Brown Fluid Driping from Shell after Bath

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 11:38 am

I just gave my crabs a bath, and after I was holding Smammy over the water to let some water drip off him, I noticed some brown fluid dripping from the shell. I read on one of the info pages here that a certain humidity level will cause them to produce aa brown liquid, when my humidity has been more than 75% most of the time (actually, at night, when the light is turned off, the temp falls to or below 70 degrees, and the humidity can go all the way up to 95% or even 100%). In addition, Sammy has been very inactive recently. He just sits there, in his too small shell, and doesn't respond quickly if at all when I pick him up. Should I fill out the emergency template for more info, and should I be concerned?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 12:04 pm

lol. That my friend, would be hydrated poo

Give him another bath, and this time, let him stay in there for a little while, and he will probably start to clean out his shell on his own.

The thing you are refering to is bubbling, and it basically means your hermie is going to die. But not for you, you just get pooed on

Oh, I would definately get a night-glo bulb though, to keep heat up at night. And also, uncover the tank a little at night, so the humidity stays constant throught an entire day (Between 75 and 80%)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 12:09 pm

Wow.. I just went through your galery, and that tank is WAY too small! You need at least a 10gallon glass tank, that you can easily get from Walmart for $10. Seriously, that thing might be alright for 1 or 2 tinies, or a few ants, but for the hermie that size, you need something bigger.

Also, it looks like you got a straw, which are very, very hard to keep. They need constant 80 degree temp, and 80% RH. So yes, definately get a Night glo bulb, and do something to keep humidity around 80%. But getting a bigger crabitat is a MUST.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:29 pm

The hood on my tank doesn't have a second socket for a Nightglo bulb. I am working on getting a new tank and hood as soon as I have money, at which point I wil add a Nightglo. BTW, I don't have any straws; both of my hermies are PPs. Hydrated poop? He isn't active at all, and doesn't come out of his shell when I pick him up. OK, I'll give him another bath.
Also BTW, the tank in my gallery is not really my tank; it's my brothers old one. He now has the same tank as me, the MiniBow2.5, which isn't really that much bigger

kayla_d · Post by **kayla_d** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:46 pm

Could you post a better picture of your hermit? Looks like a Straw to me also I would like to see a good pic of his eyes.

I hope you can get a new tank soon a critter keeper is not the best home for hermits.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:53 pm

kayla_d wrote:Could you post a better picture of your hermit? Looks like a Straw to me also I would like to see a good pic of his eyes.

I hope you can get a new tank soon a critter keeper is not the best home for hermits.

Uh as I just mentioned, I have a MiniBow2.5, not a KK. Here's a pic of Sammy. This is what he looks like most of the time. As you can tell, Sammy is not a Straw; he's a PP (also, Violet, who is sitting to the left of Sammy, is a PP).

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:44 pm

by hydrated poo, I meant that while it was inthe water, the shell got water in it, and poo that was in the shell got mushy, and then when you drained the water, I think the poo drained out, too.

I can't tell precisely if they are PPs or Straws. If you can get a clear shot of their eyes, it would be easier to tell. PPs have very pin-point eyes.

Anyway, Good luck on saving up enough money for a bigger tank. Is the current tank in a place where you could maybe raise it up onto a rack or something, and then place a light under it, so that the tat itself is dark, but the heat from the light can still heat it? Or maybe you could just cover the entire tank with a towel, and then have a light shining on the towel? Just a couple ideas.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:54 pm

They both look like PPs to me. But I agree...2.5 gals is way too small for those guys. A 10-gal would be much better.

I disagree that the brown liquid is hermie poop. There might be a brownish-tinge to the water coming from his shell, if that were the case. If it is brown liquid, that is not a good sign. Also, if he has become inactive, I truly believe that he is very sick. I hate to be the barer of bad news, but the combination of those two symptoms is not encouraging.

Keep us posted on his condition.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:52 pm

Over the day, his feelers were kinda "stuck" between his eyes. They didn't move from that position. Also, he didn't really move his eyes at all, nor was he active after his two baths (normally they are very active). I bathed him in salt water (made with Oceanic salt mix). The liquid looked like it was water wth brown color in it (the indication of bubbling). I don't want him to go - I didn't even have him for a month.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 9:43 pm

I think your crabitat might be too humid. Brown liquid can be a sign of this. You really don't want it very far above 80.

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 2:48 am

Hey Michael,
You mentioned that your crab hasn't moved much even after his bath,and that his eyes are not really moving much either,with the feeler's being 'stuck' between them.
Are your crabs eyes drooping down?
Has he changed colour at all? Are his eyes cloudy in anyway?

My first crab had exhibited these signs,and i truly felt he was on deaths door,but then when i made up an iso tank full of sand for him,and placed him in it,he molted that very night.

As for the brown liquid,I can't really say much about it as I've only experienced it once with one of my crabs. It was straight after I brought 1 home from the pet-store and gave him a bath. A kind of brown mushy liquid drained from his shell. His health seemed fine otherwise,and has never shown any other health problems. I came to the conclusion that it was poop retained in his shell,that turned mushy and liquidy with his bath.
Perhaps the pet store didn't provide a deep enough water dish for him to rinse out his shell,i don't know.

As for it being over-humid,over-heating or bad conditions,etc,I thought that if a crab had a brown liquid,then they would bubble the brown liquid near their mouth-parts.(someone correct me if i am wrong about this

) I looked up
'my crab is bubbling' in crab FAQ's.

Anyway,I do hope it works out for your crab,could you please keep us updated?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:29 am

Yeah, on second thoughts, Troppohermie is right. It would be from the mouthparts if it was due to humidity. Prolly just poop. He's pooping - that's a good sign! You may have a moulter.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:02 pm

troppohermie wrote:Hey Michael,
You mentioned that your crab hasn't moved much even after his bath,and that his eyes are not really moving much either,with the feeler's being 'stuck' between them.
Are your crabs eyes drooping down?
Has he changed colour at all? Are his eyes cloudy in anyway?

He doesn't really move, or at least not when I am around. If I pick him up, he'll move a couple of milimeters, but very slowly. His eyes are doroping and touching each other. And yes, the feelers are touching the eyes at the tip of the eyes between them. The brown stuff wasn't mushy; it was the thickness of water. The liquid came out when I just took him out of the bath water, and held him over the water and turned him a little to the side to drain out some liquid so that he won't be sopping wet, when I saw some brown liquid dripping down (that's surely a run-on sentence). One of his legs is also drooping.
I feel so bad for the poor thing. I hope Sammy makes it through.

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:59 pm

Hi Michael,

I really hope that Sammy makes it as well

.With bathing your crab,it is your personal choice to do so,although after chatting with some people here,i've decided not to bathe mine anymore,as long as there's a deep enough dish with salt water in it,I let them do their own thing now,as they will know when they need to bathe,and repeatedly bathing them can perhaps cause more stress in an already sick crab.

Am wondering how long you have had Sammy for?And also,has Sammy shown any other symptoms other than lethargy and drooping eyes?

In the end,all you can do is wait and just try to remedy the temperature and humidity in the meantime. It can be a tricky business,and if you haven't the money for a UTH,a temporary solution is to use a hot-water bottle wrapped in a towel,and place at one side of the tank,making sure that you have a thermometer nearby in the tank(very important) to make sure that the temp doesn't get too hot for the crabs. With the humidity,perhaps if you uncover the tank partially that will help prevent the humidity from becoming too high.
I know it sounds like alot of hard work and mucking around,but it's worth it to keep your crabbies in good health and there's nothing more upsetting when they become unwell or pass away.
Good luck Michael

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:51 pm

troppohermie wrote:Hi Michael,
Am wondering how long you have had Sammy for?And also,has Sammy shown any other symptoms other than lethargy and drooping eyes?

In the end,all you can do is wait and just try to remedy the temperature and humidity in the meantime. It can be a tricky business,and if you haven't the money for a UTH,a temporary solution is to use a hot-water bottle wrapped in a towel,and place at one side of the tank,making sure that you have a thermometer nearby in the tank(very important) to make sure that the temp doesn't get too hot for the crabs. With the humidity,perhaps if you uncover the tank partially that will help prevent the humidity from becoming too high.
I know it sounds like alot of hard work and mucking around,but it's worth it to keep your crabbies in good health and there's nothing more upsetting when they become unwell or pass away.
Good luck Michael

I leave the light bulb on during the day and until about 9:00 at night, and turn it on when I wake up. The temp goes down to about 70 degrees by the time morning comes. I don't have any room in my tank for a bottle; as I said in many earlier posts, I will get a new tank when funds permit.