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New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 10:13 am
by alhj
If you remember I posted about my accidentally crab-napped crab a few weeks ago. Here was his home then...
Image

I upgraded his home a bit before we went to the beach where I planned on getting a new crab. Added playsand to my EE, added a mosspit, new wood to crawl on, and moved the UTH to the backside instead of underneath. I also bought a glass folding top. Looks quite a bit nicer than using a Fiskars cutting mat as a lid. Ha! At first I think my crab hated it. He used to hang out inside the wood hut and after adding the playsand he took to sitting on top of it all day.

Fast forward to the beach trip. We came home with 2 new crabs. They are in native shells. I was surprised by this. The crabs in "native" shells were even cheaper than the crabs in decorated shells. I'm not convinced they are truly "native" as in "this was the shell the crab was found in", as there was not much variation in shell types, but at least they're not painted. They are both a bit smaller than my crabnapped guy.

I gave them a bath and added them in. Immediately my old crab came to check them out. And he was chirping up a storm! I have never heard him make a sound. I watched for a long time to be sure he wasn't going to hurt them. He sat on top of them mostly, going from one to the other and back again. All seems well now. He seems a lot happier actually. He's been more active with the addition of friends. And they seem happy enough too. One I think has buried himself. There are 2 disturbed spots of sand. I'm not entirely sure where he is. Time will tell. The other destroys the moss pit every night. He pulls it out through the holes, and buries himself in it.

Anyway, here is a new picture of my crabitat. I bought a pack of shells at Michaels and it had several decent shells in it. 2 crabs have checked them out thoroughly, but no one has changed. I might have to place a shell order. I think the Micheals shells feel very heavy.
Image

Re: New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 11:09 am
by Giner13
Love the story of him chirping & checking out his new buddies!!

And love the new home!


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Re: New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 11:17 am
by MsWorld
Love the new home!! Looks amazing!!


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Re: New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 2:46 pm
by littletechcrab
Looks great you are doing just fine

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Re: New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 5:13 pm
by Crabinski
Looks good! I have that same hinged lid and bless it every day: holds in heat and humidity beautifully and offers easy access to the tank for spot cleaning, etc.

So sweet that your lone crab was excited to see companions! Chirping is usually a sign of distress but, after he sat on both of them and showed the newcomers whose tank it is, it sounds like he calmed down and is enjoying communal life again.

I would just suggest that you add some taller structures that will afford more climbing opportunities -- after all, PPs are also known as "tree crabs" and really enjoy moving upwards. Fish net is available at Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann Stores (about $5-6 for a bagged piece -- mine was 3'x5') and is easy to hang up with suction cups; you'll find a crab or two on it all the time! Plastic vines with suction cups (Reptile section at Petco/PetSmart) work very well, too. Check out your local dollar store for plastic/cloth flowers that can be poked into the substrate, giving the crabs something else to climb on/hide under. And don't forget thrift stores for inexpensive vines, flowers and fun ceramic stuff!

Re: New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:54 pm
by Kermie16
Great looking upgraded tank!! Sounds like your hermies are making themselves right at home :crabbigsmile:

Re: New crabs and improved crabitat

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 7:29 pm
by alhj
Crabinski wrote:Looks good! I have that same hinged lid and bless it every day: holds in heat and humidity beautifully and offers easy access to the tank for spot cleaning, etc.

So sweet that your lone crab was excited to see companions! Chirping is usually a sign of distress but, after he sat on both of them and showed the newcomers whose tank it is, it sounds like he calmed down and is enjoying communal life again.

I would just suggest that you add some taller structures that will afford more climbing opportunities -- after all, PPs are also known as "tree crabs" and really enjoy moving upwards. Fish net is available at Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann Stores (about $5-6 for a bagged piece -- mine was 3'x5') and is easy to hang up with suction cups; you'll find a crab or two on it all the time! Plastic vines with suction cups (Reptile section at Petco/PetSmart) work very well, too. Check out your local dollar store for plastic/cloth flowers that can be poked into the substrate, giving the crabs something else to climb on/hide under. And don't forget thrift stores for inexpensive vines, flowers and fun ceramic stuff!
yeah, I definitely need to explore the vertical space more. Seems there's plenty of it wasted. I will check out the fish net, that sounds like it could be quite versatile in gaining space, and support.