oo, got a question about Indo coloring!!

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curious_kitty
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oo, got a question about Indo coloring!!

Post by curious_kitty » Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:01 pm

... about the indo hermit crabs! I am planning on placing an order for few violas and possibly blueberries and maybe indos- are indo hermit crab dark brown? ELHC's picture shows indo as really dark brown color.. but Sprial's indo has light lavender pincher! which one is more common??? can someone verify these?? I am soo confused!

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Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010


MudCrabDude

Post by MudCrabDude » Sat Feb 13, 2010 8:10 pm

Here's what I gather from my own Indo crabs: the outer part of the claw and the "operculum legs", the legs that form the outer "lid" or "door" when they withdraw into the shell, have that nice lavender-purple hue, but virtually the rest of the crab, including the other side of the big pincher, the remaining legs and eyestalks and cephalothorax, have a nice chocolate brown color. They also have yellow highlights that accentuate the edges where the outer lavender surfaces meet the darker chocolate shell parts :)

You may also notice that the abdomen, unlike C. clypeatus or C. perlatus, is a darker color - dark gray or bluish or greenish or chocolate brown - compared to the light cream colors of the clypeatus or perlatus tails/abdomens. There's also a bit of segmentation on the skin of Indo abdomens and may be a bit more rigid and water-tight when compared to other land hermit crabs.


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sugarselections
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Post by sugarselections » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:48 pm

I have four Indos and their coloring varies. One of them is a pink Indo from ELHC.

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Picures speak thousand words......

Post by curious_kitty » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:16 pm

:shock: I am drooling over these indos!! I've been giving my hermit crabs varying meals with lots of coconuts(hoping to bring out the colors...) and i think they run *away* as soon as I put a piece in there now :hlol: !! so, Ive finally decided not to force the blue out of my PPs and Es :hlol: :hlol: :hlol: and maybe get few blue or purples :D
Would you say indos are as delicate as strawberries? How about blueberries or violas??
Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010

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Post by curious_kitty » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:20 pm

is it just me? or am i finding those overly-big-pinchers so endearing??!! :angel2: :angel2: :angel2: :angel2:
Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010

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sugarselections
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Post by sugarselections » Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:33 pm

My Indos are very hardy. I'm not sure if my experience is typical, though, since I've also found Ecuadorians to be very hardy. I've recently had some bad luck with my straws so I'd probably say straws and Aussies are the most difficult species to keep based on my experience. I'd put blueberries and violas somewhere in the middle. I don't find either of those species to be particularly delicate, but issues do arise with them from time to time.

I also love Indos' oversized BP combined with their long, spindly legs. Very endearing.


MudCrabDude

Re: Picures speak thousand words......

Post by MudCrabDude » Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:04 am

curious_kitty wrote: Would you say indos are as delicate as strawberries? How about blueberries or violas??
Personally, I found Indos to be more hardy than the Caribbeans, to my surprise. Perhaps part of the reason is that I've observed their molt recovery times to be much faster than the Caribbean land hermits and are generally less vulnerable when molting. I don't know how this compares to the other species you mentioned though, as I only have just the Indos and the Caribes only.

The oldest Indo I have was purchased with a nasty-looking claw injury from the store. At the time, I had two more land hermit crabs: one was a Caribbean purchased 6 months earlier and a larger and way more active Strawberry crab I had purchased with the Indo. Prejudging from her slightly less active demeanor and injury at the time (though she was still active) I had little hope for her survival. I was honestly expecting her to be outlived by the other 2 and was essentially just hoping for the best when I got her home to just make her "live comfortably for the last month(s) of her life" and not be surprised when I do find her just one day dead in her shell. Well, to my surprise, guess who, out of the 3, is still with me today? :shock: AND growing to boot! :shock:

Of course, I didn't know that she was a "she" back then either. :D

Another very cool aspect of Indos is their reputed size among land hermits (ie. the largest land hermit crabs outside of coconut crabs in the world). Felix/Mokulele Hawai'i of Indonesia has/had a large Indo that had an extended legspan of about 7-8 inches that rivaled the "little" coconut crab he had in his photoshoot. So, it would be neat to raise one to these sizes. :)

And for a little quirky aspect, despite their proportionately large claws, I've found that it is the Caribbeans who are more prone to pinch me than the Indos. I guess its just me....:confused: :hlol:

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Post by curious_kitty » Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:16 am

ok,*crossing out* strawberries from my list :( its ok, I will just enjoy other crabbers' pictures.. *sigh*

so, im getting indos, violas, and maybe blueberries(big maybe though). why is aussie difficult to care for(besides their salt water issue)? do they die easily as strawberries ? :?:
Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010

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Post by curious_kitty » Sun Feb 14, 2010 9:20 pm

:shock: :shock: wow that's pretty shocking! i think i did come across the pic of giant hermit crab,.. is that the one that lives in a swimming pool as a crabitat with coconut crab?? Image
<--- this one?? OMG i thought it must've been photoshopped! :hlol: wow! *adding indos to ths list* the person, Felix, seems to have an amazing collection, I really envy him!
Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010

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Post by curious_kitty » Sun Feb 14, 2010 10:03 pm

i just remembered from reading on ELHC.com website that indos are as intelligent as mammals in a way that they "can" be trained?...do you find this be... true :?:
Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010


MudCrabDude

Post by MudCrabDude » Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:56 am

curious_kitty wrote::shock: :shock: wow that's pretty shocking! i think i did come across the pic of giant hermit crab,.. is that the one that lives in a swimming pool as a crabitat with coconut crab?? Image
<--- this one?? OMG i thought it must've been photoshopped! :hlol: wow! *adding indos to ths list* the person, Felix, seems to have an amazing collection, I really envy him!
Well, it is a relatively small coconut crab compared to a really big Indo, and I think he adopted out the coconut crab a year ago. :)

As for training Indo's, well, I think if anything that can live that long enough in a habitat can "remember" some basic habits and perhaps be "trained" to an extent. My longest lived and biggest indo, Cocobug, seems to be able to memorize paths when climbing on the top edge of the tank so that she pretty much recognizes where it is safe to let go and where it is not. Initially she, as with any land hermit crab, would climb and subsequently fall wherever when new to the tank - or when new decor was added; eventually, I observed that they "learn" how to climb along the top and learn how to safely get down after a couple or so tries. 8)

It's pretty fascinating to watch them navigate safely along the top of the tank lugging their shells upside-down.

As for me attempting to train them anything like other pets (ex. to come out when I call them or tap the tank)...well, I don't know, to be honest. :lol:

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Post by sugarselections » Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:28 pm

curious_kitty wrote:ok,*crossing out* strawberries from my list :( its ok, I will just enjoy other crabbers' pictures.. *sigh*
I don't think you necessarily need to cross straws off your list. I had three straws for well over a year before I started losing them. I know other people have had similar experiences in that their straws seem to be doing well and then at around the one year mark they go downhill fast. My crabitat conditions are perfect and I even have "extras" like a giant saltwater pool and UV lighting, but I still lost two of my straws recently.

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Post by SebbyCrab » Tue Feb 16, 2010 12:14 am

I'm hoping I have no issues with my straws. They're still fairly new for me though. *crossing fingers*
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Post by littleraindrop87 » Tue Feb 16, 2010 8:44 am

I've had 3 indos for 2 years and i find that they are my hardiest species and the most fun to observe actually :) They hardly dig down into the substrate and are always seen hanging about the top parts of the tank. They molt the fastest and do not molt as often as the rest of the species i have (pokes siggy) I would Indos are my favourite to watch actually. And they're sooo gentle. XD
Rugs: Ribbs, Raiko, Racer, Ramica,
Indos: Rum, Reizin, Reffalump
Violas: Ritsuke, Risako, Rekka
Straws: Rumbo, Rhivas, Rice, BFG

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Post by curious_kitty » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:32 am

:shock: wow, I wouldve never thought about getting indos until just recently- because they looked a bit tough and felt it would bully others(like a gangster version of hermit crab world!)- though *I* think its still very cute with big big pincher
hmmmmmmmmmmmm..................... I wonder why strawberries dies off around one year mark? I am a bit curious to see if there are any literature out there talking about their natural habitat. I did read that juveniles spend more time near coastline, while young adults and older ones spend more time inland off the coastline..(but this was just observation, and not done in formal study setting).

-Sugarselections: did you lose your strawberry during molt? or was it something like strawberry streaking and dying? :( :( I am searching crazy for some sort of in-depth-information on their care(still searching right now as I type)... but then, maybe they are not meant to be kept in captivity.
I've been watching several listings of hermit crabs on ELHC, and I know they let their hermits have 1st molt prior to purchase.
It was also interesting to note that none of the strawberries are yet for sale as they are down to molt. Wonder if anyone bought strawberries from ELHC before?
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Godmother to two tuxedo cats, PPs and Es, violas, indos, strawberries and ruggies, Wifey to one VERY patient hubby
200g crabitank under construction started on 4/10/2010

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