First Naked Teeny Crab, Please help!

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Topic author
Guest

First Naked Teeny Crab, Please help!

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:35 am

1. Substrate used? majority playsand (home depot) sand castle consistancy, 1/4 of tank jungle bed

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? currently 79%, stays pretty consistant at 80 %

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? 78

4. Temperature of crabitat? currently 78 degrees

5. Location of gauges? right above substrate

6. What is your heat source? day glo when I need it, but my temps stay very consistant

7. Types of water available? Salt ( API brand ) and fresh

8. Dechlorinator used? yes (Top Fin brand)

9. What do you feed? Variety of Narnar's food, some organic baby food like sweet potatoes, some fresh grapes, honey, peanut butter

10. How long have you had the crab in question? since January 14, 2007

11. Do you know the species? PP

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? bath on the 14th with salt water

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? Tank

14. What size is your tank? 40B

15. How many crabs are in the tank? What size are they? 12 total , 1 jumbo, 1 smaller Large, 1 medium, 5 small, 4 teeny

16. How deep is the substrate? 5 inches

17. If you take your hermies out daily to exercise, do you mist their gill area first? they don't come out daily..occasionally maybe ( cause they are usually dug down)

18. Has there been any cleaners, paints, perfumes, air fresheners, candles, or smoking near the crabitat? none

19. How often do you clean/sterilize and how? Haven't deep cleaned yet, I am new, tank was set up January 7, 2007

20. Any unusual odors? none

21. Do you use sponges? Are they rinsed daily with dechlor water? Are they exchanged every 2 days for a sterile one? no sponges

22. Do you feed fresh food? When do you remove it? if there is fresh food, or the organic baby food I remove it daily

23. Are your hands clean before handling? yes

24. Has there been anything new added to your crabitat recently? 1 new small straw

I also use florescent lighting, and I have a screen lid which is partially covered by part plexiglass that helps me keep my temps and humidity pretty consistant.
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Woke up this morning to find one of my teeny PP's naked. He was in the far left hand side of my tank ( sand side) and I found his shell way over on the right side of the tank ( jungle bed area). He's been dug down for couple weeks. I scooped him up gently, rinsed him off gently ( spritzing) with dechlor water to get the sand off, I got a small round ziplock container with a damp paper towel (with dechlor water) and put him back in that with his original shell and two others, and then put him in the container back in the tank. I debated on putting sand in there..but as much as I hear about their abdomens being so soft I thought the sand might scratch and irritate it...so I chose the damp paper towel way. Please help me, I am new to crabbing since Christmas, and this is my first naked crab to deal with. With what I have read I hope so far I have done the right thing. My kids left this morning asking me if he was gonna die. :( Thanks for your help and response!

P.S. I am sorry for the other 4 posts..I am having some messed up computer problems lately! If someone can delete the other 4 after this I would appreciate it!


Topic author
cranlsn

Post by cranlsn » Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:11 am

Hi...sorry for the anxiety your little guy is giving you. :(

You've done pretty much everything correctly so far...being only a couple of weeks out your teeny might be stressing hard. Your instint to avoid sand around the naked critter was correct in my opinion, as was the ISO and extra shells.

Is the ISO in the main tank still? If so, good. You'll want to keep the temp and humidity pretty constant to avoid further stress.

If he doesn't reshell soon, you might have to gently try to coax him into one.

Beyond that the only other pointer I can give you is to try and cover or sheild the ISO to provide some dark as well. This seems to lower stress levels.

I'm sure a few others will be along with advice as well. Please keep us posted, and good luck!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:18 am

Thanks for your reply... And yes the little ISO ziplock container he is in currently is back in the tank... I did that because I didn't want to cause him most stress keeping him out.

I have no idea how to coax a hermie into his shell... :?

Makes me feel better that so far my reading up on things that can happen, paid off so far in this situation!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:59 am

Im sorry =( I think what you should do it's ISO him with his old shell and maybe some new shells he might like to get it. I never experience that but thats what I would do.

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Hermie Lover
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Post by Hermie Lover » Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:08 pm

ZanZan wrote:Im sorry =( I think what you should do it's ISO him with his old shell and maybe some new shells he might like to get it. I never experience that but thats what I would do.
She does have him ISO'd in a container w/ his original shell and some others for him to look at, and where the others can't bother him at all. He is still in her tank though, so the temp/humidity won't change for him.
Angela

Crabitats: 55L, 40B, 29L

Crabbin' since 97!
They are draining my savings!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:45 pm

HEY HEY!!!! He moved back into his shell... :D WOOO HOOOO! I left for about 2 1/2 hours and came home and he was back in his old real estate :P I watched him a bit still in ISO and just let him back out in the tank freely! I had noticed this morning how very pink he looked :scratch: ..so when releasing him I looked at his nails...and there they were, very pointy/sharp black tips.. SOOOOO this means too..... this was my VERY FIRST MOLT!!!! [smilie=clap.gif] YIPPPEE! He ate a little and then went into the hidey.. Here's a picture of him I took just now in the food dish, mind you it's through the glass too! THANK YOU ALL, for your help! [smilie=hug.gif]

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q106 ... MG1967.jpg

p.s. I also realized too after looking at his shell closer, and pictures, that it wasn't Bicardi the one I got on the 14th, it was Rigby , I had gotten him right after Christmas! Man calling them wrong names already!


Topic author
cranlsn

Post by cranlsn » Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:35 pm

Congrats! Eating and in his shell! Both very good signs.

I'd keep an eye on him, since he was a recent molter, perhaps he was bothered while molting (hence the stress and streaking?).

If it looks like other crabs are pestering him, you may want to ISO him again for his own protection. Good luck! And glad to hear the good news!


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:09 pm

Congrats! Sounds like good signs, But yeah, watch him, in case somebody picks on the newly molted crabbie.

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