounts on fishmeal..
basically... when you think about it.. seeing as crabs as somewhat related to insects... we are slowly poisoning them.. some will be able to fight off the effects longer than others and some will sucumb to it in different ways.. but in all the reading im doing.. it really looks like its a big no no...
basically... when you think about it.. seeing as crabs as somewhat related to insects... we are slowly poisoning them.. some will be able to fight off the effects longer than others and some will sucumb to it in different ways.. but in all the reading im doing.. it really looks like its a big no no...
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Guest
Yay yay hooray! Legs dug himself up and was wandering around today. I counted and he has all legs *and* both pinchers! [smilie=banana.gif] [smilie=banana.gif] [smilie=cheer.gif] [smilie=clap.gif] [smilie=claps.gif] [smilie=banana.gif] [smilie=banana.gif] :mrgreen: ![[smilie=love.gif]](./images/smilies/love.gif "love")
![[smilie=molted.gif]](./images/smilies/molted.gif "molted")
[smilie=banana.gif] [smilie=banana.gif] Happy dance happy dance banarama happy dance! I put him in a main tank and he's hiding in a cocohut right now.
[smilie=banana.gif] [smilie=banana.gif] Happy dance happy dance banarama happy dance! I put him in a main tank and he's hiding in a cocohut right now.-
Guest
Sunday:
Well, I thought Cesar had molted. He was down for 11 days and came up. I thought he looked brighter colored but I guess it was just wishful thinking. He also had a problem with the back left legtip (armor leg) and I thought it had occurred during the molt.
When he came up he took a tour of the tank, went in the pool and then dug back down. I thought he was destressing. I was wrong.
Today I found a shell that looked like Cesars on top of the sand where he had been dug down, it was overturned and looked empty so I picked it up to take a peek. I saw a very small, light crab in there and found pieces of exo. It was Cesar.
Obviously he molted and was disturbed. He is very newly molted so I don't see how he could dig himself up and overturn his own shell. I saw legs in the shell but no bp. He was retracted really far so it may still be there and I just couldn't see it but I fear he was attacked and damaged.
I have a new crab in the iso so I couldn't put him in there so I cut off the top of a large juice jug and put it down around Cesar, the remains of his exo and a small dish with FMR food, dried shrimp and betta food. I tipped his shell a little and places pieces of exo right up against the shell so he would be able to eat from it without having to move. I also hung something in front of where he is so he will have peace not see what is going on outside the tank. I dug a little hole before putting him in too. He appears to have been able to get a little further down in the sand because he isn't sitting exactly as I left him.
I'm so terribly worried and feel like the worst mommy in the world for letting this happen. I should have realized he didn't molt but I honestly thought he had the first time he was dug down.
I'm not sure I have done everything I could/should so advise is greatly appreciated.
I hope my baby makes it through.
Monday Morning:
I was able to get a look at him this morning and determine the damage. I caught him eating his exo and he seemed quite active while performing that task and didn't seem bothered by me watching him - which I did for a while.
His BP is gone and the leg next to it too. As far as I could tell, his LP seems to be intact and working (95% sure I saw it grabbing exo, the last 5% is in case it's wishful thinking again). He is definately darker now than when I found him yesterday.
I think he's going to survive since he looked so active but I'm worried about how well he will be able to get around now and if it would be safe to let him back with the others once he's all done. Otherwise he'll just have to live in the ISO and have his friends visit on and off with supervision (he's very, very social and I wouldn't like for him to be alone for months).
My crabs have always gotten along well and I have never had fights or problems before this happend. I'm not sure if it means I have an aggressive crab or if this is solely because of the molt and wouldn't be a prediction of future aggressive behavior. I'll have to do some more research, I guess. I should have read up on it more but stupidly I thought it would never happen to me...
Late Night between Monday and Tuesday:
He's been eating a lot of exo. I was thinking about crushing it for him because he has no BP but the LP seems to do the job just fine. I was worried because he wasn't moving at all from the spot he was in but I just caught him wandering around in his makeshift ISO. I'm happy that he is able to get around but worried about that he may decide to go naked as I have been told attacked molters are prone to doing. He's quite a trooper though and he's gotten darker since this morning. Not sure what he's doing now, he wandered away from the exo pieces and food bowl but they are not far away as the ISO is pretty small.
He's such a sweetie, I hope he pulls through.
Ishy
Well, I thought Cesar had molted. He was down for 11 days and came up. I thought he looked brighter colored but I guess it was just wishful thinking. He also had a problem with the back left legtip (armor leg) and I thought it had occurred during the molt.
When he came up he took a tour of the tank, went in the pool and then dug back down. I thought he was destressing. I was wrong.
Today I found a shell that looked like Cesars on top of the sand where he had been dug down, it was overturned and looked empty so I picked it up to take a peek. I saw a very small, light crab in there and found pieces of exo. It was Cesar.
Obviously he molted and was disturbed. He is very newly molted so I don't see how he could dig himself up and overturn his own shell. I saw legs in the shell but no bp. He was retracted really far so it may still be there and I just couldn't see it but I fear he was attacked and damaged.
I have a new crab in the iso so I couldn't put him in there so I cut off the top of a large juice jug and put it down around Cesar, the remains of his exo and a small dish with FMR food, dried shrimp and betta food. I tipped his shell a little and places pieces of exo right up against the shell so he would be able to eat from it without having to move. I also hung something in front of where he is so he will have peace not see what is going on outside the tank. I dug a little hole before putting him in too. He appears to have been able to get a little further down in the sand because he isn't sitting exactly as I left him.
I'm so terribly worried and feel like the worst mommy in the world for letting this happen. I should have realized he didn't molt but I honestly thought he had the first time he was dug down.
I'm not sure I have done everything I could/should so advise is greatly appreciated.
I hope my baby makes it through.
Monday Morning:
I was able to get a look at him this morning and determine the damage. I caught him eating his exo and he seemed quite active while performing that task and didn't seem bothered by me watching him - which I did for a while.
His BP is gone and the leg next to it too. As far as I could tell, his LP seems to be intact and working (95% sure I saw it grabbing exo, the last 5% is in case it's wishful thinking again). He is definately darker now than when I found him yesterday.
I think he's going to survive since he looked so active but I'm worried about how well he will be able to get around now and if it would be safe to let him back with the others once he's all done. Otherwise he'll just have to live in the ISO and have his friends visit on and off with supervision (he's very, very social and I wouldn't like for him to be alone for months).
My crabs have always gotten along well and I have never had fights or problems before this happend. I'm not sure if it means I have an aggressive crab or if this is solely because of the molt and wouldn't be a prediction of future aggressive behavior. I'll have to do some more research, I guess. I should have read up on it more but stupidly I thought it would never happen to me...
Late Night between Monday and Tuesday:
He's been eating a lot of exo. I was thinking about crushing it for him because he has no BP but the LP seems to do the job just fine. I was worried because he wasn't moving at all from the spot he was in but I just caught him wandering around in his makeshift ISO. I'm happy that he is able to get around but worried about that he may decide to go naked as I have been told attacked molters are prone to doing. He's quite a trooper though and he's gotten darker since this morning. Not sure what he's doing now, he wandered away from the exo pieces and food bowl but they are not far away as the ISO is pretty small.
He's such a sweetie, I hope he pulls through.
Ishy
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Zealous Euphemism
- Founding Member
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- Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 3:51 pm
- Location: North Adams, MA
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Oh, I hope he makes it!! You seem like a very good crab mom to me...you're doing everything right, as far as I can see. 
I was terribly worried about the Baron, whom I had purchased two weeks ago as the only PP in a tank full of straws. He immediately dug under and hadn't resurfaced for two weeks. Two days ago I decided to take a peek at him, as he had only dug a hole under the cocohut and I could, without disturbing him TOO much, see what he was up too. In the dark light, I could see the exo...but it wasn't the same color Firenze's had been when he molted, and I thought I had glimpsed part of the abdomen. I had pretty much convinced myself that he had had a bad molt and died....and was up until now simply putting off confirming it.
But, I took a look today and he DID molt!!! I took the chance to slightly move his shell so I could see through the opening, and sure enough! A purple pincher sat there, and moved slightly when I turned the shell.
I'm so ridiculously pleased.....I can't wait until he's up and about and I can stop telling my sister to 'change the Baron's washcloth' when she gets home from school. ^_^ I'm so glad he's okay, I really wanted to get to know him. He seemed like a very personable crab....in the five seconds that I held him at the store...
I was terribly worried about the Baron, whom I had purchased two weeks ago as the only PP in a tank full of straws. He immediately dug under and hadn't resurfaced for two weeks. Two days ago I decided to take a peek at him, as he had only dug a hole under the cocohut and I could, without disturbing him TOO much, see what he was up too. In the dark light, I could see the exo...but it wasn't the same color Firenze's had been when he molted, and I thought I had glimpsed part of the abdomen. I had pretty much convinced myself that he had had a bad molt and died....and was up until now simply putting off confirming it.
But, I took a look today and he DID molt!!! I took the chance to slightly move his shell so I could see through the opening, and sure enough! A purple pincher sat there, and moved slightly when I turned the shell.
I'm so ridiculously pleased.....I can't wait until he's up and about and I can stop telling my sister to 'change the Baron's washcloth' when she gets home from school. ^_^ I'm so glad he's okay, I really wanted to get to know him. He seemed like a very personable crab....in the five seconds that I held him at the store...
~*~I should have been a pair of ragged claws, scuttling across the floors of silent seas~*~
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Guest
Update on Clyde and Jakie.
Well Jakie has survived his surface molt and attack by one of his crabmates. I now have him back in the main tank, which I have recently cleaned and built a second level too. Clyde on the other hand is still in the infirmory due to not having any legs. He is still hanging in there and I am hoping that he will soon molt to grow back his legs. I will keep you all posted.
Well Jakie has survived his surface molt and attack by one of his crabmates. I now have him back in the main tank, which I have recently cleaned and built a second level too. Clyde on the other hand is still in the infirmory due to not having any legs. He is still hanging in there and I am hoping that he will soon molt to grow back his legs. I will keep you all posted.
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NaRnAR
- Founding Member
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- Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:21 pm
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Update on Strudel:
SHe is still alive and not moving a whole lot...she drinks and eats by herself. She has even changed shells. SHe is still in the 10 gallon ISO tank. She is on food that she can easily eat--apple sause, mushy pears, honey, peanut butter, T-Rex Crab Island Food and the Fruit & Flower mix. TOnight I put a lamp on her tank in hopes to liven her up. I didnt get too much of a reaction. Her eyes have become a light grey color like they do right before amolt or when they are partially blind. Not sure which is happening...or even if its due to lack of something in her diet. She does give a slight reaction when I scare/suprise her.
I hand fed her apple tonight...she ate for abot 20 minutes. She is eating mushy pear and drinking IO at the moment.
Temp still around 78 degrees F. Humidity around 75-80% THe sand substrate is still very moist.
Hopefully she will continue to get better. Yet another example of how sensative strawberry hermit crabs can be....all it took was her being naked for an hour to stress her out enough to where she is living in the ISO tank hardly moving in more than an arean of the bottom of a gallon jug.
SHe is still alive and not moving a whole lot...she drinks and eats by herself. She has even changed shells. SHe is still in the 10 gallon ISO tank. She is on food that she can easily eat--apple sause, mushy pears, honey, peanut butter, T-Rex Crab Island Food and the Fruit & Flower mix. TOnight I put a lamp on her tank in hopes to liven her up. I didnt get too much of a reaction. Her eyes have become a light grey color like they do right before amolt or when they are partially blind. Not sure which is happening...or even if its due to lack of something in her diet. She does give a slight reaction when I scare/suprise her.
I hand fed her apple tonight...she ate for abot 20 minutes. She is eating mushy pear and drinking IO at the moment.
Temp still around 78 degrees F. Humidity around 75-80% THe sand substrate is still very moist.
Hopefully she will continue to get better. Yet another example of how sensative strawberry hermit crabs can be....all it took was her being naked for an hour to stress her out enough to where she is living in the ISO tank hardly moving in more than an arean of the bottom of a gallon jug.
NasTang crabby since 9/02
HappyHermit Foods! at...TheHermitCrabPatch
HappyHermit Foods! at...TheHermitCrabPatch
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Guest
Update, late night between Wednesday and Thursday.
Cesar appears to be as dark as he was before his molt. None of my crabs darkened THAT fast and he was really dark before he molted. He's beautiful and the missing limbs don't make him any less beautiful, just makes his mommy more worried LOL. He's getting around in his makeshift iso and drained the shell with water I put in ther for him. Just gave him some salt water.
I have 2 theories as to why he darkened so fast after I found him. 1. Maybe it's because there is less of him with the missing limbs. 2. Maybe he did molt a day or 2 before I found him - which is the theory I'm hoping for because that would mean he had a chance to eat from his exo and the missing parts could have been him eating from it. Either way, my theories are pure guessing and I have no idea either way.
He's almost done with his exo, I just see the BP exo in there now. I guess his missing leg and BP were eaten by himself or the crab who attacked him because I'm sure it would have started smelling by now.
I'm more hopeful now than worried but of course still pretty worried.
I took my new crab out of the iso today and he didn't wanna come out. I cupped my hands around him and started breathing gently on him (not blowing) and he came right out. I got the chance to sex him and he's officially a boy, now I gotta find a name. The white inside his eyes is less than it was when I first got him. He's still inactive and I'm not sure if he's planning to molt or if it's because he is destressing. He was in a rough shape when I got him. I've never seen a crab that hungry. He tried to eat my hand and the washcloth in the drying bin before I was able to put him in the iso. Then he just ate and ate and was too hungry to be afraid of my hand and the movements when I put the wrap and lid on the iso and put it back. He doesn't seem so hungry now but he's still eating.
Ishy
Cesar appears to be as dark as he was before his molt. None of my crabs darkened THAT fast and he was really dark before he molted. He's beautiful and the missing limbs don't make him any less beautiful, just makes his mommy more worried LOL. He's getting around in his makeshift iso and drained the shell with water I put in ther for him. Just gave him some salt water.
I have 2 theories as to why he darkened so fast after I found him. 1. Maybe it's because there is less of him with the missing limbs. 2. Maybe he did molt a day or 2 before I found him - which is the theory I'm hoping for because that would mean he had a chance to eat from his exo and the missing parts could have been him eating from it. Either way, my theories are pure guessing and I have no idea either way.
He's almost done with his exo, I just see the BP exo in there now. I guess his missing leg and BP were eaten by himself or the crab who attacked him because I'm sure it would have started smelling by now.
I'm more hopeful now than worried but of course still pretty worried.
I took my new crab out of the iso today and he didn't wanna come out. I cupped my hands around him and started breathing gently on him (not blowing) and he came right out. I got the chance to sex him and he's officially a boy, now I gotta find a name. The white inside his eyes is less than it was when I first got him. He's still inactive and I'm not sure if he's planning to molt or if it's because he is destressing. He was in a rough shape when I got him. I've never seen a crab that hungry. He tried to eat my hand and the washcloth in the drying bin before I was able to put him in the iso. Then he just ate and ate and was too hungry to be afraid of my hand and the movements when I put the wrap and lid on the iso and put it back. He doesn't seem so hungry now but he's still eating.
Ishy
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Guest
Update:
I bathed all the crabs (except Delilah who is dug down but not molting) tonight to reintroduce Cesar and also to introduce the new crab who has been in ISO for a few weeks now.
Cesar had already shown he is able to bury himself (I think he was attempting to escape his juice jug ISO).
They all seemed fine with each other after the bath and were really more interested in escaping the drying bin than making friends. They seemed to recognize Cesar and showed some limited interest in the new crab who seemed quite overwhelmed by all the company and seemed to be more scared of the other crabs than of me - probably because I have been his only companion for weeks.
Anyway, Cesar has now been in the main tank for a little over 2 hours. During that time he has cruised around, climbed to the top of the coconut hut (with the BP and armor leg missing on the same side = one leg on the left side), climbed from the coconut hut onto the climbing vine, climbed the vine up to the horisontal ladder, from there he has climbed another part of the vine up to the repti hammock and has climbed to the top of the hammock all the way up to the highest suction cup about 1/2'' from the lid of the tank.
Looks like my baby is going to be ok. I had not in my wildest dreams imagined he could climb with such major injuries - let alone THIS much!
I took a picture of him sitting up there like he is king of the tank. I will post it in the Picture forum when I have been able to get the camera to stay on for more than 1 minute (it won't hold the charge most of the time). I didn't get the chance to see if it came out ok because I wanted to take another picture and then the camera died on me.
Thank you all from Cesar and I for all your help, support and advise [smilie=cheer.gif]
Ishy
I bathed all the crabs (except Delilah who is dug down but not molting) tonight to reintroduce Cesar and also to introduce the new crab who has been in ISO for a few weeks now.
Cesar had already shown he is able to bury himself (I think he was attempting to escape his juice jug ISO).
They all seemed fine with each other after the bath and were really more interested in escaping the drying bin than making friends. They seemed to recognize Cesar and showed some limited interest in the new crab who seemed quite overwhelmed by all the company and seemed to be more scared of the other crabs than of me - probably because I have been his only companion for weeks.
Anyway, Cesar has now been in the main tank for a little over 2 hours. During that time he has cruised around, climbed to the top of the coconut hut (with the BP and armor leg missing on the same side = one leg on the left side), climbed from the coconut hut onto the climbing vine, climbed the vine up to the horisontal ladder, from there he has climbed another part of the vine up to the repti hammock and has climbed to the top of the hammock all the way up to the highest suction cup about 1/2'' from the lid of the tank.
Looks like my baby is going to be ok. I had not in my wildest dreams imagined he could climb with such major injuries - let alone THIS much!
I took a picture of him sitting up there like he is king of the tank. I will post it in the Picture forum when I have been able to get the camera to stay on for more than 1 minute (it won't hold the charge most of the time). I didn't get the chance to see if it came out ok because I wanted to take another picture and then the camera died on me.
Thank you all from Cesar and I for all your help, support and advise [smilie=cheer.gif]
Ishy
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Guest
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Guest
Got a new crab, FlipFlop, from Petsmart today, and he doesn't look good. He's limp and floppy (hence the name), and doesn't retract into his shell at all. He also doesn't flinch when I reach into the tank, but he does move if I pick him up. He's got soapy-looking bubbles between his antennae and his claws that come and go, and he smells weird-not fishy but like fresh mushrooms. I've got him in ISO, covered, warm and humid of course, with IO and dechlor and a little mango-papaya baby food.
Fluffy is almost done molting, he's done with his exo and fully hard but he keeps digging back under every time he comes up, so I'm leaving him in ISO until he comes up and stays up!
Fluffy is almost done molting, he's done with his exo and fully hard but he keeps digging back under every time he comes up, so I'm leaving him in ISO until he comes up and stays up!