Post
by Willow » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:07 am
I am actually very pleased with myself right now, because 2 of my Straws (the usual large/jumbo size they sell at PetCo) just came up from moulting, and they are BEAUTIFUL!!! One just came up to eat and then buried again, but at least I got to take a look at him first, and the other is hanging around topside, so I have had the chance to get a really good look at him. Their coloring is really good, and there are no blemishes on their claws or legs.
I got a group of 5 Straws at PetCo a while ago (I can't remember exactly when, November maybe). I soaked them in Catalina Real Ocean water (warmed just a bit) for 20 minutes when I first got them home, under the expectation that they had been deprived of salt water before I got them, and, since it became evident that they had mites, I soaked all of them that were above ground every other day for a couple weeks, always for 20-30 minutes at a time. Normally, I wouldn't keep them under that long, but they liked it! I only left them in until they started to try to climb out, and it really did take that long every time. If one was buried, I didn't dig it up for the soaks. After a month, during which time none of them moulted, I soaked them all for another 20-30 minutes and put them in the main tank (75g, 8 inches of sand/EE mixed). 4 of them buried right away, and now 2 have come up. I haven't seen the other 2 since. The 1 that didn't bury is still moping around topside, hopefully he doesn't pull a topside moult---I hate that!
I am always giving them Catalina's Real Ocean water (at PetCo, $10.99 for 5 gallons), although I intended to switch off with Red Sea mix to save money, but I've had such good success with the Real Ocean that I'm afraid to try anything else, I don't want to lose the Straws (I've had 7 other Straws before, and they all died). They eat an all-fresh-food diet (plus NarNar's and Addiction store kibbles) with a lot of greens. I have a Repti-Glo 8.0 UVB light, plus a heat lamp and a UTH (it doesn't do much for the heat, but it boosts the humidity). Actually my humidity is a bit low right now, but it hasn't caused any evident problems so far. I have a lot of silk plants for them to hide in, plus some half-buried flower pots for caves. My water dishes are not deep enough for them to submerge fully, but they are about 2 1/2 inches deep, which is plenty for them to fill their shells. I change the water about twice a week, but sometimes I only get to it once a week. I leave the food in for at least 2 days always, longer if it looks OK. They like it better the second day.