I’ve been a long time lurker on the forums, but this is my first post. I’d like to introduce you all to the newest love of my life; Oliver, my baby coconut crab! He arrived 48 hours ago with a weight of just 25 grams.
His current enclosure specs:
120 gallon aquarium with dimensions of 48”x24”x24”,
~10” of substrate (3 fifty pound bags of playsand, 48 quarts of eco earth, 30 pounds of organic potting soil (without pearlite) wetted down to proper moisture with MSW)
Various types and thicknesses of logs/branches (local and exotic)
Mixed species hardwood leaf litter (local and exotic)
6 quart freshwater and MSW pools with sponge filters
Humidity range of 83-90 percent
Temperature of 83-86
With the exception of substrate composition and enclosure size, he is essentially receiving what would be required by the “exotic” hermits (straws, blues, indo’s etc.).
I’m not sure if this is the right place, but I was wanting to create a sort of “diary” of his progression. There’s such a limited amount of information on the keeping of this species in captivity, I’m trying to add as much as possible to the collective knowledge base.
I’ll be tracking and taking notes every step of the way. If anyone has any ideas on additional observational note taking/things I should be tracking that could prove useful, I’d love to hear them! I’ll be setting up a webcam in short order, so I’ll be able to make nightly observations.
Pardon the poor photo quality. I snapped a couple pics during his initial weigh in immediately upon arrival, and I wanted to keep stress to a minimum.
