Rocking?

[HermieLove19]

I'm not sure how to classify the behavior I witnessed but it seems like it may be bullying. I found one E (Tigery) rocking a smaller E (Philip) in his shell. Philip was upside down curled all the way into his shell and Tigery had a hold of him and was rocking him back and forth like a baby in a little crib. I have a hint that he may be trying to take Philip's shell. It was Tigery's shell before Philip moved into it. The thing that puzzles me is he wasn't aggressive or mean to the little one. I taped it on my camera but it was done poorly with little light. I'll try and post it.

Does anyone know what this behavior means?

[ladybug15057]

If they are both he's, it does sound like the one wanted the others shell. Has either of them molted recently?

[HermieLove19]

They were both under for at least a month. Philip is a little bit smaller but his shell really isn't big enough to house Tigery. I think he may want it because it's his original natural shell I bought him in and it's most likely from his native land. It's got brown and black stripes like the ones E's usually are found in at the store. Here's a picture:




I've been having a hard time trying to find shells for the E's that they would have lived in if they weren't taken from their homes.

[ladybug15057]

Per chance, do you bath your hermies? If not, possibly dip Philip in the fresh water, or both of them so they smell the same? If Tigery isn't happy with is shell, or the selection offered this may not help either. Possibly even boil all the empty shells, offer them back and have them appear like a new selection to Tigery since the scents will of boiled off? But unless Tigery gets Philip out of his shell and has a chance to slide his little bottom into it, he does not know the shell is too small for him. All he relates to is there is another living within it so it has to be comfy.

[HermieLove19]

I used to bathe them together every two months. Since being on this forum for so long has taught me alot I decided to give them bigger water dishes to submerge themselves. So since it has been a while I can bathe them together right away. There are about 25 different shells in the tank at the moment from what I can see. Some resemble the shape they like with the D opening and some are round. I saw Philip climbing all over the shells with another crab and it was like they were browsing. I usually boil the shells every time I do a deep clean or whenever they get eco earth in them and I can't get it out.

So I'll give them a bath together now and boil all the shells. I like to offer different shells each time I clean them. Maybe they are bored with the shells they have. I'll update asap.

[ladybug15057]

If you're not use to bathing this is why I mentioned giving them a dip in the water pond too, should have the same effect.
I don't know how often you deep clean, but have you considered rotating the shells out at least once a week so they don't get bored? E's are fussy about shell changing I understand, but by changing out or even boiling once a week at least makes it like something new for them to explore. With the number of hermies here, I usually change out/rotate shells twice a week. But this is just something I do.