An AMAZING story of an intelligent hermie.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:52 am

Wow, what a bonding experience! That's pretty awesome, Kathy!

blaze88 · Post by **blaze88** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:19 pm

I wonder if its just YOUR crab or all crabs or all indos... Now I want to get a study on like 100 crabs with the same claw infection. lol. I wish...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:00 pm

That's an amazing story! Very neat crabby! How lucky to have seen it. I think we all sometimes think that they're more intelligent than we usually assume, and your story adds to the proof for that

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:49 am

blaze88 wrote:Has your crab done it again since?

If she's done it again, I haven't seen it.

I am still treating her for the infection. It doesn't appear to have shrunk in size any, but at least it hasn't spread....and it DOES appear to look very "dry"....so I am hoping that is a good sign.

When I first noticed the infection, it was oozing liquid. Herm-EZ also said that the white portion of the wound was actually crabby blood.

(I don't do well with blood, so good thing I didn't know that at the time!)

But now, no more oozing or white stuff.

Only time will tell, but I am trying my hardest to save her. I have really developed a relationship with this little girl now for sure!

blaze88 · Post by **blaze88** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:21 am

well good luck, if it is dry its probably scabbing then. Which is GOOD.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 3:38 pm

Facsinating! I would never have believed it. I hope that Violet gets well soon. She seems to be doing well for herself. I wonder what this says about the intelligence of HCs. What an amazing story.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:42 pm

its good to hear that the Indo is doing better, and it's an amazing story of how they are aware of problems with their own bodies and how to heal themselves.

Hopefully, the pincher will continue to improve, but if it doesn't, would it be possible to maybe, ulp, force the crab to drop the pincher? I can't imagine hurting my crabs, and I'm sure you're the same way, but maybe sometimes it would be nec. to promote dropping an infected limb, knowing that it will grow back after molting.

How did your crab get the infection in the first place?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:37 pm

Harles2000: As you pointed out, they are aware of problems with their own bodies, and how to address them, as most lifeforms are. If it became necessary to drop the BP, don't you think that a hermit intelligent enough to try to heal itself would do so? Just as other regenerative animals know to drop a limb if they have to, so would a hermit. I don't think there would ever be a good reason to "force" as you said, a hermit to drop a limb, much less a BP. It's a good idea, that way the infection doesn't spread, but I think that a hermit who could try antibiotics first would know when it became necessary to self-amputate, as it were

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:51 pm

I'm not in favor of forcing it to drop the claw, I meant it as more of a last resort idea. The reason it even came to me is the part mentioned earlier where it doesnt really feel that it needs to drop the claw, but it does realize something is wrong. I'm not so sure that a Hermie can make itself drop a claw, it's more of an involuntary thing isn't it?

anyway, it's most likely a moot point, as who would be able to amputate their Hermie anyway? I'm not sure I could intentionally cause harm to mine, even if it would save their lives...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 4:28 pm

I would not even consider it as an option. I have done all I can for her. Now she must complete the healing in whatever way she chooses. I extended the treatment time from 7 days to 10 days. Hopefully, she will make it.

She is on her own now, as the treatments are over. She has the entire 29-gal.. tank to herself. I am feeding her a daily diet of marigold flowers, softened with coconut oil, as well as pre-molt kibble, dried baby shrimp, and slices of organic honeycomb.

If she decides to drop the BP, I can't say that it would sadden me, as then I would know for sure that the infection was gone. For now, I can just sit back & wait for her to molt, and hope that all is well afterward.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:00 pm

I definately understand that! I really hope that she comes through it ok. Especially since she is a rare crab, and not easy to come across. Not to mention how smart and resourceful she is. My crabs havent shown that kind of smarts yet - they're pretty mellow.

i will have to try the honey and kibble on them - what type of kibble? I have some dried shrimp already that are a treat for my rainbow fish.

thanks for the ideas for food

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:12 pm

Thanks, everyone, for the well wishes for Violet. She isn't very active, but then again, she never has been since I got her. I hope she is now preparing to molt. My hubby is having a fit that I am using a tank that big for one crab, but he will have to get over it! He doesn't even realize that since Violet is a good-sized medium, she will most likely be down about 2 months!

I use NarNar's premolt kibble, and also the premolt kibble from hermitcrabaddiction.com,, harles. In addition, I also make my own daily dry kibble which is packed with a lot of nutrients. (recipe is on my webpage listed in my siggy.)

All three kibbles are loaded in the stuff they need prior to molting, plus they also have some good color enhancers.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:00 am

How is it that I am almost in love with your crabs as much as I am my own? We really don't know what the learning curve for these guys is and I am thinking that because there small, we think there minds are too. Violet, yours...not mine, however-

, has shown this to be true. She knows what salt water and honey feel, taste and smell like and she has made the relationship between these things in conjunction with your TLC re: her wound. Maybe self-madicating, and maybe she knew you were watching, was her way of giving you a break from doing it! We really don't know what goes on in those tiny heads of there's. She has clearly demonstrated that they deserve more credit than they get. I mean thiink about it....they hide the foods they don't want/like, they bury the shells they don't wanna wear, they hord and hide stuff from eachother, you open the tat and how many of our guys make a bee-line straight for the top of a vine or the coco-mat to get out? I really think theyre pretty smart. Violets actions make perfect sense and are completely plausible to me. You we're just lucky enough to see it. I, for one, am jealous!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:55 pm

What an amazing story! I really hope she does OK. Good luck!

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

An AMAZING story of an intelligent hermie.

hi

Re: hi

hi