Has it been long enough?

Marshmelo76 · Post by **Marshmelo76** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:06 pm

So, Krusty (an E) did a surface molt a few days after I got 3 (other 2 are PPs) crabs from Petco. They are all in a 10 gallon, I have no Iso. I've been keeping a bottle around him b/c one of the others was irritating him. He has turned his body around and I've seen him eat. He ate his exo. As for the timeline, I got them on the 5th, he was out of his shell when I woke up the 8th. The evening of the 9th he crawled back in his shell then ate his exo the next couple days. I take the bottle off for a couple hours around 8-10 each evening and he never tries to go anywhere.I guess I'm wondering if I should leave him out of the "bubble" overnight, but I'm worried one of my PPs who has gone over to him before will do something to him, if for no other reason than to get his shell (he has tried on every shell in the tank I think!). Or, do you think if he was ready to move he would take that two hour window of opportunity to get out of the corner?

finalfantasyxii · Post by **finalfantasyxii** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:37 pm

Does his exo seem hardened? Do the other crabs bother him when it's uncovered?

Marshmelo76 · Post by **Marshmelo76** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:48 pm

It looks pretty hard to me. Krabbie Patty hasn't bothered him lately, just the one time. The other one rarely does anything and is smaller so I'm not worried about him but Krabbie Patty has been bothering Sheldon, like getting on top of him and swiping his claw in his shell, so that's what worries me.

finalfantasyxii · Post by **finalfantasyxii** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 2:08 pm

I see where your difficulty is because I'm even afraid to give any advice! I might have to defer to more experienced opinions than mine...

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:42 am

Odd thing occurred to me as I was reading this, perhaps isolating Crabbie Patty or alternating isolation would allow Sheldon and or Krusty to move about more. Since you think it's a shell issue, I'd get more shells. Also look at what they are eating, you might have some nutritional things to consider. For instance I read beef and cow products increased aggressiveness in some crabs. Lack of nutrients such as those found in dry leaves, shrimp tails and there was one more but the memory is being slippery today... Anyway, the introduction of those sorts of things into the diet helped. I've also read of some who were just aggressive and had to be isolated from the others. George was like that for a while. He needed to be the biggest crab in the tank. If anyone near his size was put in he'd just constantly be bugging them. He's now the smallest in the tank but the big guys are significantly bigger than he is. He was injured and the big guys are more gentle with him. He settled down nicely over the years. Early on he spent about a week being put into isolation each time he started pushing the other crabs around or when I was not able to supervise his actions, he had killed another much smaller crab. He got the message fairly quickly and I learned more about his needs and personality. He is one of my favorites even though he's a serious drama queen. Good luck.

Marshmelo76 · Post by **Marshmelo76** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 3:37 am

Thanks Geranium! I've thought about isolating just him, but I only have the one 10 gallon tank so it would have to be under the 2 liter top and I would hate to do that because he's so active. I have the tank covered with shells! I do plan to order some online like some turbos and tiger moon since I've heard PPs like those but I have to wait a few days until I'm able to order. They aren't getting any beef but maybe lacking something? I don't have leaves to give them. I did buy some sun dried baby shrimp for them...would that cover it?

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 3:50 am

George was the same way. He was/is a very busy crab. I felt bad isolating him because I confined him in the same tank in a small situation but he scared me when he killed the little one and I didn't know what to do. That incident in the one that brought me here and to the wealth of information and help. You might consider instead of the pop bottle, using something like a thin cutting board to isolate one in a larger area.It's possible that adding the shrimp to their diet will calm things down. It's possible time and a good environment including food will take care of all of it. I would be extra vigilant about making sure to provide a variety of foods from each category of the safe food lists. Have you looked at The Hermit Crab Patch for shell advice? They sell them but just as important they have good pictures and fairly clear instructions on what to choose and how.

Marshmelo76 · Post by **Marshmelo76** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:19 pm

Thanks, I checked out that article and plan to order the medium bag probably.Well, Krabbie Patty got under the bottle top somehow and when I realized, he was in Krusty's shell and Krusty was walking around naked looking for a shell. His body was all sandy but he seemed to be moving well, so hopefully he'll be OK. He quickly jumped in a nearby shell. Sheldon was also out of his shell and in a new one, so I don't know if KP kicked him out of his too or what.

finalfantasyxii · Post by **finalfantasyxii** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:20 pm

Well now hopefully they can all relax now that they've changed shells! Sound like KP really wanted a different shell. I found this cool article on shells: http://hermitcrabshellselectio...h/label/Introduction

Marshmelo76 · Post by **Marshmelo76** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:18 am

Very neat! Thanks Krusty seems to be doing well He and KP were face to face on the Cholla last night waving their antennae around. Here's a picture I took: http://s46.photobucket.com/use...bs/100_1195.jpg.html

finalfantasyxii · Post by **finalfantasyxii** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:10 am

So cute! I can't believe how amazing Krusty is doing!! He was lucky you took him in.

Marshmelo76 · Post by **Marshmelo76** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 12:12 pm

Aw, thanks