Hey everybody you might remember my crabitat from back in October when I joined up and posted a pic heavy thread with a few updates:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 8&t=108875
Was up late experimenting since everyone in the tank was out and about and figured I'd take a few shots. I had two bins on the upper levels of the reworked tank from that thread above but they constantly shifted them to get in a little corner that was near the edge of the heater and isolated. Rather than fight them on this I decided to try and make an "upper hammock" to give them more play space and easier access to their hidey holes.
No sooner than I moved the bins everyone showed back up, very curious as to why I had the light on and what I was doing to their tank! I pacified them with some treat dishes and got to work but I thought the forum would like to see some pics of the crabbies in action as I worked.
( Full Album link - http://imgur.com/a/Hv6lQ )
Originally I thought I'd make a sort of tunnel to prop up above the area:
This changed into more of a hammock design in the prototype in the tank now that gives a bit of a more "cave" feeling to the upper heated area that I think the crabs will appreciate.
To start with here we have lil' guy wondering exactly why I interrupted chilltimes:
Since he was being good I just took a bunch of pictures
Hey, taking pictures are we??
As an update to my last crabitat thread the gang now have 2 wider pools that I don't think they ever use other than for drinking purposes and shell balance but at least make sure the humidity is always above and beyond what it needs to be.
After a bit of rigging and tying and fixing and adjusting and fixing and tying and... we have ourselves a test hammock supported by stick pillars and netting as well as ties to locations in the tank for backup.
This will obviously need quite a bit of tweaking and I'll probably just end up making a second one with better ropework to replace the whole thing with, but I think its a decent proof of concept
Added benefit this makes their dry food and tunnel access area even more cave-like which is something they seem to enjoy.
Hey hey did you get a picture of me on the new thing? I like new things!
Before:
After:
I'd be curious for any opinions on the test design, It obviously needs some better layout and I'm thinking about using segments of the netting and plastic canvas together in a series of "plates" instead supported by even more pillars. We'll see what the crabs think about all this first though
Bonus old shot of Shelby:
I can't get any work done around here without onlookers!
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Re: I can't get any work done around here without onlookers!
It is beautiful! Very creative.
P.S. What did you put in the big flat shell?
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P.S. What did you put in the big flat shell?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530A using Tapatalk
Re: I can't get any work done around here without onlookers!
I like to throw different things in there to see what gets eaten but last night it was some dried fruits and grains with some fish "disc" flakes that I will sparingly give a couple of to the crabs as they absolutely love them. They have a constant supply of the dry Fluker's premium variety diet in a dish downstairs so this was more of a treat thing to see if anyone would come up to see the new area. Worked out pretty well as most of the food was gone in the morningAleyedtoBuggie wrote:It is beautiful! Very creative.
P.S. What did you put in the big flat shell?
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Re: I can't get any work done around here without onlookers!
I like the idea of the craft mesh in a net as a platform. Craft mesh is, I swear, one of a crabber's best friends!
PPs are Big Enzo, Charles Paris and Mr Pinch
On the Big Beach in the Sky: Murray, Gino, Oscar, Gordon, Ignatz, Harry and King Felix the Pale
Also Mom to Imogene the Syrian Hamster
On the Big Beach in the Sky: Murray, Gino, Oscar, Gordon, Ignatz, Harry and King Felix the Pale
Also Mom to Imogene the Syrian Hamster
Re: I can't get any work done around here without onlookers!
Crabinski wrote:I like the idea of the craft mesh in a net as a platform. Craft mesh is, I swear, one of a crabber's best friends!
Yea they really like it and they don't actually try to eat it. I had really nice bendable vines as supports for some things for awhile after the rebuild but after I caught one of the crabs attempting to eat it instead of just pick at it I had to remove them.
Probably my fault since they have all kinds of other branches and stuff in there that they CAN eat, though they never bother the suction cups, plastic plants, bins, etc.
Getting the plastic canvas was expensive but I got a pack of the big rectangles online for under 20 shipped, way cheaper than any craft stores.