Crabs Escaped Freaking Out

[ErikRasmussen]

other than the rat taking an entire shell? no =( i am losing hope

[YYWW]

Don't lose hope! Just put it off for now. Escaped crabs have ended up in the craziest of places, without their crabbers even knowing they were out. You did as much as you could for now! You can regroup later. Just watch out for open passages. At least winter's coming, to promote closed windows and doors.


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[Hermit-Yote]

I want to give you a bit of hope, hon. <3

Allow me to tell you about my amazing birthday present.
Back in late August, one of my cats managed to pry the lid off of my Madagascar Hissing Cockroach tank. It was cracked open long enough before I noticed, that one of them escaped. This on is rather special to me, because she was a rescue.
It’s no secret among my friends that I have an affinity for rather odd creatures. In my lifetime I’ve lived with Black Widow Spiders, Bark Scorpions, and Praying Mantises. I have a big place in my heart for ‘strange’ animals, so it should come to no surprise that while visiting a local pet store, I was excited to find a juvenile Madagascar Hissing Cockroach crawling about loose on the floor. Apparently it was a feeder that had escaped a nearby reptile tank. Having kept hissers in the past, I was enthralled with it, and asked if I might take it instead of putting it back into the tank. The owner said if I could catch it, I was allowed to take it home with me free of charge. With little effort, I was on my way home with hisser in tow. I named her Salvesia
Once reaching maturity, I was able to ascertain that my hisser rescue was a female. I grabbed another female, so she wouldn’t be lonely...soon after came the great escape.
When I noticed the lid of the tank open, I rushed over to make sure neither hisser had escaped, and to my horror, one had; Salvesia. I looked all over for her, but I knew that finding such a small agile critter would be highly improbable. I was heartbroken.
Not wanting my other hisser to be lonely, I was able to get another adult female and upgraded their tank in both size and location. Their housing was fitted with a locking lid and moved to the top of my entertainment centre. After awhile, I was able to forgive my furball for letting Salvesia out, and things moved on.

Fast forward to October 1st, my birthday.

Despite being my birthday, I still had chores that needed to be done. I picked up the hisser tank and began my usual cleaning. I took it over to another table, cleaned and washed their bowls and things, and after about a half an hour, went to replace it on the entertainment centre. To my complete and utter surprise, there was Salvesia. She was sitting right in the new location where the tank had been.
To make something clear, that added to my bewilderment, was that this wasn’t the same tank she had escaped from, nor was it the same location. She had disappeared for over a month, and found her way under the new tank and I found her on my birthday.
She’s now back with her sisters and I’m the happiest gross pet dad ever. ;^;


Don't lose hope!!

[YYWW]

What a great story! I wonder how she went about surviving all that time. I hope Erik can have such a good result!


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[ErikRasmussen]

I read that really late last night. It made me cry but i fell asleep right after. I feel so guilty that it is hard to focus on anything or motivate myself to even go to school.

[mom23]

I've read several stories about people finding them in shoes, clinging to curtains, food storage areas, sock drawers, dog food bowls...

[YYWW]

Poor Erik! Maybe you can go along for now by designing some hermit crab traps?


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[moonshermies]

SOCK DRAWERS!!!! lol, that is where Violet was for an overnighter 3x(not that long ago too)..Praying for you bro, in hopes that you find ur baby.. keep us informed.

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[ErikRasmussen]

Oh my god. You guys are not going to believe this....

[ErikRasmussen]

I have been a wreck all week long, as evident from this thread. I wake up this morning thinking to myself, they must be dead. I sit through school, again unable to focus or care. And as soon as one of our guest speakers starts speaking, i get a text from my neighbor. "I think your hermit crabs are in our ceiling." I freak out. I run as fast as i can to my car (all the way across campus) and drive, so illegally over the speed limit to my apartment.

I knock on their door and look at their ceiling. They have four corner lights that are built into the ceiling so to speak with these stained glass panels right below the light bulbs. So today was the first time snow hit the ground they made their way to the light fixtures they walked on the stain glass. My neighbors thought it was the rat, but when i walk in i see a hermit crab leg. We took down one of the panels and i see thing 1's shell just sitting there. So he is safe and sound in the tank now. He is very dirty, and it looks like part of a leg is missing but otherwise alive. He wouldn't come out of his shell for me like he usually does, but i don't blame him.

But my neighbors said they saw and heard two rats (hermit crabs) so i know galactus is still there. so we look at some of the other panels and i dont see him. But we hear him above their ceiling and below the crawl space in my apartment. It seems like he is in this little nook that i cant reach. So we took a shell of peanut butter and stuck it on the light panel so that he would be attracted back to not only the light but also the food and then we could just take it down and take him out.

I am in utter disbelief that they are still alive, especially after seeing what is inside that ceiling. I am going to give thing 1 a nice warm bath and offer him a different shell. I have never felt this kind of relief in my life before, ever. I am still really hoping we get Galactus back but at least now i know where he is and what parts of the place they are attracted to.

I am hoping that it gets colder outside so that they are more inclined to go to the lights. And i am turning on my heater in the hopes that he doesn't try making his way to that under neath the floor. I have no idea how in the WORLD they got there I am just glad one of them is safe and that they are still alive. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I will keep you posted to the recovery of Thing 1 and the search for Galactus.

[ViiT]

I haven't replied on this thread yet, but I've been reading it and hoping that you'd have good news. I'm glad to here that you found Thing 1, I bet it's a HUGE relief. Good luck with Galactus and the recoveries.

[YYWW]

Good thing you're cool with your neighbors! Good lick with galactus! Welcome home thing1!


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[ErikRasmussen]

Yeah they have a few pets themselves so they understand. And they are glad its not rats.

I put Thing 1 in a bath and he eventually came out of his shell. He had a bunch of gunk on him and was missing 1 1/2 legs. His eyes look dust covered and i think he may have eaten some of his shell to stay alive. I tried getting the gunk off of him with a cue tip but i think the rest is up to him. I put him back in his tank and i am expecting a big molt from him. If anyone knows anything more i can do to help him please let me know, he seems a little shocked.

[Ryry]

WOOOHOO! That's so awesome! I hope galactus is found soon and safe too. Whew I feel so happy for you! As for de-stressing I always suggest honey lol.
Oh and put some books on top of that tank lol.

[ErikRasmussen]

So we think we know where, within a square foot, where galactus is. But it would be impossible for a human to get to him
There is also a rat/mouse up there with him (i saw and heard him a bunch)
the pest control guy is coming to put rat poison in
theres a chance it might not even be galactus

I will put some honey in and believe me, there is no way anyone is escaping ever again. And thank you guys so much, I am unbelievably greatfull i got at least one of them back.