Are my crabs okay?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 30, 2006 10:01 am

I know I haven't had them a full two weeks yet, but I guess I thought they may have adjusted by now. I never see them move. I know that they're getting around the tank some because the sand is disturbed and they've moved some things. It just seems like they come out, have a bite and go back in their coconut.

I know they're nocturnal, but I thought they would spend more of the night awake. Is it normal for them to spend most of their life hiding out?

starmaiden · Post by **starmaiden** » Tue May 30, 2006 10:05 am

Perfectly normal. Especially since you just got them and they are probably still destressing. Try not to disturb them too much. One of my crabs promptly buried herself for 9 weeks as soon as I brought her home! I almost forgot all about her when she popped back up and said 'hi'! Now she's one of the most social crabs in my tat.

As long as your temp/humidity are ok, they should be fine.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 30, 2006 10:07 am

They are probably just getting used to their new environment. Remember, they did come from the wild, get put in a box and shipped to the pet store where hundreds of big scary humans pressed their faces and hands to the glass, and then one of those big scary humans took them home and put them into yet another weird environment. Give them a little time to readjust and destress to a caring home. Mine took a couple weeks to really become active and get back up to speed. Now, my crabitat is wrecked in the morning because they party all night long!

Zealous Euphemism · Post by **Zealous Euphemism** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:49 am

What are your crabitat's conditions? Until I got mine stabled out, a month after I bought them, I never saw them move. Not once.

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:20 am

like zealous euphemism said, less than optimal tank conditions could cause your crabs to be lethargic: since mine have improved a lot I notice a lot more activity. I think this is especially important with regards to temperature: too low they starting hibernating (very bad) but too high and theyre overheating. if you fill out the help template we could see how the conditions in your tank are.

But if your conditions are right on the mark, I wouldn't worry, as (just like the others said) they might need time to destress.

Caroline

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 5:44 pm

Thanks! I already had someone check out my conditions. I think it is in the emergency posts section. They are right on the mark. I guess they still need to destress. Columbus is getting more active. I put some brine shrimp in carrots and peas and I saw a nice dent in it this morning. Pong still isn't moving. At All! He's not dead. I'm trying to leave him be so I don't cause him any more stress. He's sitting in between the food and water dishes.

Thanks Again!

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 9:44 am

hey, Pongs got it made if he's a lazy crab crab, food on one side, water on the other. I wouldn't worry, just give it a bit more time.

Caroline

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:49 am

Could he be in a hibernation type state? It's been a week of just not bothering him. I picked him up this AM to do some spot cleaning. He didn't even wiggle in his shell. I don't smell a stinky fish smell so I assume that means he's alive. It's just so hard to be patient.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:48 am

It might be good to give the little guy some more time. Once trick is to smooth out the sand around him/her and check to see if maybe he moved during the night. I have one crab who likes a particular area and always sleeps there. Sometimes it seems she hasn't moved in days and then, out of nowhere, I see her hanging upside down from one of the nets. The next day, back to the same spot.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:56 am

It's hard to tell sometimes what our little friends are doing and why... I always use the example of one of my PP's 'Little Baby Purple' - she had a surface molt the first week I had her. I thought she was going to die or something as she hardly moved at all after I brought her home. After about 4 days of not moving I decided to pick her up and her exo fell right out. I put her right back and she finished her molt no problem. SO, you never know what's going on with the little guys!

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:01 am

hermies can enter a hibernation like stage, I believe, when tank conditions are bad, at low temps. what is your current temp/humidity?

Caroline

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:42 am

the conditions were about 78/82. The last couple days the temp has been closer to 70. I'm going to get another heat source within the next few days for times like these (it really got chilly here all the sudden)

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:56 am

hmmm...the temp nearer 70 could be a reason they are less interactive. when you got your crabs, how did you pick out which ones you got? When I pick out crabs, I find that if you hold all the crabs and see which come out in your hands and which don't, you'll get a pretty good idea of whether they'll be active in your own tank or not.

Caroline

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:02 am

I didn't get to pick. They were a gift from my father-in-law. He brought them back from his beach vacation. Columbus is quite happy to come out in my hand. Hulk is a new rescue and really nervous. He's active in the tank, but afraid of people. Pong was so-so active, but doesn't seem to be doing anything right now. I've tried the deal with smoothing the sand around him to see if he moves. The only problem there is that the other crabs climb around him. I'm still thinking that he's destressing form his injury.

annopia · Post by **annopia** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:33 am

ah, the fact that you didn't personally choose the crab by health and activity further supports my thought that pong probably just isn't a very active crab, and that this is probably in combo with his de-stressing.

Caroline