Green secretions. Please help! I have no idea what it is

[Guest]

I just took my hermit crabs out for some exercise. David came out of his shell as well as some greenish/brownish secretion. He started walking and the secretion trailed along with him. I tried to inspect him and wouldn't come out of his shell for me. Please help.. I have no idea what is happening to my baby!! Here are some pictures.

[Guest]

[Guest]

Umm, I really have no idea, but my first thought would be that it could be the water from his shell after having poop sitting in it for awhile. I hope that's all it is. Other than the secretions, he is OK? Is there a smell?

[annopia]

my initial guess would be the same as cwaweeks, that it is shell water that has been made rather nasty by excrement sitting in there for a while. I hope that this is the case. I have never heard of a green secretion before, although I have hear of crabs "bubbling" clear and brown liquid, but that sounds rather different than what you have here.

Caroline

[Guest]

I was almost positive I posted a reply here yesterday. I wrote that he seemed to be fine. He was drinking and eating. Well, I woke up today and he had passed. I don't know what I did wrong. My two other hermies are alive and well. So I don't think it was anything to do with their living conditions.

[annopia]

I'm sorry for your loss . if you filled out the emergency templete (sticky in this forum) then we could either rule out your tank conditions as a problem or offer advice.

Caroline

[Guest]

1. Substrate used? play sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? 72

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? don't know

4. Temperature of crabitat? 80

5. Location of gauges? temp is a couple inches above substrate, humidity is about an inch above substrate

6. What is your heat source? florida weather/ house thermostat

7. Types of water available? fresh and salt

8. Dechlorinator used? yes, from walmart (chlor-out or something like that)

9. What do you feed? veggies, fruits, seeds, oatmeal

10. How long have you had the crab in question? 2 weeks, my mother just got 4 for me while on vacation in Panama City, FL

11. Do you know the species? PP

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? I'm still deciding whether I should bath them or let them do it on their own. I bathed them once and it was a success, but they have fresh and salt water separate from their water dishes to bathe in if they wish to do so

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? 55 gal tank.. the ten gal has two pleco (sucker) fish

14. What size is your tank? 55gal

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? there's only two now. they are both small

16. How deep is the substrate? at least 3 inches all over

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? no... what is this purpose and where is their gill area?

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? absolutely not!

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? once a week, clean poop and replace bath water

20. Any unusual odors? no

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? yes, yes, and I sterilize them

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? yes, every morning

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? no

[Guest]

Sorry to hear about the loss.

The only thing I see is that the humidity could be a bit higher. 75-80% is better. Everything else looks good. Because you only had him a little while, it might have been PPS.

The reason of misting the gill area (on the sides behind the head) is so that they don't dry out. Hermies breathe water in the air, so if the air is dry in your house, misting him will give him the water to breathe.

You have lucky hermies to have a 55g tank to themselves! I have 17 in my 55g!

[annopia]

like cwaweeks said, your humidity is a tish too low, but other than that, your conditions are great. Knowing that, and the fact that you recently got the crab in question, it makes the crab's death more likely to be PPS in my opinion.

Caroline

[Guest]

I would say PPS also.

I would also suggest more variety in their diet. Along with the fruits, veggies and seeds you are feeding add protiens & sources of calcium (cuttlebone, egg shell...) ... check out the link to Epicurian Hermit in the liks to the right and you'll find the safe food list. It's amazing all the things you can feed them.

[Guest]

I hate that they get so stressed from moving around. He was doing fine when I first got him... he was the active one of the bunch. Whay does this happen... it makes me feel like such a failure. I remember when I was a little girl and we had hermit crabs; they never lived long. That's why I was worried about getting them this time.. but I had no say, my mother got them for me when she went on vacation. What is your success rate for keeping hermies? How can I prevent PPS with my two other hermies? Do they need to be handled more? Thanks for the help guys. And I will always mist them when I take them out from now on.

[Guest]

Sometimes the activity you notice when you first bring a crab home is in itself a sign of stress. I wouldn't handle them at all for a month to let them de stress and adjust... make sure your sand is damp in atleast one section so they can dig down and provide lots of hiding spots.

Handling them is just individual preference. Some do some don't. I handle them occasionally... they're just too cute to resist.

[Guest]

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Good post with great articles and info about PPS prevention...

[starmaiden]

So sorry about your loss pixiesstix! PPS is a bummer.