ccparsons wrote: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.
ccparsons wrote:
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....
ccparsons wrote: 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.
ccparsons wrote:
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)
