Walking the crab

[KyMart]

Loved these stories! Just wanted to add an idea for scaredy cats like me who are still working their way up to confidently using choice based handling! -- Hand feeding I just use the lil wooden spoons that came with etsy orders and its a 2-in-1 win of cuteness because 1) watching hermits eat!! and 2) interaction!! They like me!!

lol

Omg that's so cute!

[KyMart]

Ooo ill have to try that! Also, I have to admit, I have a weird obsession. I do like hermit crabs, but that is not the obsession I'm talking about. TINY WOODEN SPOONS! I absolutely love them. I also got a tiny wooden spoon from an order for my crabs, and instead of using it for their food, I kept it and found a plastic spoon somewhere else for them. I just love eating ice cream with my tiny spoons. I swear it makes it taste better, although my family doesn't believe me.

You're right, wood has a very distinct taste and will definitely add flavor! I swear it does, I'm not crazy! I used to play clarinet, so I acquired a deeper love for the wood taste from the reeds and ugh it's so good! I've only gotten the tiny plastic spoons with orders for my crabs, now I want tiny wooden spoons!

[Serendipity]

You're right, wood has a very distinct taste and will definitely add flavor! I swear it does, I'm not crazy! I used to play clarinet, so I acquired a deeper love for the wood taste from the reeds and ugh it's so good! I've only gotten the tiny plastic spoons with orders for my crabs, now I want tiny wooden spoons!

Thank you! Someone agrees with me.

[myllkti]

Ooo ill have to try that! Also, I have to admit, I have a weird obsession. I do like hermit crabs, but that is not the obsession I'm talking about. TINY WOODEN SPOONS! I absolutely love them. I also got a tiny wooden spoon from an order for my crabs, and instead of using it for their food, I kept it and found a plastic spoon somewhere else for them. I just love eating ice cream with my tiny spoons. I swear it makes it taste better, although my family doesn't believe me.

SO TRUE theres something special about those tiny vanilla cups with the flat not-a-spoons where you cant tell shich side is actually supposed to be the spoon lol

And do update if you manage to feed them! Hope you and the crabbies both enjoy!

[Serendipity]

SO TRUE theres something special about those tiny vanilla cups with the flat not-a-spoons where you cant tell shich side is actually supposed to be the spoon lol

And do update if you manage to feed them! Hope you and the crabbies both enjoy!

I know those spoons are the best! And I will definitely make sure to update if I have success, so far I haven't. They just run away at the sight of my hand, or even if I just walk in the room! My hermit crab Blueberry is such a scaredy cat! I walked into the room to watch them, and I caught her eating (I usually never see her because she is always hiding) and she SPRINTED! She was so caught off guard that she ran backwards, while Coconut just popped back into his shell! It was hilarious, but hopefully they will warm up to me.

[myllkti]

My rule of thumb / code of conduct for myself is "at a snail's pace" or no faster than I think a cloud would move to cast a shadow over them, since they do encounter shadows in nature. there are holes in that particular comparison but it does help me to have more amicable interactions with them! Doesn't work 100% of the time as they still are prey animals and I'm still a big scary monster but sometimes they do tolerate or even interact with my presence!

[crabocado]

Hi everyone. Busy went down for a molt for just about 3 months. There were a few weeks when I could tap on the glass and she would make a "clink" sound when reacting. But in the last month or so that stopped so I started to worry. sometimes Then she emerged on Feb. 22. It is always so sudden and such a thrill when they "rise up" and come back into your life like this. She had zero appetite for a couple days (bloodworms went moldy), but then she really got into the fresh apple, and dried dates & jackfruit, walnuts, and/or coconut oil I provided. The past couple years I haven't really noticed any size change upon emerging. I guess she is around 14 or maybe a couple years older, maybe up to 19 max (based on my first post on this forum).

I like to give her a few days after the molt ends, before taking her out. I had her out for a couple hours in the kitchen area recently. She ate some organic celery leaves on the floor.

Our crazy new pit bull is maybe 2 and a quarter years now. Still can't really put them in the same room.

Our older dog is getting near 15 and a half, so she and Busy are around the same age.

But anyway, I was absent from this forum for a couple months during the molt, but looks like I'm a crab person again! Look forward to taking her out on the deck next time we get a warm day.

[crabish]

I loved reading this thread as I also frequently let my crab walk around, and to see another person who’s crab is just as unique a character as mine always makes my day. I’m glad Busy is safe and well and I look forward to more adventures being posted soon!

[crabocado]

Hi crabish, it's good to meet another crab-walker! Thank you for your kind words. I would enjoy learning what kinds of places your crab likes to walk, and the encounters s/he has along the way.

[crabocado]

Had quite an adventure while walking the crab on Thursday night. I was making dinner, and Busy was walking along the east edge of the kitchen (below the microwave) and when I looked back, suddenly she was gone! A quick sweep of all the usual places - along the edge of the fridge, under the dishwasher overhang or a corner of the rug, around the dog food dishes, between the trash can and the counter - yielded nothing. Sometimes she moves faster than I expect, so I checked further out, in the piano room, near the couches, etc. I've been walking her at least a couple times a week, usually four times, for the past several years, and as you might imagine I've had a number of frights over that time. But invariably she turned up and I gradually developed confidence in my system.

But now I was gradually realizing this time was different, and I was starting to make desperate little pleas out loud to myself, just to vent my desperation. I realized she couldn't have gotten that far away, had to be somewhere in the kitchen. So for the first time I seriously entertained that she might have gotten under the oven, which is a horrible space filled with dust balls and ancient trash. But she wasn't there either (it's too narrow). Then I noticed, for the first time, that there is a large gap in the corner between two cabinets. Large by finger standards, but really only a couple inches wide. But it has an L-shape (and maybe 10-12 inches total length), so that's big enough if you maneuver just right. I'd never noticed it before because at the floor level everything looks normal, you have to reach upward into the space. The opening is about 5 inches off the floor, and I guess she's finally big enough to reach that high. I started really freaking out because, having never peered in or even known about the existence of this space, I imagined it as a direct connection into the wall spaces of the house, maybe a way she could wander off and get lost forever.

By now my wife was awake, and thoroughly annoyed by all the drama. I tried using a mirror and a flashlight to see, which didn't help much. I said I might have to remove the boards, and then glue them back, but my wife wasn't having any of that. She said, no problem, just leave a dish of water on the floor, she'll come out. I said, I can't do that, what if she comes out when the dog is here (we have a young pit bull who eats everything), I won't be able to sleep until this is figured out. Eventually I heard Busy walking around in there, so that was a first sense of relief and gave me hope. I stuck my cell phone in, with a flashlight, and couldn't see her at all, but got some poor video that helped me realize it's just an ordinary space with a finished wall, so that gave me a lot more hope. It makes sense - they build the house first, and then they just add the cabinetry on top of the finished walls. So that took away the sense of horrible mystery, I could picture the space in my head, and I could start to think straight about how to get her out.

I decided to build a ladder to encourage her to climb back over. I cut a strip of a mesh-like rubbery shelf liner, and hung it over, anchored it on the outside with a thumbtack. I smeared some "smoked whitefish salad" from Whole Foods on the outside part of it. I watched a while and did not see any tension on it or any sign she was coming out. I went back to making dinner, refilled the olive oil and made a huge mess because I was so anxious. After not too long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes, I looked down and she was hanging on the outside part of the shelf liner! Such an amazing relief to see her come back. It was such a wonderful surprise, I never expected the "lure" technique to work so well and so quickly. I grabbed her, had to pry a couple legs off the wood, took a couple quick movies and put her away.

I have not taken her out of the cage since, but I will eventually, and obviously I'll be eyeing this cabinet gap very carefully. Eventually I'll glue a couple pieces of wood to fill that gap. Previously the greatest worry was the air vents, which are removable metal rectangles that sit in the floor, and are not attached, so conceivably the dog might pull one up, and Busy could end up hurtling down a duct. And there are several spots which would be a big headache if she got into, like behind the laundry machines, or under a couch that's developing holes, or behind the piano. But I've calibrated my attention carefully to monitor for all those risks and/or shut them off with closed doors, or books jammed into spaces. I'm just dumbfounded that I overlooked this hazard for so many years. You can never be too careful with these little guys. I would never want to repeat that experience, but in hindsight it makes for a good story.

[crabocado]

Hello again. Life went back to normal after a couple weeks, and I've had Busy out for her nightly walks 3-4 times a week since that incident.

I wanted to update you on her walking habits, which have shifted a little. To start with, I generally put her on the rug by the kitchen where we keep the dog food dishes, for some excitement checking out the crumbs of dog food. But if she hangs out there too long (especially if she climbs into a dog food dish), I don't want her to get more than a few nibbles so I will move her elsewhere in the kitchen (usually at these times I am preparing dinner).

She does sometimes make her way towards what I call "Devil's Triangle" (that's the gap in the kitchen cabinet that she got into in April), so I'll watch her carefully. as she approaches it, ready to yank her away She has not attempted to climb up into the hole since that one time. She just keeps going along the edge, or sometimes makes a 180 degree turn and goes back the other way.

One thing that has really changed, she no longer climbs the wicker magazine basket. She'll just walk right around it.

Her favorite destination seems to be the piano room ("living room"), were we have some houseplants that drop dried leaves on the floor. She really loves crunching on those leaves, and will often sit in that corner for a long time.

She does not very often make her way into the corner with the wifi and modem devices (behind the TV set) - that used to be more of a favorite.

It's true that circumstances have evolved too. With our new pit bull around, I have to be careful. If the dog is in the kitchen/TV area, then I will put the crab in the adjoining piano room, in the far corner by the plants, and the dog is unaware. The dog is pretty excitable, and usually at some point she wants to go outside and bark at raccoons, so at that point the crab can have the run of the house. If the dog is in the yard, then I'll start the crab on the dog food rug as I described, and usually, she'll find her way all the way into the piano room where those crunchy leaves are.

The dog is often in her crate, which is in the piano room. So there's a few times that I started the crab in the kitchen, and she walked into the piano room - although we keep that room mostly dark, the dog will see the crab moving ominously by, along the opposite wall, and start giving out worried whines.

[crabocado]

Busy does often crawl over to that "Devil's triangle" corner with the hole in the cabinet as I mentioned and I watch carefully, but she generally just keeps going along the edge of the wall, or turns right around. But finally a couple weeks back (actually Oct. 1) as I was watching, suddenly she was halfway up and disappearing into the gap! Man she can move fast sometimes. I moved like lightning, got my hand all around her, and wrestled with her grip on the panel/wall of the cabinet gap, but finally was able to slide all four of her pointy feet off the wood; luckily there were no small crevices for her to latch into. I've really got to seal off that gap. I'd be inclined to just jam something quick and dirty into it (like bubble wrap or foam) but my wife is kind of proper about house-related stuff (and rightly so), plus I've been way too busy to take on a project like cutting the right shape piece of wood.