I'm new someone help (painted shells & losing legs)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:38 pm

I have done so much research and I still have some questions.

The temperature in my tank has remained at a constant 80 degrees during the day and no lower than about 72 degrees at night. The humidity never goes lower than 60 degrees (night) and never higher than 80 degrees (day). I never use my UTH because I don't see a need to. The only time the temp and humidity drop is when I have the air conditioner on. I just place a towel over the top (I have a mesh lid) and that seems to maintain the temperature.

I've had two crabbies die (one within 2 weeks and the other within a month 1/2). One of my crabs now (Cammo -- a PP) Has dropped 2 legs in the past 3 days. The other 3 crabs I have in the tank seem fine.

I clean the substrate every week. Does it seem like I am doing anything wrong?

Cammo is my shy hermie. He has never been that active so I dont even know if he is showing signs of anything. His pinch is still strong but he seems to be hanging out of his shell at the moment a little more than usual. He was playing in the water right before he dropped his second limb. Shhould I seperate him? Should I just leave him alone? I've had him for almost 3 weeks now.

Also, Im wondering, My two crabbies that died (Nitro and Spunky --both PP's) had painted shells and I did notice after they died that the paint was chipped on both shells near the openings. Could the ingestion of the paint be a cause of death?

KitKat · Post by **KitKat** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:45 pm

Eating the paint could kill a crab..

The crab dropping limbs, was he/she new? if so, he/she could have been stressed..

What size tank do you have? what food do you feed? What type of substrate do you use?

you said the humidity is 60? It should be 70-80%.. that could be the main problem..

Gorthaur · Post by **Gorthaur** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:40 pm

Please fill out the template here: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=18328

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:31 pm

Cammo sounds like he needs to handled a lot. One of my crabs, Grumpy, was really shy and some what mean, so to get him out of his shell i sprayed him with a mister. Then i let him explore while i kept really still. After a while i started making really slow movements like itching. Now i can't get him back in his shell. You have to work with some crabs. Now he doesn't go in his shell all the way anymore and is really sweet to my dinkies. As for Cammo hanging out of his shell, he could be bored. If a crab is going to molt it has a black ball of fat stored up behind it's second pleopod( the legs that maneuver the shell ) Hope i helped.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:52 am

Leah wrote:Cammo sounds like he needs to handled a lot. One of my crabs, Grumpy, was really shy and some what mean, so to get him out of his shell i sprayed him with a mister. Then i let him explore while i kept really still. After a while i started making really slow movements like itching. Now i can't get him back in his shell. You have to work with some crabs. Now he doesn't go in his shell all the way anymore and is really sweet to my dinkies. As for Cammo hanging out of his shell, he could be bored. If a crab is going to molt it has a black ball of fat stored up behind it's second pleopod( the legs that maneuver the shell ) Hope i helped.

Sorry, I don't agree with this advice. If a crab is dropping limbs it is very stressed and should NOT be handled. Hanging out of the shell is NOT a sign of boredom, but could be he is in ill health (pre-molt is unlikely if he is losing limbs). Misting crabs directly can stress them even more than what they may be experiencing with a change of environment; if you must mist to increase humidity, mist the sides of the tank, not directly at the crabs. Try to keep humidity 70%-80% and temp 75f.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:21 am

CK has it right. You will only add stress to the crab right now by handling it.

Also some crabs do not like to be sprayed with a mister.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:14 pm

1. Substrate used? calci-sand

2. Humidity % level in crabitat? usually 75%

3. Temperature of substrate in crabitat? about 70 degrees

4. Temperature of crabitat? between 70 - 80 degrees

5. Location of gauges? near the top of the tank

6. What is your heat source? Repti-therm UTH when needed

7. Types of water available? treated bottled water

8. Dechlorinator used? Reptisafe

9. What do you feed? HBH variety bites, FMR hermit cram treat, FMR hermit crab food

10. How long have you had the crab in question? Cammo - 3 weeks today.... I've had Digs since the last week of June, Trooper - mid June, Cliffhanger - 3 weeks today, Charger 2 1/2 weeks.

11. Do you know the species? Cammo - PP, Trooper - PP, Cliffhanger & Charger - E's, Digs - either Cavipes or Clypeatus (not sure)

12. Do you bath them, if so how often and with what? Once a week with bottled water treated with repti-safe

13. What type of housing are they in? Tank? Plastic box? glass tank

Cammo just dropped his big claw. He is still alive. I saw his legs move (well the few he has left). I dont mist my crabs very often. The thing is, Cammo very rarely ever popped out of his shell. I've seen him eat once, and go into the water bath maybe three times. During bath time he would stay in his shell and when he would come out to dry off he would only be out for maybe a minute at the most and then pop right back in. He had his own special corner that he very rarely left. Im wondering if maybe something was wrong before I got him. My boyfriend is actually the one who purchased him for me and he told me that when he bought him, instead of putting Cammo in a box or something of the nature, they put him in a plastic bag with a paper towel. He bought the crab from Petsmart. I have noticed when I;ve gone there that they keep the crabs in a large tank with a temperature of about 65-70 and the humidity level at 50. Could this have anything to do with it?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:25 pm

Other than the humidity being slightly on the low side, I would say that you should try a different dechlor. There have been several discussions about repti-safe being blamed for some unexplained crabs. You can do a search for "reptisafe" or "repti-safe" to find the threads.

It could be a simple case of PPS. The timeframe is right if the crabs had suffered very low humidity for extended periods or been exposed to chlorinated water while at the pet store. They may have simply suffered too much damage to survive. It is very unfortunate but you should take some comfort to know that you've provided them with a good environment to make their final days more comfortable.

One suggestion is to get a glass or plexi-glass lid. That will make maintaining humidity much easier for you.

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:32 pm

It sounds to me, like a standard stress reaction. With mine, that have dropped legs they usually do it right after I get them or 2-3 weeks down the line. This could be related to a drastic change in environment that would cause their body enough stress to drop limbs.

It could very well have to do with the conditions at the petstore, where they are stressed and dehydrated to begin with, after being shipped from who knows where, and then we take them home to a "Proper" environment and it creates a great deal of stress.

Have you put Cammo in an ISO tank yet?? or maybe let him be in his corner, ISO him there with a soda bottle or CD case, and provide small dishes of water and some honey mixed with a bit of peanut butter close to him. This way he wont have to move far to get something to eat or drink. The honey will provide some sugars and the PB will provide some protien...gives him an initial energy lift and then a more sustained energy from the PB.

This is the only thing you can do for him. Keep him safe, with food and water and let him destress. There are crabbies who pull thru out of their stress reaction.

Gorthaur · Post by **Gorthaur** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:39 pm

Move your gauges down to the substrate level so they are measuring the conditions where your crabs actually are. Also, you must get some salt water (only the type made for salt water aquariums is acceptable) for your non-PPs, or they will die without it. Your PPs will certainly enjoy and benefit from it too.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:55 pm

yep, gothaur, nar, vick, ck and alot of others are right - prolly stress related and advice is good - but handling your crabs will increase their stress if nothing else - more handling is definately not recommended. stabalize your humidity, maybe provide some honey or some easy to eat food, put a towell or something over the tank, and let the crab destress. how many legs has your crab lost thus far? sorry for all the trouble - when crabs start dropping limbs, it can be pretty scary, but it is an indication than somethings not right.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:29 pm

I know this is a bit off topic... but how would one iso a crab with cd cases?

I could definatly see the soda bottle thing working, but it wouldn't be much work to push aside some cd cases... These little crabs surprise me with how strong they can be lol.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:31 pm

Cammo didnt make it. He finally passed last night. I figure it's probably better this way. On the flip side I bought 3 more hermit crabs. @ large PP's the size of tennis balls and a tiny Ruggie (i think. Hes completely white. I'm pretty sure he has the stitching on his big claw but he remains under the substrate during most of the day and makes a mess of my tank at night. I named him freestyle but my two large PP's are still nameless. My two EE's, Cliffhanger and Charger, are changing colors i think. They both have completely grey bodies but their last two legs are orange-brown.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 1:44 pm

Sorry about Cammo.

Good luck with your new ones.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm new someone help (painted shells & losing legs)

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