HELP! TIME SENSITIVE. Weird Gel Sacs

[wodesorel]

Hermit pre-mixed saltwater, or saltwater fish saltwater? Are you rinsing the dishes out every time you add more water?

[HermiiMommy]

Honestly I didn't know there was a difference. I tried to get as close to natural as possible and get the Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water as I am to understand that it's 100% natural.

And no i have not been cleaning out the salt water after every refill. It's more once a week for the dish.

[AutumnHermie]

The pink reptile-calci sand can be very harmful for your crabs; when wet it can harden like cement, trapping your crabs, not to mention being extremely overpriced. Another thing is your sponge: either you need to clean it everyday by washing it hot water, then putting it in the microwave when it is dry. Sponges really dont do anything except be breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria which could harm your crabs. If you haven't already, take a look at our care guides, and if you have anymore questions just ask!

Care Sheet: viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457

[HermiiMommy]

Thanks. I didn't know any of that. And when I bought my hermit with a painted shell I was told the usual a knitter keeper a bowl of water and food. I brought him hom did research and realized this wasn't a good "pet" for my 2 year they in fact need a whole hella a lot more. So the next day we went and got a 20 gal reptile sand (which I read some where was better than play sand) lights uth hygrometer and thermometer salt water spring water new foods non painted shells and two more crabs extra shells not painted!(in 24 hours they all switched shells!) plus three "hideways" a bridge and climbing towers. I'm still learning since these are my first I have had them for almost 2 years now. And no if I find the ideal conditions I can keep em for 30+years. I'm always trying to learn how to make them happy and I am really excited that I found this website! It never came up with my Google searches. I was actually referred to it by a California vet. I feel like an awful HermiiMommy for not finding this before so I guess it's a trip to the store today for new things!

[pandaincognito]

There are plenty of ways to provide the calcium they need in regular sand. Crushed oyster shell is relatively cheap and eggshells can be offered as well. The reptile sand has calcium dust mixed through the substrate, thats where they get the calcium fortified sand. I have never owned desert reptiles but someone from my past told me that it was bad for reptiles because of how dusty it is

Amd please dont feel like a failure. Dont let this be a negative experience. You learn as you go, and this forum is the best place for advice. many of the members gave had their crabs a long time ^•^

[AutumnHermie]

Another way to provide calcium is feed exoskeletons of other crustaceans, as well as honey, PB, and eggshells are great sources of calcium. Cuttlebone as well is almost pure calcium.

[wodesorel]

If you're trying for babies, definitely take some time to read through our careguide - it covers everything they need to thrive and is written using the combined advice of long term crabbers, all of whom have had eggs or zoea along the way.

The sand is an important part of their habitat, and in their long term survivability. Getting that sorted out will give you the most possible time with them.

The saltwater you're using is good! However, salt doesn't evaporate along with the water, it concentrates and eventually crystalizes out of the water. By adding more saltwater without removing the super concentrated brine left behind, your ending up with a salt solution that is multiple times stronger than ocean water. I think that gel your seeing is a neat chemical reaction between super concentrated ocean saltwater and the calcium from the sand. I had something similar happen in a calcium mix I'm using for a reptile I'm rehabilitating. It's really not good for the crabs. For zoea, it needs to be cleaned daily and oxygenated with an air stone, both to attract the females to release eggs in the water rather than randomly around the tank, and also so the water is healthy enough to keep the babies alive until you can move them into kreisel tanks to attempt to get them to land. (And if any of that sounds unfamiliar, please check out the stickies in the breeding section!)

[IBlab crab]

The pink reptile-calci sand can be very harmful for your crabs; when wet it can harden like cement, trapping your crabs, not to mention being extremely overpriced. Another thing is your sponge: either you need to clean it everyday by washing it hot water, then putting it in the microwave when it is dry. Sponges really dont do anything except be breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria which could harm your crabs. If you haven't already, take a look at our care guides, and if you have anymore questions just ask!

Care Sheet: viewtopic.php?f=51&t=92457

I disagree about the sponges not being beneficial.They do provide natural nutrients and crabs love to eat them,just keep them off of the substrate and out of the pools.I keep one in the shell caddie and one in the leaf and bark caddie.You can use them dry if you are worried. Sometimes I make a sponge caddie next to the heater and mist it and they nest in it.Never had any bad smell or mold.I think the care sheets need to be revised,no I would not use them in the pools but yes the are useful.Now before anyone feels the need to tell me different,I tell you I have cared for crabs longer than most of you have been alive 40 years.

[wodesorel]

We don't even cover sponges in the care sheets, I don't think. They are kept updated with the best knowledge we have of the most successful keepers, most of whom have had the same hermits for a decade or more. It's not about length of time of owning crabs, it's about the success of keeping the same ones alive.

That said, in a water dish sponges will become bacteria laden. While its questionable about the effect this has on the crabs, it is definitely bad for us humans.

[AutumnHermie]

I thought we did cover sponges and effects on them in the care sheet. Oops. I agree that dry sponges kept out of the substrate and out of the water bowl can be beneficial to crabs, but the statement I made was more of pointed to her use of sponges in her water, not all around effects of sponges and how they can be used. And like I said earlier, I thought the care sheets went into more detail.

[mlakers]

I think those "gel sacks" may be related to the pink calcium sand, actually. The gel sacks are pinkish in color and calcium sand does soak up water and harden when it dries, but do we know what it does when it stays in water for extended amounts of time? If the crabs are going into the water and washing it off and it's settling to the bottom, it may simply continue to swell and change consistency. Can you run an experiment with a little of that same sand in a bit of water that you just set aside for some time? I would be really interested to know in case this issue comes up again in the future.

[HermiiMommy]

I apologize I haven't updated in awhile we've been dealing with a loss of a family member.

I did speak with a vet in California who is AWESOME!

Come to find out when Hermits take the salt water into their she'll they go back to the "ocean" and expel (literally flick like eggs) the extra salt in sacs. Well since I was unaware that daily to weekly cleaning of the salt bowl was a necessity it was a salinity build up. When I have a chance I'll upload a picture of what it did when there was no water. It literally just looked like shards.She also informed me if I'm to use calci sand it needs to 1/4 calci with 3/4 play sand because like someone previous pointed it out pure calci sand can become rock hard. She said 1/2 and 1/2 would be the limit if I wanted more "color" but that calci sand digestion wouldn't be a problem even with me using powdered calci food. When I get the chance I'll upload pictures just for fun so you can see.

BTW to the one who was questioning calci sand for reptiles. It depends on your reptile. Bearded dragons shouldn't have sand until at least 2 years of age due to impact action when they are smallerror they cant digit sand. Most snakes other than the sand boa can't have any type of sand due to their vents being clogged and them suffocating.

I own 4 snakes(2 corn 2 ball pythons) 3 beardeds (technically one is a ranskin), 2 budgies, 1 blue jay, 1 mocking bird, 3 Hermiis, 1 one eyed opossum and 3 pits. Use to own a pit bull rescue and grandmother started wild life in distress. So the only thing I didn't grow up was with hermiis. Being why I'm so interested in expanding my animal knowledge base!