Shocking Tale

[jarteta97]

http://crabworks.angelfire.com/

I just came across this. The woman appears to have had her crabs for 29 years, but the conditions are pitiful. I'm very, very confused.

Thoughts, opinions?

[CallaLily]

Carol has been mentioned quite a bit in the crabbing community. As far as I know, Kate has since passed. Not sure about Jon. I don't know much more about her but I hope my crabs live as long!

Edit: I don't have time to read the full article atm. A search may pull up some old threads where she's mentioned if you're interested.

[wodesorel]

I worship Carol for all she learned and did. Remember that she got her crabs in 1976 - there was NO information on how these guys could live in captivity. Carol was vital to the community with sharing what she learned about their needs. She would isolate them in a slate cave when they molted - something no one else cared about at the time, fed them a huge selection of foods, and she still lets them wander the house for hours every evening for exercise. The 29 gallon is for the time between outings only - they also molt in a separate tank every few years. The care I give my own crabs is centered on what she's recorded. Given that she's had Jon for 38 years she's doing something right.

[jarteta97]

Wow, thanks for telling me, Wode, that really puts it in a new light The gravel is what really threw me off. 38 years! I sure hope my crabs live that long. The lack of information is a valid point, I hadn't thought about it. And talk about dedication

[wodesorel]

It's not actually gravel the way we think of it. She had written elsewhere about how it's the old style of aquarium "gravel" which is much more like a thick sand then a chunky rock. She's been sterilizing and reusing it for the last 20 years since she can't find anything close to replace it. (She's a microbiologist by trade, so keeping things cleans has been important to her.) She switched to Jungle Bedding (cocofiber) when it first came out in the late 90's for when they molt. I remember finding the post when I first started crabbing on either Usenet or the Yahoo boards where she was all excited because the crabs were excited about digging in it. Unfortunately a lot of that has been lost to time, including her original webpage and the awesome growth photos she had.

[jarteta97]

Man, I would have really loved to see that. I bet her crabs were huge!

[aussieJJDude]

One thing I think about is that she regularly takes out her hermies for exercise (eg, run around the house). I always wondered if I have a large flat container thats still has the necessary humidity/temperature where they can just run would do my hermies wonders. I seen quite a few people still let their hermies run around when possible & wonder if this would help our hermies...
Such awesome critters, yet so little is known.

[jarteta97]

I may take out my PPs soon and let them run around my room for 10 minutes or so. I usually don't handle my crabs, but it's been awhile. I do it about once every 2 months. If this is an issue, let me know, and I'll stop. Observing them is good enough

[Drakezilla]

I'm fortunate enough that I live in a place that's humid enough for me to develop modified gills and hot as heck most of the year. I try to let mine out twice a week maybe for exercise especially since his tank is too small atm. He has days to de stress though. I think if your indoor or outdoor conditions are good it's all right? I don't know for sure though, it may very well depend on the crab? Pps are very laid back, hardy little guys. I totally trust her choices though as evidenced by their ages!

[CrazyCrab12]

I sometimes give my guys exersize in a hamster ball. I can spray the inside to keep it humid. On a humid summer day, if it's warm enough, I'll even take them outside to play(the looks from my neighbors are priceless )

[Drakezilla]

Be careful with the hamster ball thing, if their legs get stuck in the holes they can snap off!