Help! PPS or something else???

[alela]

Hi everyone, I’m new here but have visited the boards frequently. I’ve had 2 (1” big) hermit crabs for almost 2 years. I recently upgraded their tank from 10 gallons to the equivalent of 16 gallons (18”W x 18”L x 12”H). Because of this, I wanted to get another hermit crab

I went to Petco yesterday and fell in love with an Eckie. I thought she was perfect – she looked healthy + active, did not hide when I picked her up, and was the perfect size for the shells I currently have. I brought her home and gave her a bath in dechlorinated fresh water.

As soon as I placed her in the bath, she started drinking the water! I believe she was extremely thirsty. After the bath, I thought it would be okay to place her into the tank to meet the new hermit crabs (I know, I should have placed her in isolation ). I use THCP’s mixed substrate sand in my tank. The Eckie started to eat some of the sand as soon as I set her down. She then made her way to the food bowl where she munched on anything she could get her claws on – honey, hemp + flax seeds, and spring mix, for a couple of hours.

She seemed fine. She met my other hermies, They just touched antennas gently for a couple of minutes and then they left back to their hiding spots, leaving the Eckie alone. I, too, left her alone. When I came back to check on her about an hour later, I saw that she was just standing in the middle of the tank and didn’t bother to hide nor explore. She appeared to be very lethargic. I moved her inside the coconut hut so she could have some privacy and darkness.

A while later, I checked on her again and noticed that she was halfway outside her shell! I got a huge Tupperware, filled it with about 3 inches of sand, and moved both the Eckie and the coconut hut inside of it. I also added a couple of shells, a pile of sphagnum moss (mosser lee), freshwater bowl, and two flat shells (one with a mixture of THCP’s mineral supplement and worm castings, and another with walnuts).

Well, as soon as I set the sphagnum moss down, the Eckie came out of the coconut hut and walked over to it. She spent the whole night eating it. While she was eating it, she would sometimes come halfway out of her shell, and then go back into it.

I am scared the she has PPS. I believe I should have isolated her as soon as I brought her in, instead of introducing her to my hermies, Maybe this stressed her out more? But at this point, I can only go forward… Is there anything else I can do to help put her more at ease? Is it normal for her to be eating this much?! She hasn’t stopped since yesterday.

Keep in mind that since I live in Tucson, conditions inside the tank are always the same (Temperature fluctuates between 72-75F and humidity between 70-78%).

[hermitharbor]

Hmm, it sounds like she could just be getting acclimated? She seems like she's fairly perky. The times you've seen her hanging out might have been her cleaning herself? Moving around and eating a lot (very normal, my new ones always do that) is a good sign! She's probably gearing up to dig down if I had to guess. I've also noticed odd behavior in new crabs where they just kind of...sit there...and do nothing for a while. But then they snap out of it and wander around a bit. She's probably surprised at having good conditions and just has to get used to it. I personally don't isolate new crabs, but if she's happy in there for now then I would just leave her be. You can always take her back out if she seems to be doing well and is full of energy

I would also recommend bumping your heat up, as it's sitting on the low end of the safe zone, and that's just for PPs. Es (and exotics) like higher temperatures. 80-85 would be a good range. My guys love mid 80s during the day and they're just PPs!

Good luck with her, hope all is well!


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[Rawrgeous]

Welcome to the HCA! It's always nice to have some new faces around here. I would love to see pics of your set up when you have the chance. Also, congrats on the upgrade, it's always an exciting thing!
Like mentioned by dressage queen, E's require higher temperatures than purple pinchers, our recommendation is at least 80-80 for temp and humidity. What kind of lid do you have on your tank? If it's a screen lid sometimes adding saran wrap to it can boost the humidity. Is your uth insulatable? A lining of cardboard and foil could help keep the tank up to temp if it's one that is safe to insulate. I think if the tank temp went up a bit it would help her not be as lethargic. If not- many of us use a brand of heaters called ultratherms that can be safely insulated, work extremely well, are reusable, and can even be used on plastic tubs safely.

E's also require deep substrate as they are excessive diggers (10 inches) and do better in larger tanks. I suggest keeping in mind the next time a petco or petsmart dollar per gallon sale comes up, as we usually recommend a species buddy, but with your tank size I do not suggest adding more crabs until you can upgrade as the minimum space we usually recommend for an E is a 40 gallon tank. Some use totes as temporary tanks when they need a quick inexpensive upgrade.

I agree with Dressage queen that she is likely distressing, and adjusting. The fact that she is eating and drinking is a good sign. She may be preparing to dig down for a molt. Many that come from pet stores are badly in need of one. Just try to improve conditions, and waiting is all you can really do. Good luck, and happy crabbing!

[alela]

Thank you two so much for replying!!! Petco is currently having a sale so I went ahead and bought a 29 gallon tank (the 40 gallon is too big for my small apartment, but I might consider buying one in a year or two when I move out). I haven't moved them from the previous tank yet - I need to buy more substrate first as well as an UTH. Their current tank has about 5-6 inches of substrate.

Our Eckie is still eating, a lot. She ate a whole piece of a walnut and she has now moved onto a piece of coconut. I've placed her back in the tank with the other two Hermies (they haven't bothered her at all).

She's inside the coconut hut, to which I added a little pile of moss in case she wanted to munch on that as well. What worries me though, is that she is on her side eating the coconut. Shes been like this for over 12 hours. Is this normal??? I've attached pictures.







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[alela]

Welcome to the HCA! It's always nice to have some new faces around here. I would love to see pics of your set up when you have the chance. Also, congrats on the upgrade, it's always an exciting thing!
Like mentioned by dressage queen, E's require higher temperatures than purple pinchers, our recommendation is at least 80-80 for temp and humidity. What kind of lid do you have on your tank? If it's a screen lid sometimes adding saran wrap to it can boost the humidity. Is your uth insulatable? A lining of cardboard and foil could help keep the tank up to temp if it's one that is safe to insulate. I think if the tank temp went up a bit it would help her not be as lethargic. If not- many of us use a brand of heaters called ultratherms that can be safely insulated, work extremely well, are reusable, and can even be used on plastic tubs safely.

E's also require deep substrate as they are excessive diggers (10 inches) and do better in larger tanks. I suggest keeping in mind the next time a petco or petsmart dollar per gallon sale comes up, as we usually recommend a species buddy, but with your tank size I do not suggest adding more crabs until you can upgrade as the minimum space we usually recommend for an E is a 40 gallon tank. Some use totes as temporary tanks when they need a quick inexpensive upgrade.

I agree with Dressage queen that she is likely distressing, and adjusting. The fact that she is eating and drinking is a good sign. She may be preparing to dig down for a molt. Many that come from pet stores are badly in need of one. Just try to improve conditions, and waiting is all you can really do. Good luck, and happy crabbing!

Also, the current tank setup that I have right now is:

Front View:



I know things looked pretty crammed in there, but I'm hoping once I moved them to the 29 Gallon tank, they'll have more space I do have more shells than those in the shell shop. They are to the left of the coconut moss pit, underneath the shower caddy shell shop

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[kieagcarm]

With the shells in the holder on the left, can the crabs get them all when they are set up like that? I thought the shells needed to be spread out with the opening face up. I'm new to this

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[alela]

With the shells in the holder on the left, can the crabs get them all when they are set up like that? I thought the shells needed to be spread out with the opening face up. I'm new to this

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I am unsure - I have the bigger shells on the caddy, and the smaller (current size or size up) shells on the substrate, below the caddy, as well as others scattered about. My hermit crabs haven't expressed interest in any of them yet!

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[hermitharbor]

Oh yes, they can be piles just fine! Many of us have shower caddys full of shells. I have one with big shells and one with small (so that the small guys can get to theirs easily without trying to move the huge ones) and my guys move them around as they please. They will move away the ones they don't like to get to one that they do--they also fling them out onto the substrate It keeps things a lot neater and the shells cleaner (although mine use the shops as their bathroom...). It's also a great way to have second levels!

Alela, that is a lovely set up for such a small space! You have utilized it well. It looks like she just found a comfortable spot to perch. Mine will do this when they sit and munch on the logs. She may have also moved and gone back, as crabs are notorious for making it look like they haven't moved at all. I wouldn't worry


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[alela]

Oh yes, they can be piles just fine! Many of us have shower caddys full of shells. I have one with big shells and one with small (so that the small guys can get to theirs easily without trying to move the huge ones) and my guys move them around as they please. They will move away the ones they don't like to get to one that they do--they also fling them out onto the substrate It keeps things a lot neater and the shells cleaner (although mine use the shops as their bathroom...). It's also a great way to have second levels!

Alela, that is a lovely set up for such a small space! You have utilized it well. It looks like she just found a comfortable spot to perch. Mine will do this when they sit and munch on the logs. She may have also moved and gone back, as crabs are notorious for making it look like they haven't moved at all. I wouldn't worry


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With reading so much about PPS and surface molters, I can't help but worry! You've eased my mind though - thank you

Now I can't wait to transition them over to the 29 Gal tank, but the HCP is closed until October 25th. I'll be placing my order for more substrate then

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[Rawrgeous]

Their substrate is just made of of playsand and cocofiber, and they add oyster shells for calcium. The EE can be purchased at many pet stores, but I get mine on amazon in a 3 pack as an add-on item for 5 bucks. You can buy playsand at home depot for around 5 bucks for 50 pounds. Crushed oyster is sold for birds, and I got a whole box for about 5 dollars. It's faster, cheaper, and you get WAY more sub out of doing it that way. It's personal preference of course, but I feel like the HCP substrate is a bit pricey for what it is.

[alela]

Their substrate is just made of of playsand and cocofiber, and they add oyster shells for calcium. The EE can be purchased at many pet stores, but I get mine on amazon in a 3 pack as an add-on item for 5 bucks. You can buy playsand at home depot for around 5 bucks for 50 pounds. Crushed oyster is sold for birds, and I got a whole box for about 5 dollars. It's faster, cheaper, and you get WAY more sub out of doing it that way. It's personal preference of course, but I feel like the HCP substrate is a bit pricey for what it is.

Really?! I always thought their substrate was made from Florida beach sand or something. If I would've know, I would've made their own sand! It's not the substrate that is expensive, but the shipping

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[Rawrgeous]

Their substrate is just made of of playsand and cocofiber, and they add oyster shells for calcium. The EE can be purchased at many pet stores, but I get mine on amazon in a 3 pack as an add-on item for 5 bucks. You can buy playsand at home depot for around 5 bucks for 50 pounds. Crushed oyster is sold for birds, and I got a whole box for about 5 dollars. It's faster, cheaper, and you get WAY more sub out of doing it that way. It's personal preference of course, but I feel like the HCP substrate is a bit pricey for what it is.

Really?! I always thought their substrate was made from Florida beach sand or something. If I would've know, I would've made their own sand! It's not the substrate that is expensive, but the shipping

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They might use beach sand, but because the sand costs so much to ship it's much cheaper to just buy ee and playsand. I do like to add crushed oyster for calcium, but not required.

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[alela]

If it is made with beach sand, do you think I could still mix it with a a play sand mix?

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[GotButterflies]

There isn't much sand left here on the beaches in Florida (HCP is located in Eustis which isn't close to the beach. I wonder if most people think they get their sand from the beach. Interesting. Good luck!


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[GotButterflies]

Beach sand really isn't as clean as you would think it is. Unfortunately a lot of people litter. :/


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