we bought a big one!

[Guest]

I can't recall if it was in this thread that I talked about wanting to buy a big guy we saw at Petco who was trapped in a way too small shell. My daughter felt so badly for him since they had no spare shells around for him to move into. I waited 2 weeks, hoping he'd be bought by some other caring soul, but he was still there so we nabbed him. I have one spare shell that is probably the same size as his but a different shape and he explored it but didn't move in. Then I had a much bigger one and I think maybe that is too big. Sooo I'm going to have to try to find some other options for him. Someone said Michaels sells shells, so I think I'll start there. I'm hesitant to buy online when I can't visually see the actual size.

Anyway, this big guy is a hoot! My daughter named him Diamond because of a pattern on his shell. He is very active and friendly. He doesn't pick on the littler one (yet anyway) and he eats and eats. He immediately ate all the commercial food in the bowl. So I put in some crushed pine nuts and he went to town on those. So then I put in a piece of pear and we just happened to have opened a fresh coconut so I put some of that in as well. He ate and ate that pear, then the coconut, then finally slumbered off, only to polish everything off a couple hours later. What a change from the little guys who barely seem to make a dent in the small amounts of food we put in their bowl. Makes me wonder if they didn't feed him well enough at Petco.

I'll try to get a picture of him and load it up for y'all.

peace,
ci

[Guest]

Makes me wonder if they didn't feed him well enough at Petco

Ha ha. You made a joke. Of course they didn't feed him well enough at Petco!
Laughing

For larger shells, most likely you'd have to go on-line.

www.naplesseashellcompany.com
www.thecrabbagepatch.com
www.elsshells.com

These are reputable on-line stores that will give you personalized help if you need it.

Good luck with the big guy.

[Tetracolor]

Congrats on the new guy! And, no they didn't feed them well at Petco or probably anywhere he's been in the last month or two. Kudos, for you to bringing home a crab that you didn't even have shells to fit AND to be willing to get shells for!

[Guest]

Every time I bring one home from PetCo, they make a b-line for the food. (I know that this is supposed to be laughing but I am going to use it for noshing) LOL

[Guest]

Guess I'm naive about the food thing! Are there NO good sellers out there who are responsible to their animals? Petco on the face of it seems to have a nice 'tat, especially compared with some downright abusive ones I've seen at the mall. Pretty big, not overcrowded. Nice earthy substrate, good humidity and heat, two water dishes labeled clearly Fresh and Salt. The food dish always seems full, but admittedly it seems full of some grayish mush and makes you wonder how old it is. Diamond has slowed down with eating though he does check out the dish to see what's new many times a day. He doesn't seem to be nocturnal like the rest. He's always busy.

I went to Michael's craft store on the advice of someone in another thread and sure enough they have big mesh bags of unpolished seashells. Tons of scallops that I can't use (I'll give them to my daughter to do some art project with), but plenty of others that would do quite well for a hermie shell. There were several that seem big enough for Diamond to move into. Some seemed big enough but way too heavy so I put the lighter ones in the tank. But I just read that I should boil them first...why would I need to do that? Is that why he hasn't moved into any yet?

He did check out a couple of the shells quite thoughtfully. He poked and prodded them for awhile and then went back to the food dish. I can't believe he hasn't moved in to a new one because most of him can't fit in his current shell. All his legs and his pinchers fully stick out of his shell -- instead of ducking in when he's startled, he just freezes and pretends he's dead. Should I worry?

Anyway, lil' Snowflake, whom I was all worried about being eaten by Diamond, seems to have a crush on him. She follows him everywhere and when he settles down, she curls up next to him. He doesn't hassle her at all which is a relief and even one time when he got up to check on food and came back to his hole to find Snowflake occupying it, he settled down next to the hole instead of kicking her out.

peace,
ci

[Guest]

Boiling the shells would remove the grit built up on them and also sterilize them somewhat. It also removes the outermost layer of calcium, though, which is why you don't want to do it too often. By boiling a shell, you remove any smells associated with it, as well as dead snail parts remaining inside, and make it an interesting object for the hermies to explore. While they're trying to figure out why this shell doesn't smell, they tend to also measure it, and may eventually try it on.

I wouldn't worry about him freezing when he gets scared, this is normal in crabs with too small shells. They'll also occasionally hide their eyes under their pincers if they can't tuck in. What I'd suggest is boiling the shells for less than 5 mins in declorinated salt water, then dipping them into the salt water dish before you put them in the tank. They should then smell like the colony, and be clean and interesting to the hermits.

[evre1's-mom]

I quickly came to realize that my biggest crabby is the sweetest, most docile one of the bunch. I've heard that different sizes actually get along better because they don't fight over shells. My Herman is a sweetheart! He's by far the biggest and he's my first crabby. Can't wait for him to resurface. I really miss him!

[Guest]

Thanks so much for all the details on shell care. I'll boil them today, but not for too long. He's dug under now and I wonder if he's going to molt now that he's filled up on food. Either that or he's just resting.

Ever1'smom -- how sweet about your big guy. I wonder if ours will be like that. He's really a gentle active guy so far.

-ci

[Guest]

I emailed a picture of my littlest crab next to a tape measure to the Crabbage Patch and Tammy helped me pick out the proper size shells for him. I have ordered from them twice now and LOVE them. They are super helpful and always throw in a free surprise

[Guest]

Congrats on your new big guy!! I'm glad he was still there when you went back. Just shows he was meant to be with you

[philingroovie]

crabbage patch has real nice shells and high quality organic food. Tammy also gives lots of free samples. . Dont forget declore water and salt water too.