kgbenson wrote: I am not certain what a Verruca-wagon is, but it sounds . . . um . . . . kind of knobby and perhaps a little crusty.
http://www.pennmedicine.org/encyclopedi ... t/2382.jpg
I believe she means Veruca Salt. The spoiled, greedy little girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Well, reveals it "to me". And to define "first time through", the process of identifying a crab is a step by step process, as you go deeper and deeper into the details of coloration, structure, markings, and proportion. At each level of depth, the crab will closely resemble a certain species or two, but there are obvious discrepancies, which require further inspection, and continued revision of your conclusion.kgbenson wrote: Continued inspection reveals that additional images are required for a species diagnosis. If it were that clear cut, you would have nailed it the first time through. Lets face it - the pic is not going to clear this up. More pics and such are going to be needed before anyone states anything as fact. Unless you happen to have a few, or a few thousand of these buggers to look at, as the case may be.
"Insofar" just means to such an extent, an a priori asumption, which may or not be correct, but to which the rest of the statement relies.
I am not sure this is an absolute truism. Lets face it, there are many islands in that part of the world, and many small currents, some of which may preclude genetic mixing and set the stage for speciation, subspeciation and such. It is entirely possible that there are color variants of many species that we are yet unaware of. I would expect that there are also a few species or subspecies that are as yet undiscovered. I am waiting for the dwarf coconut crabs that never get larger than 12 inches across. That would be awesome as I can't build a second house for one!
JediMasterThrash wrote: As for the next crab species we discover, I think without a doubt they will be "Raspberries", "Thimbleberries", "Boysenberries", "Loganberries", and "Blackberries". After that, we will discover the "As", "Eyes": "Os" and "Yus", followed by the "TTs" and "DDs". The furriest species will be the "Carpets", and transparent ones will be the "Windows".
Now that was funny. Sign me up for the Creamsicle Carpets with Double Windows.JediMasterThrash wrote:
As for the next crab species we discover, I think without a doubt they will be "Raspberries", "Thimbleberries", "Boysenberries", "Loganberries", and "Blackberries". After that, we will discover the "As", "Eyes": "Os" and "Yus", followed by the "TTs" and "DDs". The furriest species will be the "Carpets", and transparent ones will be the "Windows".
How do we know this is the case with this seller?Personally, I WOULD pay extra for a crab I know is being properly cared for by the seller and will be less likely to die when I get them home.
Ditto. I haven't seen anything to validate that. No pictures, no place of business to visit, etc.ELHC in that way is run the same as THCP. They hold the crabs for months or even years at a time and that adds to their costs and eventually to the price of the crab for purchase.
Some of us have spent quite a bit of time speaking to him, listening to his descriptions of his place and how he does business. He could be lying to me, but to what end, he still ahs to put up the goods in terms of animals if I purchase. Also, as someone else pointed out - there is a well known, well respected crab supplier who has also supported him, pretty enthusiastically IIRC.CrabbyAbby wrote:How do we know this is the case with this seller?
Have you seen it on HCP's website? I have not seen pics of anyone's setup on their website - but I have asked around, both directly and people who have been to a few of the better known vendors - so far Tammy and Bob seem to take the lead in terms of pre-purchase care and shipping.ELHC in that way is run the same as THCP.
Ditto. I haven't seen anything to validate that. No pictures, no place of business to visit, etc.
He has been importing crabs for several decades. So recently he tried using the internet to seek out new contacts.As Bob has just recently decided to venture into retail sales to crabbers (see the link that follows*) and his dozens of online ads from ELHC seeking "pet" crab suppliers are all dated in June, I question how he could have had anything but the smallest long enough to allow for molting.
Wood is a perfectly fine building material, especially when you seal it. And that is not chicken wire. Hardware cloth. Just saying.After seeing pictures on the ELHC site of Blueberries, Indos and Aussie crabs in wood and chicken wire enclosures I wrote to ask if he could share pictures of his housing facility and details of climate, diet and care.
Sadly they are. I am not saying that he needs to be secretive - that is for him to judge, but he was quite open and frank with me with respect to housing and such. Communication can be funny - perhaps you simply rubbed each other the wrong way?He responded, "Our competition is trying very hard to see what we are doing in very sneaky ways, such as emails, forums etc. But when you get right down to the nuts and bolts of it, there is no competition."
Most things are. Though I don't think anyone is suggesting he is god's gift to crabs, just a source of quality animals. I have received two shipments from him, so I think I can say he ships healthy crabs, has sizes and such that others do not have and has over 40 years of experience to share. Nothing more, nothing less.I hope I'm wrong but this scenario reminds me of the saying, 'If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!'
Just because someone is searching for new sources doesn't mean they don't have a supply built up.CrabbyAbby wrote:As Bob has just recently decided to venture into retail sales to crabbers (see the link that follows*) and his dozens of online ads from ELHC seeking "pet" crab suppliers are all dated in June, I question how he could have had anything but the smallest long enough to allow for molting.
In the effort of fair play, have you also written to THCP, LHC, and HCV asking for pictures of their facilities? Maybe I've just missed them, but I've never seen pictures posted here at HCA of any of those facilities.After seeing pictures on the ELHC site of Blueberries, Indos and Aussie crabs in wood and chicken wire enclosures I wrote to ask if he could share pictures of his housing facility and details of climate, diet and care.
He responded, "Our competition is trying very hard to see what we are doing in very sneaky ways, such as emails, forums etc. But when you get right down to the nuts and bolts of it, there is no competition."
I hope I'm wrong but this scenario reminds me of the saying, 'If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!'
I've been wondering the same thing. Bob has always responded to my emails fairly promptly and as soon as I started asking in-depth questions he invited me to call him. Since then I've exchanged numerous emails with him and spoken to him on the phone about half a dozen times.kgbenson wrote:Sadly they are. I am not saying that he needs to be secretive - that is for him to judge, but he was quite open and frank with me with respect to housing and such. Communication can be funny - perhaps you simply rubbed each other the wrong way?
I have to agree with this since I've also received a shipment of wonderful crabs from Bob. Not a single DOA (unlike my experience with HCV). Also, none of the crabs are suffering from PPS (again, unlike my two shipments from HCV).Though I don't think anyone is suggesting he is god's gift to crabs, just a source of quality animals. I have received two shipments from him, so I think I can say he ships healthy crabs, has sizes and such that others do not have and has over 40 years of experience to share. Nothing more, nothing less.
JediMasterThrash wrote: As for the next crab species we discover, I think without a doubt they will be "Raspberries", "Thimbleberries", "Boysenberries", "Loganberries", and "Blackberries". After that, we will discover the "As", "Eyes": "Os" and "Yus", followed by the "TTs" and "DDs". The furriest species will be the "Carpets", and transparent ones will be the "Windows".
OH GOD MY STOMACH! XD
Oh good!Crabola wrote:I volunteer to go to Delaware to visit Bob and see his crabs and facilities if he's open to visitorsIt's not that far from where I am in NJ, a couple of hours or so... I will drop him a line to see if he's willing
Indeed, though he hasn't done that with you, he has simply not responded to you email. FWIW - He doesn't always respond to mine, though if I email him a question, he almost always brings it up and answers it if I call him.MacandHunter wrote:I still have not even gotten a reply back to my e-mail. It's strange how he seems to tell his life story to some people, but treat others who contact him like they are trying to steal his profits.
