Crabber Since January!

[crabbyjo]

Hi everyone! This is my first post here but I have been reading from the very beginning of our crab purchases in January. The crabs were bought "for" the grandkids but after doing this for a couple of months & knowing what I know now the crabs will always be here at Grandpa & Grandma's house.

My husband & I are retired elementary school teachers. We live in Central Minnesota. We bought our first 2 crabs in January & bought 3 more PPS from the local pet store about a month after that. The 3 didn't make it which made us feel terrible but I don't think we did anything wrong. Our substrate, temp, humidity, food, water, were all in line what I've read here.

4 weeks ago our big guy went down in the sand & we haven't seen him since. We enjoyed watching him eat & drink nonstop before he went underground. Hoping for a successful molt. Our other guy went down last week. It is so hard to wait so we decided to buy 2 more crabs while in the Twin Cities. We decided to try Petsmart & bought 2 medium to large sized crabs. I'm not sure about their size. They were active immediately. It was such fun to watch. They both pigged out their first day. One, eating only peanut butter & the other ate only honey even though I had a crab buffet in there. This morning only 1 crab is up. The other went under. I'm kind of disappointed but I know many crabs need to molt immediately after being in substrate that's only an inch deep. I am concerned that this crab didn't eat & drink enough before he went down under. We all know he got no fresh foods at Petsmart.We have the new guys in a second 10 gallon tank so they don't disturb the molting crabs in the other tank.

I am confused about 1 thing & I hope I can get some insight from all of you. Last night I started reading about shells, wondering which type to purchase as their extra shells. I do have a variety of extra shells in the crabitat for them but I need more & l need larger shells. Does it make sense for me to play it safe & buy the same type of shells they are in? Our first guy that went down a month ago changed into a huge shell right before he went underground & they have all been in the same type of shell. Second crab did not change shells at all. I believe the shells are Phyllonotus pomum (apple murex) I read that they get pretty heavy in large sizes.

Our crabs don't have names. We have always called them the big guy & thing 1 & thing 2. It might be time for some real names.

Sorry if I got long winded.


Any input on which type of shells & where to purchase would be much appreciated. Thanks. Pam

[marandashermies]

Hi Pam! Nice to see another Minnesotan here

I wouldn't worry above the crab that went down. They will molt when they are ready, even if we think they are not. They have been doing this a long while and have it under control. I have also had a few purchased at a Petstore, that immediately buried before even touching food or water and came up a month later, healthy and happy! There is also a good chance that he is not molting, just digging. They dig for fun or too distress.

You are right, Apple Murex shells are very heavy and usually not ideal for PP's. Here is a link to preferred shells. You can not go wrong with a bunch of Turbo's. PP's love them!
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 24&t=92552

Here is a link to a great shell shop, personally I buy 98% of all my shells from here. I have placed many orders and I am always happy.
http://deltonaseashells.com/inc/searchr ... o&n=368025

It sounds like your first crabs suffered from PPS. Very common with store bought crabs- here is the link that describes that in depth.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 67&t=92531

Welcome to the world of crabbing! Looking forward to seeing pictures of your crabitat and crabs- we love pictures!

[landlubber]

Hi Pam, Welcome to the HCA! You guys sound like you've fallen in love.

What I do when ordering shells is I take a look at what they're in and find things similar to that, and also just the types of shells I've learned over the years they tend to generally go for. You really can't go wrong with turbos, although ordering all turbos is kind of boring and it doesn't mean they won't occupy other shells-it's just always a safe bet. I think atm all my crabs (except maybe one PP in a too small Babylonia shell and my Es) are in turbos of various kinds. Once I have a good foundation of what I know they'll like and enough shells for all of them then I may purchase one or two of the less popular shells that I know will often still get used like snail shells and murexs and such with each order. I find crabs often even continue to go for a specific color shell too. My Jumbo has only chosen green turbos. Other crabs just go from one brown turbo to another.

I think shell choice probably has a lot to do with their molting cycle, how heavy or light and how much growing room. I can rotate an entire tank full of shells to a second supply that has been rotated-so they've seen all those shells and turned them down, but after having them out again they are all like new to them. So it wasn't that anything was wrong with a shell they previously refused, it just wasn't attractive to them at that time.

Hope that helps.....

[Crabinski]

As others have already noted, all of the crabs you've gotten in the past few months may have gone under to molt (eating a ton and focussing on honey and peanut butter are good signs of preparing to molt) or may have dug down to destress. After all these little guys have been through -- snatched from the wild, transported in abysmal conditions, shipped to pet shops and then adopted into your home -- all too many suffer from PPS, Post-Purchase Syndrome, and many simply cannot recover. It's impossible to tell if that is what happened to the three you lost but the four you have now seem to be in molting mode.

Shopping for shells can be frustrating and costly but I've have nothing but good luck ordering from Naples (naplesseashellcompany.com). A helpful feature on Naples' website is that they list not only the size of the shell but the all-important width of the shell's opening. For inexpensive shells for smaller crabs, you can't go wrong with a mesh bag of turbos, babylonias and flat scallop shells from Jo-Ann, Michael's or Hobby Lobby for around $6. It's easy to check each bag to see the size and condition of the shells before you buy and the flat scallop shells make nice dishes for serving fresh foods!

[crabbyjo]

Thanks for the nice welcome, all of you.

I have been buying my shells at Joanne's but was ready to buy more but wanted some different ones so your input was very helpful. I spent last night looking at shells at both of the stores you suggested & ended up buying shells at both places. I bought a lot of turbos & a variety of other shells. I couldn't get over all of the pretty shells. That was a quick $30 but so fun!

Thanks again to all of you.

Also, the 2 newbies are back up so they must be enjoying the deep substrate.

[crabbyjo]

Since my last post the 2 newbies are now half buried. I think they are destressing. The smaller of the 2 looks like it lost it's big pincher. I have not had that happen to a crab before, losing a limb. I could see it laying a ways from her through the side of the tank. I don't think they are eating or if they are it's not much. I have made a point to smooth out foods like peanut butter so I can look for footprints in them. This morning there were a couple scrapes through the peanut butter & 1 other food. If these guys don't make it I am not sure we'll buy more. It's just too sad & makes me feel like I failed them! If that happens would the 2 molters be lonely if it is just them in a tank when they come up after their molt?

Right now I have 2 ten gallon tanks but am planning to get a 20 gallon soon to have it ready for the new home after they are finished molting & destressing. Thanks, guys.

[mool]

It is sad when we lose them to PPS, but don't give up the hobby! Look for "second hand" crabs that are being adopted out. If they have had good care, chances are they will thrive with you.

[crabbyjo]

Thank you, mool. We love crabbing but the losses are hard to take so I just posted in the adoption thread. We hope someone will allow us to take their babies & give them a nice home.

[Crabinski]

Thank you, mool. We love crabbing but the losses are hard to take so I just posted in the adoption thread. We hope someone will allow us to take their babies & give them a nice home.

Check out your local craigslist as many of us adopted crabs from that source. You can also place an ad on craigslist offering to rehome crabs.

[mool]

The adoption sub forum is a little slow because the folks working it are having real life things to deal with presently.

[Tala]

The adoption sub forum is a little slow because the folks working it are having real life things to deal with presently.

But our crabbies ARE real life, what are you saying?!
Only joking-- I mean they're real life, but the tone of it was meant as a joke, haha. I've messaged someone who is facilitating adoptions about maybe getting some new little ones and I'm excited about the prospect-- fingers crossed!
And I *so* appreciate that there are people here who take the time to help people they've never met find new little crab friends and help those who can no longer care for them find responsible new owners.
So if by any chance they happen see this-- HUGE thanks to everyone involved in making the adoptions go! I think it's such a kind thing for you all to do.

[crabbyjo]

Again, thank you all for your input.

I did search at craigslist too.

Another question.....I plan to buy a 20 gallon tank tomorrow at Petsmart but I cannot find a top for it that isn't glass. Do they make the plastic & screen tops for aquariums in 20 gallon size or is everyone using the glass tops?

[mool]

I have a screen top and a glass top for my 20 Long, so both are available for the long footprint. I'm not sure about any of the other 20 gallon configurations.

[crabbyjo]

What do you mean by long footprint?

[MamaKelly]

What do you mean by long footprint?

Footprint being the size and shape of the bottom of the tank. From what I've seen, a 10 gallon and and 20 gallon tall are the same size on the bottom, so the same footprint and would use the same lid (depending on brand) they are just different heights. The 20 long and 29 are the same way, same bottom size but different heights

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