Worried about Big Fred the JUMBO

[Guest]

I've been working on my tat to regulate the temp and humidity and changed the substrate to play sand recently. After these changes my crabs all became more active for a day or two. Then Hermie and Lola went under (2-3 weeks ago) and Big Fred is now back to his very inactive self. It's him I'm worried about. He digs his way into the very small coconut hut and stays for days without coming out at night to eat or drink. At least it looks that way because the sand around him has not been disturbed.
Lola did come up a couple of days ago YAY! And yesterday a quacking duck sound was coming from my tat! It was Lola by herself by the glass. Weird. That was a first.
Soooo, should I be worried about Big Fred and should I have two jumbo's? Is he lonely?

[Kilimanjaro]

First off, congratulations for the resurfacing of Lola!

And, in regards to the jumbo, I would try to leave him alone for now. He may be a bit stressed for different reasons. It is good to make sure he has things to climb on and different stuff to keep him active. Also, you can offer cuttlebone and honey which normally increases behavior.

I am sorry hearing your hermie is being inactive for you. Best of luck for him to start moving.

[MudCrabDude]

I've been working on my tat to regulate the temp and humidity and changed the substrate to play sand recently. After these changes my crabs all became more active for a day or two. Then Hermie and Lola went under (2-3 weeks ago) and Big Fred is now back to his very inactive self. It's him I'm worried about. He digs his way into the very small coconut hut and stays for days without coming out at night to eat or drink. At least it looks that way because the sand around him has not been disturbed.
Lola did come up a couple of days ago YAY! And yesterday a quacking duck sound was coming from my tat! It was Lola by herself by the glass. Weird. That was a first.
Soooo, should I be worried about Big Fred and should I have two jumbo's? Is he lonely?

Big Fred might be just destressing, or even probably attempting to molt. Right now, I would not try to disturb him and I do not recommend getting another jumbo hermit crab at this point.

Meanwhile, while Big Fred seems to be inactive continue to provide fresh and salt water and check if the food is being consumed (if no food is being eaten, you may refrain from providing food to avoid spoilage unless there are signs of crabs scrabbling around the normal feeding area).
Also, be on the alert for some ominous signs, such as the fishy "death" smell eminating from his area during the coming few weeks if he still does not move from his hiding place.

Once activity resumes, you can return to your normal routine for the crab tank.

[brad873]

he acts just the same as my thunder. take him out of a hut, and he should be active for a while, then go back. thunders been doing this for months with me, he gets stuck

[Guest]

I'm new to keeping crabs as well.
You have been given some good advice.


I just wanted to say I know how frustrating it is to have a ghost tank. With no crabs around.

So congratulations on the small crabs adjusting to the tat.
I'm sure your jumbo will come around in time.

Do keep sharing about your jumbo. Those in the know can keep reassuring you and those who are not in the know can learn from you experience.

As I said I'm sure he is fine. Just sulking a little.

[Tetracolor]

Your jumbo is probably destressing or maybe even trying to pull a molt out from under your feet. Just leave him alone and wish for the best. And to keep Lola active be sure to affer plenty of hiding and climbing toys and honey.

God luck!

[Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs]

I just wanted to add that if your jumbo (baseball or larger) molts that it will take 3-6 months for that to be completed.

[Guest]

Thanks for all the input. Unfortunately Lola has "gone under" once again. She was fairly active while she visited the surface and looked healthy. It didn't look like she molted though. She must have been destressing.
I did lift the coconut off of Big Fred last night but did not disturb him otherwise. There was evidence of quite a bit of activity during the night and he was back in his usual spot in the big drift wood cave. I did take him out this morning and he looked very healthy, he popped right out and was active and crawled around. My three year old could be part of the problem and be the reason they all need to destress. I supervise the entire time but she picks them up a lot and jostles them a bit. How much can they take and how do you guys handle your crabs when they are out?
Another thing I've been thinking about is that Big Fred's shell may be a bit too small. I've put two larger ones in with him but he hasn't moved yet. I read on Christa's site that you measure the current opening and the new one should be 1/8-1/4 inch larger all the way around. They like mother-of-pearl and a round opening. The new shell seems a bit too thin-walled.
Question about the water dishes: should one of them be large enough for the jumbo to get completely in and swish around? I have one and it is shallow enough so the smaller guys don't drown. And I put a sponge in it. I then took it out cause it takes up so much space. Maybe I should put it back.
Good suggestion cuttlebone and honey. I'll put some in tonight. I do have lots of caves and hidey places. I also have climbing vines in the front and back going from one side of the tat to the other. It's a 20 gal. L. I looked at photos last night of different tats and got lots of good ideas. I want to add cholla wood and a second level. My husband said he will build a custom tat that is really tall and has a door that swings open in the front so we can have several levels. He wants to call it the crabotel (crab hotel har har
Anyway, I will continue to add fresh food each night as usual. I take it out in the morning. Mud, you will be glad to know that Stella is doing GREAT! She is active and climbs on the twisty vines and is eating well. She's the most beautiful orange color. For those of you who don't know Stella, she surface molted a few weeks ago and gave us quite a scare. My point in bringing Stella up is that I bought all my crabs at the same time from the same place. Therefore it makes sense to me that if Stella molted then maybe the others are ready too including Big Fred.
That's enough for now [/b]

[MudCrabDude]

Thanks for all the input. Unfortunately Lola has "gone under" once again. She was fairly active while she visited the surface and looked healthy. It didn't look like she molted though. She must have been destressing.
I did lift the coconut off of Big Fred last night but did not disturb him otherwise. There was evidence of quite a bit of activity during the night and he was back in his usual spot in the big drift wood cave. I did take him out this morning and he looked very healthy, he popped right out and was active and crawled around. My three year old could be part of the problem and be the reason they all need to destress. I supervise the entire time but she picks them up a lot and jostles them a bit. How much can they take and how do you guys handle your crabs when they are out?

Ah, the three year old factor...LOL.

Unfortunately, I don't handle my crabs as much as I did before, and when I do handle them, I usually do so when they are the ones already active, doing laps around the crab habitat. Handling them when they are sleeping or just not moving around is not recommended unless an emergency (ex. flooding in the hermit crab tank, need to move the tank due to a greater home emergency, etc.)

Previously, I've always assumed that with more frequent handling that hermit crabs get used to it. However, previously I've also had molt failures (deaths, shrinkage). So, I'm not too sure if they ever get used to handling. Just on the safe side, I reduce handling times, since, after all as wild creatures they are not used to being handled as say, the domesticated creatures.

I still handle them, just rarely - being busier in other things help as well...LOL.

As for telling what the little humans what or what not to do...wellllll...I have little to nothing to say, unfortunately, sorry.

Another thing I've been thinking about is that Big Fred's shell may be a bit too small. I've put two larger ones in with him but he hasn't moved yet. I read on Christa's site that you measure the current opening and the new one should be 1/8-1/4 inch larger all the way around. They like mother-of-pearl and a round opening. The new shell seems a bit too thin-walled.

Some members say that that is also a sign of an impending molt - some land hermits tend to stay or move into smaller shells when they are due for the shedding.

The new shell sounds ok, as long as it is rigid enough that the occasional scuffle will not break it. Lighter shells that give at least some shelter from the light and from being seen by other crabs are preferred by some crabs over heavier, more sturdy shells. In fact, I think I need to buy a bigger, but lighter shell for my current Coenobita brevimanus - as the old bigger shell I had given it seemed to be too heavy when it tried it, but left it for it's old shell....

Question about the water dishes: should one of them be large enough for the jumbo to get completely in and swish around? I have one and it is shallow enough so the smaller guys don't drown. And I put a sponge in it. I then took it out cause it takes up so much space. Maybe I should put it back.

I would just leave out the sponge and just have the dish and plain ol water (or saltwater) as is. Sponges tend to encourage microorganism growth, and sponges on a stagnant small dish where crabs may poop on might cause some unwanted bacterial growth. Frankly, I would only recommend sponges for filtration systems.

As for dishes, well, I would provide both, a shallow one for drinking (usually fresh), and one deeper one in which they can swish around in addition to fill their molt sacs with (usually a saltwater pool, such as the one in my setup). I would also make sure that there is no way for the smaller crabs to get "trapped" immersed in the deep pools.

Good suggestion cuttlebone and honey. I'll put some in tonight. I do have lots of caves and hidey places. I also have climbing vines in the front and back going from one side of the tat to the other. It's a 20 gal. L. I looked at photos last night of different tats and got lots of good ideas. I want to add cholla wood and a second level. My husband said he will build a custom tat that is really tall and has a door that swings open in the front so we can have several levels. He wants to call it the crabotel (crab hotel har har
Anyway, I will continue to add fresh food each night as usual. I take it out in the morning. Mud, you will be glad to know that Stella is doing GREAT! She is active and climbs on the twisty vines and is eating well. She's the most beautiful orange color. For those of you who don't know Stella, she surface molted a few weeks ago and gave us quite a scare. My point in bringing Stella up is that I bought all my crabs at the same time from the same place. Therefore it makes sense to me that if Stella molted then maybe the others are ready too including Big Fred.
That's enough for now

Great news! Hopefully Big Fred will undergo a nice, safe molt and good luck on the "crabotel" - maybe with it's own luxury pool, saltwater, too. 8)8)8)

[Guest]

Thanks mud! All good points. Happy to say that Big Fred moved last night from one end to the other and is now back in his beloved coconut hut. I'm just going to let him be. I'll keep y'all posted as things develop

[MudCrabDude]

You are welcome, and that is nice to hear about Big Fred!

[Guest]

I have one more question. I've been reading all about shells, what to get and where to get them. Which brings up a good point. I'm not sure what I have. I am just assuming that Big Fred is a Jumbo. He could be a medium or large PP. How can I find out what he is?
His current shell opening measures 1 7/8 wide horizontally. He's way to big for the shell. He can't retract his legs into the shell. It's a Fox Shell. He's a deep rich red color and his big claw is too. It's not purple.

[MudCrabDude]

I have one more question. I've been reading all about shells, what to get and where to get them. Which brings up a good point. I'm not sure what I have. I am just assuming that Big Fred is a Jumbo. He could be a medium or large PP. How can I find out what he is?
His current shell opening measures 1 7/8 wide horizontally. He's way to big for the shell. He can't retract his legs into the shell. It's a Fox Shell. He's a deep rich red color and his big claw is too. It's not purple.

I'm wondering, have you checked out this sizing guide yet?

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/sizing.htm

I guess you can size him up when he is up and active and willing to be picked up. You can also take pics with a ruler for reference for us to check out, too.

[Guest]

Ah, no I haven't seen the sizing chart. Based on the bulls eye graphic I bet he's a jumbo. I did take a closer look at him today and his claw is purple. Took some pics too. Will take more with the ruler. Thanks for the info. Go check out photos of Stella in the pictures forum

[Guest]

Well, I'm not sure on size as there is nothing near him to compare to, but I can tell you that he is a PP in a very interesting shell choice. lol