Lost my first crab in almost 8 months of crabbing and another in Code Red.

Hi Jellybean, my humidity goes up to 99%, but thru the daytime I keep adjusting it so that I keep it around 80%, and, no, I don't have a bubble pool. In fact, I just got a 10 gal. aquarium just before marley went down. Before that I had a very , very large very thick-bottomed glass bowl with very high sides and a make-do lid to keep temp. and humidity up. I am having to a little at a time, and I have a heating pad underneath. I have plastic taped on most of top, with a removable lid cut to fit. I am planning to get a clamp-on light for the top. Any suggestions? I sincerely thank you for your time and help, it has been invaluable! Debbie :twirl:

 

You most certainly are welcome. There are a lot of members here with great advice and are happy to share and help.


Usually a heat bulb will help even out the humidity and bring it down. The under the tank heating pad isn't going to do much.

These are the rule of thumb that I go by:
A good humidity range is 74* to 80*. The Strawberry type of hermit crab seems to like it at the higher humidity level (80*)
Too much humidity can literally cause a hermit crab to "drown". They have gills and when these become too moist, the moisture due to excessive humidity causes wet conditions thus causing them extreme distress. Too high humidity also causes bacteria to bloom in the tank, which is not good.

A good temp range is 73* to 80*. I have seen where some keep it closer to 82*, but for me that's just a tad too high. If the temp is much higher than that, there's a danger that the crabs' gills could dry out causing suffocation and a very painful death.

I would also stop misting for a while. Cracking the lid and allowing air flow will help remove some of the humidity and provide the crabs with fresh air :flower:

 

Hi Jellybean, thanks for the information.

What about Coconut not eating? How long can/will they go without food? He is drinking.

Where would I find a bubble pool?

Thanks, Debbie

 

It could be he is preparing for a molt, or the humidity is way too high, or he isn't well. Correct temperature is a must too. What is the tank temp? (if you answered already---sorry)
A bubbler pool is simply your water dishes with a bubble stone laid in them that is attached by aquarium tubing to an air pump. It helps provide humidity and keeps the water stirred up. You DON'T need one right now. :chuckle:


The following are some excerpts that I have saved and stored in my Hermit Crab Info Folder.
Unfortunately most don't have the author's name.

Activity level declines prior to molting, a crab will begin to become less active. Especially crabs that have put off molting because conditions weren't right. They may stay tucked within their shells and show very little interest in other crabs or even feeding until after molting.

Some good foods for molting are honey, raw peanut butter (all natural), crushed cuttlebone (you find in the bird section whole and then crush it up), chitin rich foods, spirulina powder, etc.

Some groups of proteins that provide chitin - bloodworm's, silkworms, crickets, meal worms, krill, plankton, dried baby shrimp or normal shrimp all have it. Your molter especially will need it to harden his exo if the old one has been eaten by someone else.

For the crab food question, I recommend you look at the site Vicki linked to - the epicurean hermit site. Crabs can eat most of what we eat (no garlic or onions) and need a balanced diet - my guys' diet consists of a few main food groups:

1. Flowers - there is a safe flower list at the epicurean hermit site. These provide cellulose and coloring compounds that they can use to have healthy colors after a molt.

2. "Cellulose" - things like clean oak leaves or maple leaves, corn husk, dandelion leaves and roots, etc. This is where I include veggie sprouts.

3. Fruit - they can eat TONS of fruit. Pretty much if it's safe for you, it's safe for them, but most of the seeds of the fruits (apples, nectarines, plums, peaches, etc.) aren't safe.

4. Algae/seaweed - most seaweeds and algaes (Spirulina algae is available at health food stores) are considered super foods for humans - they have TONS of vitamins and minerals, calcium, and iron. Crabs get this in the wild whenever they want it, so it's something they really do need to have.

5. "Trace elements" - this is where I put edible crab-safe salts, worm castings, color bright flakes, and stuff from the addiction store that I can't remember what it is.

6. Nuts, grains, seeds - sesame seeds (non-salted), non-salted peanuts, organic oatmeal, rice, flaxseed, non-salted walnuts (always a hit with my crabs - after I feed it, I have to play "find the walnut"...every time...), almonds, etc. These contain starches (some of the grains) or oils that crabs need to eat - they're healthy for us to eat too.

7. Veggies - they can eat TONS of veggies, so experiment! Squashes, tomatoes, peppers, corn, carrots, spinach, lettuce, celery leaves (big hit!), etc.

8. Protein sources that provide calcium and chitin - shrimps with tails/shells on (do cook them, but leave the shells on - they're very nutritious for crabs!), dried insects like crickets, meal worms, silkworms, bloodworm's (all in the fish food section), and even some of the natural fish foods (check the ingredients to ensure they say "100% ____________ only" where the blank is whatever the food is) - freeze dried shrimp of various types, plankton, krill, tubifex worms...

9. Non-chitin providing protein - most human meats (excluding bacon or anything that's been seasoned) are crab-safe - beef, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, etc.

10. Calcium - one of the more important groups, you can use eggshells, a sand like a Fiji sand (I get mine at the addiction store), calci-sand (don't bother buying it, seriously), leftover exo after crabs molt (I break it up a bit and offer it in the food bowls), sea biscuits, cuttlebone...etc.

I know that list seems a bit lengthy, but if you buy stuff at the Addiction store (the site that runs this forum), you'll have NO trouble meeting all of those - I have to limit how often I look at the site because I always want to buy everything! I seriously had to cut out over $40 of stuff that I wanted to get for the crabs this last time I bought for them.

You can also have fun with cooking for the crabs. I cook for them in bulk and freeze it in ziploc bags for later uses - I have about 40 shrimp or so left from the pound I bought them last September - sautéed in olive oil and added some lime juice, then froze and I just put one in the bowl when they haven't had shrimp for a while. I'll save them little bits of what I'm making for dinner (if it's safe for them) and they can have a crab version of our meal. I always offer dried and fresh food every day because it really does help keep them coming to the food dishes.

Sorry this is so doggone long... :flower:

 

Jellybean: thank you, thank you, thank you, etc. Don't worry that it was long; it was info I needed,=. And, by, the way, thank you!!!!!

Debbie


:straw:

 

:BangHead: Well Jellybean, it appears that coconut is digging down to molt as I write this. I only have two pp and my nerves are shot from worrying! I guess that is why he wasn't eating. Now to wait.....

Debbie

 

I think that the food groups thing is something I wrote...I've written very similar things in the past on other forums, so I think that could be mine. *shrug* I'm just glad that you found it helpful, Jellybean, if it was mine, and hopefully it can help other people too.

 

I hope you don't mind that I passed it on. When I first started copying things so I could reference them later, I usually forgot to include the author's name.
I'm getting better... :chuckle: :flower:

 

Hang in there DEBBIE... :hug2: and I'm glad you found the info as useful as I did/do.
Thank you Emmac.

 

Thanks to you also emmac350, it was/is very informative. I also like seeing the pictures of your crabs. Love your sense of humor! Keep up the good work!

Debbie

:hail:

 

:woohoo:

Hello all!!!!!


:spunky:


Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood!!!!!!!

Marley is alive (and well) it seems!!!!

There's a hole where he has been up to the soil, I haven't seen him, but I'm watching for him!

Thanks to all who helped me thru this, it seems like months. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Debbie

 

:banana: :shmama: :kellie: :katertater:​

Everybody DANCE Now ​

All Right!!! Congratulations---I bet you're still smiling!

 

Well, coconut decided last night that he/she wanted to streak! I got up about 2:30 am and he was out of his shell. So, I scooped him up, got some shells and put him and the shells in a container and he picked out a shell and went back in. Then I put him back in the aquarium and he climbed around the water and stayed there about 1-1/2 hours.

I don't think he has eaten in a week or so, but he's still hanging out around the water now. He will come to the glass and start trying to climb up the glass. He seems a little "frantic". Could he just be missing marley?

Thanks, Debbie :crying:

 

It's normal for the crabs to try to climb the glass. It looks to me like they are stretching.But they probably are just trying to find something to do which is a good thing but the streaking is not normal. Was he near the empty shells when you found him naked? If so maybe he was trying to change shells when you found him. Sometimes they change shells easily and sometimes its harder then they want it to be. Did Marley pass? Is coconut the only one you have? If so he needs a or more crabs with him. Crabs don't really like each other but it is instinct for them to be in numbers for safty. So coconut might be a little stressed if he is alone.

 

Hi trixie; thanks for answering me. I don't think coconut was trying to change; he was not near shells. And after I scooped him up and put him in with other shells, he chose his old shell.

(Sorry this is so long)

But this afternoon I found him naked again with his tail in the salt water. When I went to the aquarium he went back into old shell again. Then a few minutes later he came out of shell again, so I picked him up and some larger shells, rinsed him off and the shells and put him into a container with shells and he went into one. Then I let him rest for a while and then I put him back into aquarium. For a long time he just sat there, in his shell holding onto another shell. Thats where he is now.

In the past week or so he has not been eating and he has been digging a lot.

He and marley are in the same aquarium, but with marley at one end and he at another. I have a seperator in the tank, so I don't know if he knows marley is there or not.

Marley is not moving, he came up a few days ago and went part-way back down. I can see him; hes just sitting there, hasn't moved in 2 days.

Thanks again, Debbie

:ambulance: