MASS DEATH 5 crabs

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 8:56 am

idk what happend!!! 5 of my babies died all at once!!! what did i do wrong???

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:00 am

1. Substrate used? Playsand. ( am i supposed to bake it before i used it?)

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? idk

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? idk

4. Temperature of crabitat? idk

5. Location of gauges? N/A

6. What is your heat source? none

7. Types of water available? none

8. Dechlorinator used? no

9. What do you feed? fmr hermit crab treat

10. How long have you had the crab(s) in question? 1 year

11. Do you know the species? yes 1 pp & 4 E's

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? no

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? Large KK teporarily

14. What size is your tank? large

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 10

16. How deep is the substrate? 2"

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? no

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? no

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? once monthly, but that has nothing to do w/ this

20. Any unusual odors? death smell

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? nonono

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yes, every 2 days

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? playsand

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:09 am

they were only staying in the kk for the day while me and my dad set up the tank....thats why i didn't bother to fully setup the kk w/ water & heat

BAB · Post by **BAB** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:52 am

Well, heat and humidity are incredibly important for these little critters. Even for a day....

Does your new setup have heat and temp gauges?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:15 am

maybe stress from being moved? were they crabs you'd had a long time?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:00 am

Describe more about what happened. Were they active and then just dead? Did they slow down? Drop limbs? How long were they in the KK? What was their substrate before? Is it a new or an old KK?

Usually mass death (especially if it happens quickly) is the result of some sort of toxin like pesticide or air freshener.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:38 am

Caity, I am really sorry for your losses Sweetie! 5 at once!! That's horrible!! So the conditions listed in the template are for the kk, right? It sounds like the heat and lack of humidity may have been a key issue here. Even for a few hours or just a little longer than that can have a huge impact. When ever I have to put my guys in the kk/ISO, even just for a little while, i.e. cleanings, I set it up the same way I would if I were using the space to treat them for emergency care. I would get a cheapo zoo-med 2-in-1 guage for the kk. It'll serve the purpose for short term use. And BTW, I think this was a freak thing attributed to a possible brain-fart on your part. (I don't intend for that to sound mean). It happens to us all at some point, to some degree.

You're an experienced crabber. You can't have been a member here as long as you have and not know what you're doing by now. We know this. Again, I'm sorry Sweetie.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:59 am

So sorry for your losses! I know that loosing 5 at once is incredibly hard!

I really have to believe that somehow, they had to be exposed to a toxin (chemical). Even though they were without heat & humidity, I don't think that they would have died that quickly. PPs & Es are the most hardy of any of the species, and can withstand much worse conditions than being temporarily placed in a KK.

Perhaps your KK had been stored or placed next to chemicals of somekind & the plastic and substrate absorbed the chemical fumes. Again, I am so sorry....I am sure that losing five of your babies is really painful for you!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:27 pm

Thalia wrote:maybe stress from being moved? were they crabs you'd had a long time?

I've had them about a year

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:29 pm

LolaGranola wrote:Describe more about what happened. Were they active and then just dead? Did they slow down? Drop limbs? How long were they in the KK? What was their substrate before? Is it a new or an old KK?

Usually mass death (especially if it happens quickly) is the result of some sort of toxin like pesticide or air freshener.

yes,no,no,7hours,calci sand, um..from 2005 so i guess that makes it old.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:46 pm

*Kathy* wrote:
Perhaps your KK had been stored or placed next to chemicals of somekind & the plastic and substrate absorbed the chemical fumes. Again, I am so sorry....I am sure that losing five of your babies is really painful for you!

it was stored in the bathroom, i cleaned it though. i guess maybe the only things i can think of is, that the sand was about 10 years old. it had been sitting in the garage for a while, did i need to bake the sand before i used it?? ( i've NEVER used playsand before) maybe the cleaners in the bathroom, where the KK was stored before i used it, it absorbed the chemicals from the bathroom cleaners like you said.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:48 pm

So you didn't provide any water? You also need to use dechlor, and FMR is not good food. Plus, gauges are very important.

I'm sorry for your losses.

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:05 am

Was the sand cold? Did you accidentally put the KK somewhere that got colder than the rest of the house? With all 5 dying all at once, I can only think that it was either a toxin, or they froze. Those are the only things that will kill them quickly. Sorry for your loss.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 5:16 am

Kristina wrote:So you didn't provide any water? You also need to use dechlor, and FMR is not good food. Plus, gauges are very important.

I'm sorry for your losses.

they were only going to be in there a couple of hours!! i didn't think they needed water....I don't use dechlor 'cause i use artesian or spring water.... and i use FMR TREAT!!!!!!!!! not food!!!!!! i know the food is bad, so i don't use it! but the treat has all natural ingredients!! no preservatives or anything.... AND I Didn't have guages cause this was a TEMPORARY cage till i got thier tank clean!!! not even an overnight stay!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:29 am

It sounds like a tragic accident to me and I'm betting it's probably something absorbed while the sand or the KK were being stored.

I don't think there was anything you could have done. I'm so sorry that it happened to you. It's a horrible shock to lose 5 at once.