Anybody using COLORED PLAY-SAND?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:30 pm

I just got 2 bags of blue play-sand from walmart ($.50 because the bags had holes). It doesn't state any specific ingredience and is written out as children safe. So, my husband thinks that it would be safe for kids to eat in small amounts and should therefore be fine for crabs. I have had all-purpose sand before and the crabs were fine for a year or so. Now I have 3 dead ones (2 I have had forever

, 2 years at least). I took them out of their 40 gal. tank of course but I'm not sure that it is the sand or something else. I had a death before the sand change. That was the reason for cleaning out the entire tank, replacing the sand, baking the wood, ... Can slightly burned wood cause health problems? It doesn't look different but smells a little burned.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:29 pm

I've never heard of anyone using coloured sand before, maybe the dye affects them somehow. And I can't see how burnt wood would affect them.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:46 pm

If you copy and paste the help sticky in here, with answers

, maybe we could figure out why they died. I don't think they "eat" the sand, but I could be wrong. I know they will eat 'calci-sand', but that isn't regular "sand" to begin with. It could be the wood, what type of wood is it? Some woods are toxic to crabs, check it out on the right :arrow: (I'm not exactly sure which types).

Sorry about your crabs

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:20 pm

No, I don't think it is the type of wood. I have had it in there for years. It's just drift wood, chollar... I e-mailed the sand-company and asked them if they put any pesticides in the sand. Will see what the answer is.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 10:24 am

You still should fill out the help sticky because it could have been something else or a combination of things.

Good luck

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 10:29 am

i'm not sure about the colored sand, don't think i've ever even seen it before. i guess if it says it's child safe, it's probably hermie safe though. have you tried getting it wet yet? i was thinking the coloring might bleed off of it when it gets wet, and you wouldn't want that. your hermits could all get dyed blue!

well, that's one way to get blueberry crabs... lol! j/k

it might be from the sand being so old though. do you bake it? i usually bake and sift old sand, but if it looks weird or smells funky i throw it out. i've noticed some of my crabs like to leave little buried treasures of coconut chunks for me to find months later, and the sand all around it is funky smelling, so i scoop that out and throw it away. maybe there was somethingin the sand that you just didn't know about.

i wouldn't think that the slightly burnt wood would bother them. but do they even like the wood anymore if it smells charred? i had a cocohut once that got a bit charred, and none of mine would go near it. i ended up throwing it out. maybe if none of the crabs are going near it you might want to take it out.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:01 am

Thanks for the replies!!!
Here is the answer that I got from the company:
The sand does not contain any substances that would be harmful for your
hermit crabs. In addition to selling it for children's sand boxes we also
sell it for use in aquariums and for use with pets such as iguanas, etc.
Thank you so much for your interest and if there is anything else I can help
you with please let me know.
Thanks,
Shawn Malin
Texans Agri Products
12286 Hwy 105 E
Conroe, TX 77306
800-446-8524
I guess I will take out the wood and place two volunteers back into the large tank. I hate the idea but at some point I will have to do it. I wish I would know what the problem is.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:21 am

Sorry to sound repetitive but if you would like some ideas into what the problem is, you need to fill out the help sticky and answer the ?s. Without that info no one will be able to give you any info on possible causes for the deaths.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:23 pm

Man, you are crabby

! I will just wait and see how things develop. Those questions are very basic and unfortunatly will not help with this problem.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:26 pm

i use colored play sand and my crabs are fine

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:35 pm

Crabby1 is asking for the template to be filled out because you had unexplainable deaths. The template is there for a reason, to be used when a member is having a problem. Instead of making fun of the member asking, you could've filled it out and left it at that.

I thought Crabby1 asked very politely and and is genuinely interested in helping or wouldn't have posted and asked again.

If it's not the sand that caused thier deaths, it means it's still unexplainable and someone will come post and ask you to fill out the template. If you don't want to find out and no one to help try and figure the problem out, then don't fill it out

megs · Post by **megs** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:42 pm

HermiMom wrote: Texans Agri Products
12286 Hwy 105 E
Conroe, TX 77306

I know where that is! I'm interested in knowing what exactly they use to color the sand. Maybe I'll stop in and see them next time I'm over that way.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:05 pm

You can give them a call or e-mail. They are very helpful and answer within a day.
Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of Crabby. But unfortunately, nobody knew when I posted about the first crab dying and non of the signs and environment/food... changed.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:22 pm

I'm not crabby. I just don't understand why you came on here all upset that your crabs died, wondering what could have gone wrong, and then not be willing to fill out the "basic questions" sticky for help

I was only trying to help. No one can know what the problem may be(since we are all now sure it wasn't the sand) unless you fill out the sticky with the info. There could be a "basic" problem, and without that info, no one will ever be able to help you.

I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, just a little confused as to why it's a big ordeal to fill it out. I was under the assumption you were upset and needed help. Sorry.

Good luck

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:45 pm

That template is there to help answer all the questions we're going to ask you before we do! So I don't come on and ask what you're feeding them,then he ask what your humidity is at, they she ask what temp, then I come back and ask what kind of tank, and etc etc...

It's helpful to all of us.