how to get crabs moving?

[HerperWChickens]

My crabs don't seem to move around as much as crabs I see on youtube. I have a big moss and shell pit (2nd level), fake plants, big water dishes, varied food options in three separate bowls, driftwood hides and branches, a smaller 2nd level/hide, eight in. of EE and sand, and recently a jute climbing net. they all live in a 29g but I don't have room for a bigger one at the moment.
Humidity: 85%
Temp: 83F
is there something that im missing?

[pandaincognito]

^•^ everything looks right by what you're habitat says. Plenty of things to climb on. Hide in. Water sources. Food. Good dirt.
My tank has the same conditions. I have four. Two of four practically stay buried. They come up every so often really late at night when im already in deep sleep. One of them is currently molting, so she's been MIA for almost a month. Godzilla is out right now, destroying my chia plants. All crabs are different, bit as far as my hoard goes, they're only really active late night, early morning. I rarely see my crabs. A lot of veteran crabbers will tell you that hermits are boring pets. And its true. ^•^ I dont think anything is wrong, I just think your crabs are night owls like mine are lol

[Crabinski]

I have four PPs (1 large, 2 medium, 1 small) in a 29g, nice and warm and moist, deep substrate, soaking pools, lots of climbing and hiding places -- in short, everything they need. There are days, even weeks, when all four will be out and about, eating, climbing, bathing and generally trashing the tank. Then they'll all disappear with a week or two, with maybe one or two coming up to eat in the wee hours, and then no sign of anyone for at least a month until the smallest crab, Charles Paris, will reappear. He'll be alone for a few weeks until one of the medium-size crabs, Mr Pinch or King Felix, re-emerges; after a few days of socializing, Charles Paris will disappear again and, within a week, the second medium-size crab will come up. Big Enzo, the large fella, disappears for months but will also stay up the longest once he re-emerges. I'm usually taken by surprise when someone shows up out of the blue and am still equally surprised (after almost 8 years of crabbing) when he just as suddenly disappears again. The secret to happy crabbing is to repeat, like a mantra, KellyCrabbieLove's motto: Crabs are weird!

[wodesorel]

Humidifiers/foggers have always been magic in my tank, as soon as the fog rolls along the bottom all the crabs come out to explore.

[HerperWChickens]

Turmeric died, IDK why but all of my originals have past so now I'm left with thyme and terigon. I have NO clue as to why all my originals died (saffron had pps, but turmeric and fennel have died for no apparent reason), do you guys have an idea?
~Gigi

[mool]

Can you post in the emergency section and fill out the help template:



1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

[wodesorel]

Looking at your posts from last month, it seems like all the crabs were new? Post Purchase Syndrome can hit hard, and it's more likely to happen to the others if the crabs all came from the same place at the same time. Something could have have gone wrong during their warehousing or transportation which affected all of the ones arriving at the store.

[HerperWChickens]

yeah not sure.

[mool]

yeah not sure.

No, we really have no idea why all of your crabs are dying. Short little answers that contain no information don't really help us help you. If you want help you need to be forthcoming about how you are taking care of your crabs.

If you are making mistakes we can probably spot them and help you correct them if you tell us everything. If not, we can only guess by what you are not saying.

Good luck to you and your crabs.

[wodesorel]

mool, s/he just filled out the help questionnaire a few weeks ago, as this has been an ongoing issue. Nothing looks out of the ordinary except the newness of the crabs. You can search for people's posts via their profiles, by clicking on their username in a post.

[mool]

Ahh, I see. Maybe a quick reference back to that would be helpful so the rest of us don't have to go digging to look for answers to help someone who asked for help...

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't have the time or inclination to go searching back through someone's post history in order to help them. I'm willing to offer my advice to help someone correct/prevent mistakes they might be making, but I'm busy and don't have time to search through back posts for info that may or may not be there.

Soapbox rant (not necessarily directed at the OP):

User: "HELP!! my crabs are dying!!!!!"
Helper: "Quick, fill this out so we can see what's going on!"
User: "Everything is fine. IDK why they are dying....HELP!!!"
Helper: "We can't help if we don't know what's going on..."

Wash, rinse, repeat. It gets frustrating.