Moving soon.

[Drake X. Bit]

I am going to moving across the country, by car. We will be stuck in a car for at least three days, from Arizona to Ohio. I'm worried for my six crabs, three PPs, and three Ecuadorian, one of which is currently molting. Anything I should know about caring for my crabs during the long trip? Will the conversion from hot and dry to cold and humid harm my crabs?

[aussieJJDude]

As long as you have a spray bottle and a "couple" of hand warmers or a warm car you should be fine. Have you worked out on what you will use to transport them in..?


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[wodesorel]

Depending on when you leave, it may end up being hot and humid here in Ohio. We are currently roasting in the high 80s and weather reports say it'll be that way for a while!

We had an older member who used to do the snowbird pilgrimage from Ohio to Florida and back twice a year with her crabs and her labrador, in a car. She would lower the substrate and put the whole tank in her backseat, cover it with a blanket to keep direct sunlight off, and then carry it into the drive up motels they stayed at.

If that won't work because of space or where you are staying, I would recommend packing them up like you were going to mail them. Each crab in it's own plastic container (delis will sell their covered cups if you ask!) That has vent holes punched into it. Make sure there is lots of moist moss inside for them to eat, drink and be cushioned by. The molter will need to be carefully dug up and treated the same way. I would suggest putting them all in a vented styrofoam cooler so you can regulate temps better. Any sunlight will heat them up too much. A/C to make the humans comfortable might make it too cool. If you can, bring instant heat packs and cold packs to adjust on the fly, but you may only need to warm them up overnight based on where you stay. They will be perfectly fine for the three days you are traveling packed like that, and if you can get them out to do food and water overnight (storage container would work) then that is even better - although since they are shaken up they will be more likely to go after each other in a small space and you may want to keep them separate until their normal home is ready to go.