Olive oil.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 03, 2009 7:44 am

I'm washing a bunch of my shells and i was going to dip them in olive oil to make them more appealing. How should I go about doing it? Should I just dip it in and wait a few seconds and pull it back out or what?And what are the best brands of thermometers and hygrometers?

Dramatic Hermiexx · Post by **Dramatic Hermiexx** » Sun May 03, 2009 10:22 am

I used olive oil myself to revive the polishing on shells. I put some oil on a napkin and rubbed the oil onto the shell and wiped it off with a napkin or paper towel moistened with water.I use the Fluker's digital dual gauge for my thermometer and hygrometer in 2 of my tanks. I'm happy with them and they read accurately. I did find this thread in the archives from 2005.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 03, 2009 10:25 am

I cant say that I have heard of dipping the shells in olive oil, but I know for a fact that you can dip them in salt water, and I have had crabs change right away this way.As far as thermo/hygro meter, the cheapest is to got to the hardware dept of walmart and buy one there. I have a digital dual flukers from the pet store and it was $20 which is really expensive. I try to stay away from analog ones due to the fact that when I had them they were always off by10-20% or more.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Sun May 03, 2009 12:05 pm

If you're talking about making them more appealing for you by restoring the shine, as DH said you could rub a bit into the shell. Getting oil in the inside would cause the oil to get on or even in the crabs gills which could lead to clogged gills and suffocation or infection.If you're polishing the outside make sure to rub it in well. Nothing like trying to hold still a slippery shell while a crab's getting dressed!

Nicole · Post by **Nicole** » Sun May 03, 2009 3:36 pm

The oil would likely also go rancid sitting in the whorl of the shell in an environment of high heat and humidity.Bizarrely, my crabs avoid the pretty polished shells and almost always pick a shell with a matte finish so I've given up on getting really nice shells lol. I love my TOM's standing gauge from Petdiscounters - it's a little pricey ($25) but there's no wires or worries about it falling it down, you just sit it on the substrate and it's always been very accurate (though I'm on my *third* gauge from the crabs knocking the other two in the water dishes).