Straight play sand, 6 inches. (Planning to go back to an ee/sand mix at some point and make it deeper.)
2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
My hygrometer battery died but its always right around 80% Temp stays around 80 deg.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Yes, an ultratherm along the back wall
4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
Fresh and saltwater available at all times, tap water treated with prime, and I use instant ocean.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
They get a different type of food every night, this is not an exhaustive list, but for the last few months I've mostly been giving them the following: A wide variety of fruit, lately its been coconut, pineapple, mango, and blueberry. Veggies include carrots, green peppers, butternut squash, sweet potato. (Admittedly, they don't get veggies as much as everything else. I plan to create a feeding calendar to help promote proper nutritional variety) Proteins include walnut/almonds, dried mealworms/bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp/bloodworms from the frozen fish food section (they also get a similar type containing spirulina, both are high quality Omega One brand.) They also get chia, millet, Omega One brand kelp flakes, and on occasion, oats and plain air popped popcorn. Since spring is here they will be now be getting more leaves/flowers/bark per the safe food list.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
Purple Pincher, It's been roughly 2 years, if it's the crab I'm thinking it is. (Getting hard to tell them apart)
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Yes, I'm not sure how long ago.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
75 gallon tank with glass lids.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
I just found my largest crab dead in the sand.
So that brings me down to 4 in total, 1 medium, and 3 smalls about the size of a golf ball.10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
About 15, I have more that have now been outgrown. Will measure everyone today and place an order for more shells soon.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I remove old food and feces from the sand surface every couple days and change water as needed.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No.
14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
A plastic plant from the pet store that was rinsed in dechlorinated water, added about a month ago.
15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
I am very hands off, I only noticed the issue today because I was doing a more thorough clean, and it may have been partially my fault, but I wouldn't have known about my other now deceased crab otherwise. The crab in question was a rescue off craigslist, I don't have any information of how he was previously cared for.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
So I was doing a deeper clean today and accidentally unearthed my 2 crabs that went under a few months ago, roughly. My large crab I already mentioned was found very dead. I figured he was molting all this time. He was a surrender that had been pretty well cared for other than the commercial food they were supplementing him with but they said he actually seemed to like it. (I threw it out once I got home) This was completely unexpected, but I guess he may have just been at the end of his life considering the stress he may have gone through. He was quite large, therefore an older crab. But anyway, my crab that I'm concerned about: He dropped his BP as soon as unearthed him and I picked him up. It may have already been dropped honestly. It smelled a bit fishy at first but now has a normal crab smell, if that even exists. I guess I'm just wondering about the risk of illness because of his behavior and what I smelled. (Ok I just took a second close look and he may be missing a leg as well. He's pulled inside his shell and won't budge, but he's definitely alive) He still has a bright red color and doesn't really look like he's about to molt. There was no exoskeleton around him. I'm sure the stress of me unearthing him may have caused it to drop but my gut tells me there may actually be something wrong because he's usually above ground and active. Admittedly I've unburried a lot of crabs (mostly the ones in the pet store I work at, I don't really have a choice when a customer wants to buy one or when we need to take inventory) and I've never had anyone drop a limb in response. He's currently in the tank inside a glass fish bowl so the others can't get to him. He has enough sand in the bowl to bury himself and he has food and water in there as well. If there's anything else I should do for him please let me know! I've adopted a crab from work with a dropped limb and he grew it back after a molt no problem so I've been through this before but I've never had a healthy crab of mine drop a limb. I'd love to learn as much as I can from everyone's' experiences.
Should be offered at all times.
They're are other things they can get plenty of calcium from.
Dave the Wondercrab~Patpat the Scaredy Cat~MaggieMoo~Billy~Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~Gene