She may be stuck while molting

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:04 pm

The most pronounced one...sorry the pics are kinda crappy...It's sticking out. See the one I'm talking about.

Before I pulled the exo off her head, that part of the exo looked different than the other parts. They were almost translucent & that one was blue, the color that she is.

The rest of her looks pink, but not that leg...again, so sorry for the quality of the pics. Don't want to bug her to death.

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:09 pm

Thanks, Kathy, for the hugs. She really can't afford to lose a leg...she was down to 3 limbs before the molt...she's had 3 limbs now since she got attacked 3 mo. ago (b4 lost 2 arms, 1 leg...regen 2 arms, lost 1 arm 1 leg). That's my main concern. If it was just the matter of losing 1 limb, I could handle it a bit better, but this is ridiculous. Just been through toooo much in those 3 mos.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:42 pm

Maybe vitamin E, or the olive oil would help? If it won't hurt, it might be worth a try...

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:03 am

Her empty exo is definately missing the left rear walking leg...dang thing is stuck all the way up the leg like pantyhose. Other than that, she's sitting tucked in her shell & her exo is up there for when she chooses to eat it. I'm pretty sure all her other appendages came out okay, but I'm not completely sure just yet. She just wants to hide right now, poor baby. I'm not as frantic as I was...just couldn't decide whether to try to pull the exo off her to try & help or just leave her alone.

I'm wondering just how much trouble the stuck exo will cause her. I doubt that any oil or anything will help for this large an area.

I'm seriously hoping that she'll be okay & back to her happy, healthy, little self very soon! It's been a very long trying day. :roll:

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:23 am

maybe she'll be able to get that off later

. have you been able to see if/how many legs she's regrown yet?

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:32 am

No, not really. It looks like she may have grown both legs & the arm. The good news is that it looks like she's eating her exo...it's moving & her little, pink appendages are moving...so hopefully when I wake in the am, okay later, she'll have finished it all up.

I can't wait to give her some persimmon jam, her fave, to show her how much I love her. I'm exhausted & probably should get some sleep soon.

Did you see what I was talking about in the pics?

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:59 am

Hi Bks

If Level is starting to eat her exo that's a great sign!

If there's exo stuck on only one leg now, it should be ok to just leave it, when Level gets her strength back after molting and the tough time she went through,she'll deal with it herself in time, but you've done a great job Bks, handled it really well. What a pretty little girl crab she is, love her eyes in the photo.

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:29 am

[smilie=hug.gif]

[smilie=hug.gif] A million hugs to ya for all the "hand holding" throughout that ordeal.

It's about 9:30 a.m. here & she's still resting w/her shell opening tipped like it would be if she were just sitting there, but she's tucked neatly inside w/just the tips of her toes resting at the edge of the shell opening. I can't see that leg sticking out anymore, not sure if she dropped it or managed to get the exo off of it by herself. Doesn't look like she ate much of her exo yet. She is adorable, not so very big but bigger than most of my other babies. I was terrified yesterday that I'd lose her like Willow. I just felt so helpless & sad.

She thanks ya for the compliment! When I first got her she was a brownish/yellow/rusty color, but since she molted the 1st time she's come out blue. Weird, but very pretty. I just adore those eyes myself. I think she may have grown back all the limbs...3 at once, but her claw on the right & the 1st leg on the left are really small, maybe 1/3 or 1/2 the size. I can live w/that as long as she can do what she has to do to live & thrive.

I can see her playing w/the exo again, looks like she's nibbling at it. Encouraging, right? That leg finally made an appearence & it's still the same, but doesn't seem to be bothering her yet.

It's the only limb that's blue-the rest are pink! Poor little baby's been through so much since she came home. I've really come to treasure her & pray that the tough times are behind her now.

I'm so very sorry for losing it, but I just wasn't sure what to do. Ya really did make me feel better. That glimmer of hope is getting brighter w/each nibble of exo!

I'll keep ya posted on how she's doing. In the past, she's bounced back rather quickly...couple of days. I can't wait until she's enjoying her persimmon again & there'll even be a smidge of lobstertail meat all crumbled for her enjoyment once she's back on track. She's just too precious. I still can't believe that she's no bigger than a walnut, shell & all. She'd still be a small, right? That dang sizing chart confuses the heck outta me. [smilie=crazy.gif]
Time to go to work now!

AGAIN!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:15 am

i think way way back NaRnAr had a few crabs that had stuck exos and she helped them out, it was quite a long time ago though, years probably. i can't remember how she helped them, if the posts were still around they'd be in archives somewhere. or maybe try pming her and see what she thinks of the pics. she might have some good advice on what to expect or if there's any more to do.

edit- well i didn't have a lot of time to search, but the most i could find was the possibility of commercial food or bathing (with or without stresscoat) maybe having an effect on the molting. i couldn't find the ones where NaR was talking about hers that she helped.

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:17 pm

Well, I know that's not what caused this to happen as 1) I don't feed commercial food. I give fruits, veggies, meats, grains, eggshells, & cuttlebone. No preservatives or additives in anything. 2) They bathe themselves in stresscoat free H2O, both salt & fresh. Because it's the whole leg, like a pantyhose, I don't think there's much I can do to help her w/this. Just hope for the best & take the best care of her that I can. And love her!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:28 pm

yep i saw what you were talking about in the pics, didnt have to appologize for not wanting to bother her

i just wanted to be sure i was looking at the same thing you were. glad she's being a good girl and eating her exo!

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:41 pm

Thanks, sorejoints. She hasn't come out & walked around yet & still hasn't made a dent in her exo, but I'm a bit more optimistic. I'm pretty sure that I'm glad I made the decision to pull her exo off for her.

Just feared I would lose her if I left her like that longer. Lost Willow just that way. She still has the leg, but is able to pull it into the shell, so I'm just gonna keep an eye on her & hope. Can't wait for her to be up & about again, eating & drinking like a fiend. Even though she's an E, she doesn't fit the tank trasher description at all!

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:02 pm

Hi bsk, I had the same problem with a few of mine like that...you are luckier than me tho...all of mine are gone now.

I did have to get one out of her exo, a good portion of it...I ended up using tweezers, Q-tips and small VERY sharp scissors to crack the exo that was hanging off what was stuck.

But for the one that freed himself for the most part, at least his pincers, he cleared the stuck exo off his legs eventually...and carried on until he tried to molt again and it prooved to be too stressful (He was an Indo and very large).

Do you feed a lot of oils in your crabs diet? I have found that has made a BIG difference in my crabs diet and their molting success--especially with Es. My pps also molt better with the addition of oils to their foods.

So keep you chin up! You did great! Let her rest and give her some good eats and shell be running around soon!

bksbuddha · Post by **bksbuddha** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 12:10 pm

Thanks for the advice NaRnAR. [smilie=hug.gif] I'm sorry you lost your babies. She still has that darn exo stuck tight, just like a stocking. There was a bit of loose exo at the top of her leg, but I think she may have gotten that off.

The oil is the one thing I don't give them, but I think I will give it a try. Do you think pure olive oil 1x a week is often enough. Guessing I should just put a few drops on their fresh food.