I have a sm/med crab (Chirps) that went down about two weeks ago. If we slide the end of the tank off the table he's there in his cave and doing well. Starting to get his color.
We have another that is medium (Rufus) that dug down three days ago. I was happy that they were both molting, although the third crab (Firefly) is probably lonely all by himself on the surface.
Well last night I fed a good mix of fresh foods to cheer up Firefly and a few hours later Rufus was on the surface stuffing his face! Does this mean he was just digging/tunneling but not molting, or could he gave been scooping out a spot to molt and just wanted more food before he got started? He tunneled down on one side of the tank and might have gone clear across to the other side underground. In some places it looks like he's been building mountains and in another there's still a crater in the ground that shells ate falling into.
Oh, which brings up a side question - if a large shell falls into the opening to the tunnel (Firefly knocked it there) should I leave it or move it since it could block the "escape hatch" ?
So he's not molting?
Re: So he's not molting?
I put loose sand over the exit after a couple days so crabs or items don't fall or dig there. But one of my new guys did the same thing, dug down the came up 2 days later to stuff his face and then went back down the same hole and is now molting.
So he's not molting?
He was still up (sleeping) when I left. I guess we will wait and see if he was just playing in the tunnels.
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DragonsFly
- Posts: 1005
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:27 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: So he's not molting?
Mine did the same thing, going down and coming up for about a week or two (a couple of days under at a time), like "pre-molting," before going down and staying down.
My philosophy is to leave their tunnels alone. They know more than I do about how to construct a tunnel that will allow them adequate oxygenation, etc., during a molt. Unless you have a crab actively digging as if he is going after a crab that is down, I wouldn't make any changes. If you do have a crab doing that, I'd advise to move that one into another tank and leave the molter alone; too many sad stories about what happens if you try to move a molter.
My philosophy is to leave their tunnels alone. They know more than I do about how to construct a tunnel that will allow them adequate oxygenation, etc., during a molt. Unless you have a crab actively digging as if he is going after a crab that is down, I wouldn't make any changes. If you do have a crab doing that, I'd advise to move that one into another tank and leave the molter alone; too many sad stories about what happens if you try to move a molter.
--{}: Dragons Fly Farm --{}:
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton
So he's not molting?
We are now missing a crab.
Rufus is still up and climbing around plenty, so the tunnels might have just been for fun.
Chirps is still down but (peeking in from the bottom of the glass) looks like he's doing fine.
The smallest and newest edition - Firefly - is MIA. Last night the kids put him in the shell shop because we are trying to get them all out of painted shells with some encouragement. As of this morning his shell was in the shop but no sign of the crab. We looked in all the rest of the shells but we have no idea if one is missing. I guess we figured when/if he changed shells we would get to see his new outfit, but I suppose he could have changed and dug under. There were so many easy spots to get under left from Rufus' antics, the little guy might have taken advantage of a pre-dug cave to save time and energy?
We will just have to wait it out I guess. We looked in all the little nooks and crannies so we are certain there isn't a naked crab somewhere, or at least not above ground. Conditions in the tank are great (80/80, 5:1, etc.) and they are loving the food choices so I'm going to say with 99% certainty there isn't a naked crab underground either.
Anyone else tempted to just go find & buy a tiny crab to bring more action back to the tank during multiple molts? LOL
Rufus is still up and climbing around plenty, so the tunnels might have just been for fun.
Chirps is still down but (peeking in from the bottom of the glass) looks like he's doing fine.
The smallest and newest edition - Firefly - is MIA. Last night the kids put him in the shell shop because we are trying to get them all out of painted shells with some encouragement. As of this morning his shell was in the shop but no sign of the crab. We looked in all the rest of the shells but we have no idea if one is missing. I guess we figured when/if he changed shells we would get to see his new outfit, but I suppose he could have changed and dug under. There were so many easy spots to get under left from Rufus' antics, the little guy might have taken advantage of a pre-dug cave to save time and energy?
We will just have to wait it out I guess. We looked in all the little nooks and crannies so we are certain there isn't a naked crab somewhere, or at least not above ground. Conditions in the tank are great (80/80, 5:1, etc.) and they are loving the food choices so I'm going to say with 99% certainty there isn't a naked crab underground either.
Anyone else tempted to just go find & buy a tiny crab to bring more action back to the tank during multiple molts? LOL
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DragonsFly
- Posts: 1005
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:27 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: So he's not molting?
I understand the temptation to add more crabs, but patience is a virtue, plus I've read enough stories about crabs all molting at the same time to caution you that if you add another, chances are good it would just go down too, so you could end up with dozens of crabs all down at once, and frankly, most of us don't have anything like the resources necessary to provide a really good home for more than a very few crabs.
I was concerned about losing track of who was in what shell (and I only have TWO crabs!), so I made a careful list of every shell I put in the tank; that way I knew for certain when there was a shell switch. I realize "the horse is out of the barn" at this point, but you might do that now, making careful note of every shell in there (type and opening size), so in the future you will know which are in use and which might be missing (sometimes they will bury a shell). You can also start to get a feel for which crabs prefer which kinds of shells that way, and what size openings they each prefer.
I was concerned about losing track of who was in what shell (and I only have TWO crabs!), so I made a careful list of every shell I put in the tank; that way I knew for certain when there was a shell switch. I realize "the horse is out of the barn" at this point, but you might do that now, making careful note of every shell in there (type and opening size), so in the future you will know which are in use and which might be missing (sometimes they will bury a shell). You can also start to get a feel for which crabs prefer which kinds of shells that way, and what size openings they each prefer.
--{}: Dragons Fly Farm --{}:
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton
Resident PP's:"Major Tom" & "Billie Jean"
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
― G.K. Chesterton
So he's not molting?
Well, Firefly was in the shell shop last night - I couldn't sleep and saw shells moving. She picked a cute shell though! I watched her climb back down, grab a bite to eat, and then climb over and around the salt water pool to eventually dig down under the hidey log (the hard way, could've just used the opening on the other side LOL).
No new crabs in the works, but the idea just seems so easy!
No new crabs in the works, but the idea just seems so easy!